A Wonderful Week

Hello Daylily Friends,

I have had a wonderful week. First let me tell you what happened this past week-end. Our good friends, Mike and Sandy Holmes from River Bend Gardens in Ohio came to visit. They specifically came to speak to our Cobb County Daylily Society meeting that took place yesterday, that is, on Sunday, September 19, 2010. Diana and I went to pick up Mike and Sandy at the Atlanta Airport on Saturday afternoon, September 18, and then we came home and walked all across our gardens. Mike and Sandy noticed that you can now see completely through the new plastic covering on our Greenhouse. I'm sure that this new plastic will make it easier for our seedlings and for our established daylilies to all grow well. There will be more sunlight. On Saturday evening our good friends David and Camilla Arthur came over, and we all had a wonderful dinner together. We didn't go to bed until midnight because we talked so much about daylilies. As Martha Stewart would say, it is a good thing to be a friend with those who love daylilies. Then, on Sunday morning, I had to get up and go to Church to teach Sunday School. I was able to get back to the house and then we went to the restaurant to have breakfast together. Then we enjoyed more wonderful conversation about odd topics like politics. Then, we proceeded to our 2:00 p.m. daylily meeting.

At our meeting Mike and Sandy talked about their introductions, and indeed, it is wonderful to see pictures of their new daylilies. This was the first time that I had seen pictures of Mike and Sandy's plants. I must report that Mike and Sandy will be speaking in February, 2011 at the Mid-Winter Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. I would encourage my daylily friends from across the States to take the time to attend this convention. It will be worth your time to come and see and hear Mike and Sandy. I should also add that Mike and SAndy have an 11 acre nursery. They get up in the morning and drive a short distance to their nursery where they work all day. Then they go home in the evening. Growing daylilies is like an "exploration" for Mike and Sandy. Mike grows the big, round daylilies, and Sandy grows the spiders and the unusual form daylilies.

I should also note that our Cobb County meeting we had 41 friends in attendance, and we had 4 new members to attend. It was great to all get back together after a grand summer of daylilies.

Another event that happened this past week was that on Wednesday morning I got up at 5:00 a.m., and went with five other people in the agricultural business to a "big" meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had to get up at 5:00 a.m. to catch the ride that left at 6:30 a.m. My time in Knoxville was very good. I was able to meet directly with a representative of the "Jiffy Peat Pot" Company, and I learned a lot about peat pots that I did not know. I ultimately bought some 3 inch peat pots that were 7 inches in depth. These 3 x 7" peat pots were meant for blueberries, but it seems to me that they should work very well for daylilies. I also met with other manufacturer representatives about such topics as greenhouses, plastic growing pots, and various weed control chemicals. Got back home about 7:30 p.m. Thanks to Griffin Greenhouse and Nursery Supplies for sponsoring this wonderful trip.

Then this past Sunday afternoon, on September 5, 2010, Diana and I went to the meeting of the Greater Atlanta Daylily Society. The afternoon meal was just outstanding and tremendous. It was all prepared by Ms. Angie Tatum who is the Club's President. There was Pork and Chicken and Potato Salad and Cole Slaw and fresh garden beans and desserts and more desserts. I thought that all of this wonderful food came from a catering company, and I was surprised to learn that Angie prepared it all herself. She has training from past employment to know how to accomplish such an incredible task. Angie's husband Jeff was there to help Angie get it all ready for everyone to enjoy. We talked with each other, we looked back over our daylily season, and we all are looking forward to this coming spring.

I say again, it was a wonderful week.

Bill