AIS Convention - Day 3 and end

Today was the last day of the 1997 AIS Convention.  After a great breakfast
will Marilyn Harlow and Bill Maryott where we brainstormed all kinds of fun
ideas for AIS, we jumped on the bus with our intrepid leaders; Bob Bauer and
John Coble.*

Today we did the inner loop around Detroit and visited the Cline, Perdue,
Brown and Calhoun gardens.  We had yet ANOTHER reprieve from forecasted rain
and the irises were just bursting out all over.  

Keith Keppel's FANCY WOMAN was planted next to CROSS CURRENT in one garden -
both in peak bloom and both knockouts  FANCY WOMAN is a fancy plicata or
maybe a luminata (I'm still not entirely sure on that term)...all raspberry
speckles and ruffled like a ballgown and edged in white.  The effect is
absolutely heartrending.  CROSS CURRENT is a bold blue touched with white...
a wonderful foil for FW.

The MTB's are really showing off now.  Lynda Miller's BANGLES did it's thing
today - and took the FRANKLIN CUP (for the best guest iris - or iris that was
grown here specifically for the convention).  We saw some BOLD IMP and some
BOUQUET MAGIC - both so different in form, but both MTB's just the same.

The siberians are beginning to pop here and there too.... Dana Borglum had a
very early wine red that was in full bloom... and Shafer/Sack's PLEASURES OF
MAY was in glorious bloom in two gardens.  This is a beautiful pink and white
confection that I'm very happy to have had the foresight to purchase last
year.

After a full day of garden touring, we hosed off and the WNY folks invited
some people to our lair for a glass of wine, some socializing (including the
Belmont race... great horse race!)  Carol Warner and Shirley Pope accepted
our invitation... and Barbara Aitken issued her own to come to her room!
 Since she was across the hall, we joined forces and Terry and Barbara, Will
Plotner and Bennett Jones joined US for a bit... then we crossed the hall and
joined THEM.  Great fun.

The banquet was beautifully done.  Each place had a lapel pin to take home
with us ... and there were centerpieces of dutch iris and brightly colored
packages.  We were thrilled to watch Carol Warner accept the Morgan-Wood
Medal for SHAKER'S PRAYER (an imposing siberian... if you don't grow it, you
are living a deprived life), and Sterling Innerst accept the Dykes Medal for
BEFORE THE STORM (blackest of black tall bearded - he was dressed in black
too..very dramatic).  The PRESIDENT'S CUP for the best in region cultivar of
the convention went to VAVOOM an SDB that has an astonishing amount of bloom
on a short plant... yellow amoena.

We all said our goodbyes.... and having the choice of packing (including a
full tray of 'can't live without' plants that I bought at Arrowhead Alpines
and have not a CLUE how I'll get them home) or playing on the computer


well.... YOU know the rest of the story.

Kathy "Dan Rather" Guest.... over and out from the Dearborn Convention)

* we did not get lost even once today..... finally got them trained
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