The Best Daylily Show in America!

Hello Daylily Friends,

This past Saturday, June 13, 2009, The Cobb County Daylily Society and the Daylily Society of Greater Atlanta joined together to have a joint Daylily Show at the Cobb Galleria Center in Atlanta, Georgia. All together, there were 488 entries. There was strong competition for the best daylilies and everyone had a tremendous good time.

On Friday evening, June 12, 2009, both Clubs had 29 members to gather at the Galleria Mall for dinner. We had a wonderful time and everyone looked forward to the show, but first there was work to be done. We had to prepare over 600 bottles and have them filled with water for use as vases during the Show. The bottles we used were "wine bottles" that were furnished by Tiger Mountain Vineyards in Tiger, Georgia. The owners of the Vinyards are John and Martha Ezzard and John and Marilyn McMillan, and they have been gracious and generous in allowing us to have the wine bottles which work very well as vases. Thanks to the Ezzards and the McMillans. Oh, here is a picture of my friend Luke Vandevate filling the wine bottles with water. Luke did a fine job.

Speaking of Luke, he is 13 years of age, and is an outstanding student at Mount Paran Christian School in Cobb County, Georgia. Luke entered 28 daylilies in our Show, and he was awarded 8 Purple Ribbons, 14 Blue Ribbons, 4 Red Ribbons, and 2 Yellow Ribbons. Just an outstanding achievement. Luke also won the Youth Award and his flower was placed on the head table. We are so fortunate to have Luke as one of our members. Is there another Club anywhere in America, or in the world, who has a member that is 13 years of age and who competes at such a high level? The Judges did not know that Luke was Age 13 when they awarded him the multiple blue and purple ribbons. They did not know that he is the youngest member of our Club. Luke's awards were won because Luke knows how to grow beautiful daylilies. Congratulations Luke. We are proud of you!

When the Daylily Show began everyone was just so anxious. Seeing friends bring in Daylilies. Seeing the sales tables properly placed and prepared for visitors and spectators. Seeing the Judges and their Clerks as they moved toward the displayed daylilies to begin their work. Amid all of the excitement a Reporter for the Marietta Daily Journal appeared and then on Sunday, June 14, 2009, there was a full page story about the Daylily Show. It is good to have the local newspaper to cover a Daylily Show. People love daylilies and want to know what is happening in the daylily world. Here are two pictures of the show.

When it came time for Lunch we were treated to a fine "Bowtie Pasta" meal with a wonderful dessert. Plenty of Tea and Coffee. We had 91 members to attend the Luncheon. At the Luncheon we were delighted to present Rita Buehner with the "Sarah Sikes Sequence Award" given by the American Hemerocallis Society. What an honor to have Rita win this award. Rita showed a sequence of pictures from the Cobb County Daylily Show for 2008. This is such an honor for Rita to win this award. Rita was given a Pewter Tray that was engraved showing her achievement. Here is a picture of Rita receiving her award.

At our Luncheon Ms. Patty Franklin, the Cobb County Show Chairperson, made the announcement as to which daylily it was that won "Best in the Show." To the surprise of many, it was my Seedling 7-233. Here is a picture. Seedlings hardly ever win a Best in the Show award. The reason is that it is hard for a seedling to have the "distinction" necessary to satisfy the stringent Judging standards. However, Seedling 7-233 more than satisified these standards. It is 30" tall with 3-way branching and 20 buds. It has a 5 1/2" daylily and the daylily is distinctive because it has an obvious green edge. Seedling 7-233 continued to show the green edge on its petals all during the show and was just a "gem of a seedling." I was pleased that it won.

Then, there was another award. I was pleased to receive the "Ophelia Taylor Horticultural Award." To win this award an entrant must submit five different daylilies that each must score 95 points. This is a difficult task. I had to carefully consider each daylily to be satisfied that it met the high standard of 95 points. The daylilies that I entered were as follows: LYDIA'S REGAL ROBE, MARIETTA FULL HOUSE, RANDY STEPHENS, VIOLENT ETCHINGS, and LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Each daylily was distinct in appearance and together they made a fine display of color. I thank my friend Marlee Price for her help and encouragement in insisting that I compete for this important award. Thanks Marlee!

When the Daylily Show was completed at 4:00 p.m. we were all delighted with what we had experienced.

Bill