Re: Daffodils and Daffodil Party

In a message dated 4/30/02 5:23:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
mygarden@easystreet.com writes:


<<But the Daffodils lasted a lonnnggg time.  :)>>

Lucky you, Marilyn. Here in SW Ohio, the daffodils started early, but ended 
early too because of the heat.  Since then we've had abundant rain and 
everything, including the weeds and grass, is growing lushly and rampantly. 
Mayapples are already up and in bloom. Tall bearded iris have begun to bloom. 
The early flowering trees and shrubs and finished. The dogwoods have had a 
fantastic year and I've never seen the white ones quite as bright and full as 
they are this year.

The daffodil party (annual convention of the American Daffodil Society) was 
April 18-20 here in Cincinnati, hosted by the South-Western Ohio Daffodil 
Society and chaired by Linda Wallpe, another member of this list.  We took 
the standard model for the convention and added our own twists and turns, 
with the twin goals of making it both fun and educational. Unusual highlights 
included:

1. Medieval-Costume-optional opening reception (the hotel has a medieval 
theme)--about 70% came in costume and we great fun. The participation rate 
was beyond our wildest dreams and it was a fabulous ice-breaker.

2. "How Men Arrange Flowers"--this unique 1-hour session had 25 men trapped 
into volunteering to take brief instruction on the principles of arranging 
flowers and then creating an arrangement in front of an audience of women. We 
scrounged containers from many different sources (the Salvation Army Thrift 
Store was a bonanza) and ended up with containers in the shapes of bunnies, 
cows, turtles, frogs, bears, Playboy mugs, etc.  At the end, we put a stick 
to hold an identification card in each arrangement and asked the men to name 
the arrangement and put their names on the cards. These were our centerpieces 
for the banquet that night.

3. Educational concurrent sessions included the following topics:
Daffodil genetics
Companion bulb plantings for daffodils
Historic daffodils
Species daffodils
Daffodils for newcomers
Soil science, composting, and vermiculture
Gardening and health, emphasizing movement and joint care
What I have learned about daffodils (interesting observations on disease, 
pests, and their prevention and cures)

4. The Friday banquet speaker was Janis Ruksans, plant explorer and bulb 
expert from Latvia.

5. The Saturday night banquet was held outside the hotel at Cincinnati's 
historic Union Terminal. We again brought containers and flowers for each 
table to make its own centerpiece--this time the added twist was the bag of 
Tinkertoys placed on each table. Many of the designs were unique and 
interesting. 

The convention also included the national daffodil show, with exhibits from 
all parts of the U.S. as well as Northern Ireland. The show included a 
photography competition with photos that filled both sides of 5 4'x8' display 
panels. And then there was the first-ever national Ooh & Ah! Show, where we 
displayed our daffodil collectibles in many categories.

Wish you all had been there. We had a blast!
Bill Lee

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