Inside this issue...  (click to select a topic)

5 year old Connor Zywiciel

The next generation of pollen dabbers in Region 7

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Happy New Year! Here we are with our first publication of 2004 in The New Region 7. There is much that has happened since we last met and much more to look forward to. 2003 gave us new recognition with the AHS, a newsletter to be proud of, the reality of daylilies growing in the deserts of Arizona, tragedy from the San Diego fires, new display gardens, a Regional meeting that set the bar a little higher and formerly unheard of participation in the AHS Popularity Poll. I hope you are not satisfied, as resting on our laurels is not an option.

Here we are, only 4 ˝ months into the year, and look what has been accomplished. First, I'd like everyone to give a hearty welcome to Margie Heldt, our new Regional Publicity Director. Margie is a member of The Nor-Cal Daylily Group and will add a much-needed dimension to our band of Region 7 mavericks. She will be contacting the various clubs for newsletter articles and individual Region 7 members for news and notes of the New Region 7. Don't look now, she may be zeroing in on you for a personal article for the next edition of The Hemerocallis Register

Region 7 has sponsored a benefit auction for Sanford Roberts, which netted over $3,500. Once all of the bids are collected, the money will be forwarded to Sanford to help pickup some of what his insurance will not.

Our very own website, http://www.ahsregion7.org, though still under construction, is up and running. Jeff Bailey is hard at work putting the pieces together for us. Once fully functional, it will be a valuable source of information for our members. Stop by and take a peek. Your comments are welcome. You'll want to add this to your favorites and visit often.

A new AHS Display Garden, Eloise & Gene Koonce's residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been added to our growing list of display gardens. I have personally witnessed that daylilies do live in the hot, hot desert. We would be hard pressed to find better ambassadors for daylilies than Gene & Eloise! Keep your eyes on the Arizona group. While their numbers are currently small, they are a feisty and fun bunch! Their enthusiasm is such that I have not seen in quite some time. Not quite one year young, and they are already planning their first flower show for next year and I heard some whispers about hosting a Regional!

We have added 8 new Garden Judges to our region and reenlisted another. New this year are, Roberta Brenner, W. D. Herman-Walker, Bonnie & Stan Holley, Marilyn Johnson (Mort Morss's little sister!), Elisabeth Lassanyi, Kelvin Lew and Don Rainey. The one and only Bob Brooks has renewed his interest and his registration as a Garden Judge.

What do we have to look forward to? For starters, the 2004 Region 7 meeting to be held at the outstanding Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, from 7/9-11. We have not one, not two, but three guest speakers booked for the Saturday. Gunda Abajian, Luddy Lambertson and Bob Schwarz will dazzle your senses with their programs. By popular demand, Daylily Bingo will add to your enjoyment. Photo Phuzzies is sure to test your discerning eyes and looks to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys! You will have the opportunity to tour the gardens of the incomparable Huntington or educate yourself in one of the labs being setup for your pleasure. Of course there will be food and, you guessed it, the world famous locally, Region 7 Auction. That bar is once again being raised. Nobody does it better!

Also on the horizon is the 2004 AHS Popularity Poll. With a 38% participation rate last year, we blew the doors off any prior year's participation in Region 7. Of course you know that this isn't nearly good enough. We were second in the nation only to Region 8. No one else was even close. I know you can feel what's coming. That's right, a contest! I have tossed the glove and the friendly challenge has been accepted. Everything is at stake. All that I can tell you is that 50% participation will not be enough to bring home the bacon! Second place is not an option this year. None of this do your best stuff is allowed. We must be the best!

Finally, I am pleased to announce that every current Region 7 officer will represent us at the National Convention in St. Louis this year. Why is this important? In order for us to continue to grow we need to see how others run their shows. Margie, Sue, Eloise and Gary are the movers and shakers of our Region. With their help, and yours, we will know no bounds.

Of course there's more. Just keep up the good work and read on.

Neal

I have just completed my first year representing Region 7 on the AHS board of directors. It has been a wonderful year. The gardens in Charlotte, NC were "as good as it gets!" Dan Hansen and his girlfriend Chris picked me up at the airport in Charlotte, and for two days before the convention and two days after the convention we toured open gardens in the area for a total of 8 tour gardens and 8 open gardens packed into one week.

The board meetings go quickly and much is accomplished. The meetings were much more interesting than I expected them to be. Most members of the board serve diligently and mostly at their own expense, for the benefit of the national society. In order to be a member of the board you must have attended at least three national conventions. I just qualified by attending the Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, and then Charlotte as a board member - all were wonderful - just when you think it cannot get better it does. I'm sure the convention in Saint Louis, MO will be fantastic. This year we had only four people from region 7 attend the National Convention and all of us were on the staff or board.

The Fall Board meeting was hosted by the newly formed Hoosier's club in Indianapolis in October where we were treated with a full day of meetings then an awards banquet that night. I need your input on whatever your feel is an issue that should be raised at the board meetings. The next board meeting will be June 24th in Saint Louis. You can reach me at gcolby1@san.rr.com, or (858) 566-0503. Before a topic can be discussed it must be put on the agenda due to the great amount of material that must be covered at each meeting so if you have an item you feel should be addressed by the AHS please let me know in time to submit it for discussion.

Each year I attend I get to know more people and the friendships run deeper and stronger. If you have never attended a convention I urge you to go especially while it is close making the trip shorter and the cost less.

As a member of the board I was surprised to learn that the director position is not viewed as a regional representative and in fact Region 8 Oregon & Washington is currently represented by a member living in Texas. It was not long ago that the board of directors were appointed by sitting members of the board and not elected by the regional membership.

It is the Regional Vice President who really serves the region and who makes things happen at the regional level. It is Neal Richmond who must "crack the whip" to keep things moving here in California, Arizona and Hawaii. I urge you to get behind Neal and give him your full support - his job is hard enough with our full support. Each one of us must help to make the region thrive and to make the events fun and meaningful. Write articles for publication in the Regional Newsletter. Vote for the popularity poll and volunteer to help with local and regional events. Share plants, chair a show, call and invite a member to come to the next meeting, bring a plant for the raffle or sale table, or bring some snacks for the meeting breaks.

Neal has worked hard to increase the number of horticulture and garden judges in our region but we are allowed several more than we have. Even at this point we barely have enough judges to put on a sanctioned daylily show. Please keep your status current and volunteer to help whenever possible.

Neal asked me to write about myself and my hopes and dreams for the future. My name is Margie Heldt and I live in San Jose, CA. I have only been knowledgeable of " the wonderful world of daylilies" for 2 years and have been a member of the AHS for 1˝ years. I attended my first Nor-Cal meeting April 2003 and my first Regional in San Diego, in July 2003.

While at the Regional, Neal asked me to write my impressions as a first time regional attendee for the regional newsletter. I said "yes". A few weeks later he asked me to take the position of Regional Publicity Director. I was very hesitant, being so new to the organization, but said that I would help even if I didn't take the title. Neal wrote me back and said that he found out that I had not been in the AHS long enough to hold a position. I was very pleased to hear this, especially because this position seemed to have a lot to do with writing and my love was photography, not writing. A few months later Neal came back to me and said that he got special permission for me to be able to hold the position, if I was still willing to. He was very kind and said not to feel under any pressure, but that he would be very appreciative, if I would help.

I had noticed from attending the Nor Cal meetings and the regional, that on the surface anyway, so few people were doing so much. Neal's speech at the regional really made a point of this, also. So, I had a choice to sit back and just say no, or to give my assistance when and where it was asked for. With this in mind I decided to say "yes" and agreed to accept the position, of RPD.

One dream I have for the future is to see more people getting involved with the workings of the organization. The more people who share the load, the less work there will be for any one person. Just think about it, what could you do to lessen the load of your officers and people in positions? I can think of many things. Number one, just ask them! Then be willing to lend a hand.

Another dream I have is to bring the knowledge of daylilies to the people and gardener, who are presently unfamiliar with them. I would like to make 'daylily' a household word! I like to take photographs of flowers and have a small greeting card venture. Many people see my photos of daylilies they don't know what they are. This gives me the opportunity to introduce them to the daylily. As I am expanding my collection of daylilies, I will have more subjects to photograph! So, one small way that I will be accomplishing this goal is through my photography. Can you think of any ways you could share your love and knowledge of daylilies with others?

I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know more of you! I will be requiring the assistance of all of you. There are some members that I will be contacting myself, but would appreciate it, if others would e-mail me with articles and photographs of interest for the newsletter. We may not be able to publish all your writings, but we will try to select the ones that I think will be of interest the most members.

We will be writing an article about one member in each issue. So, please choose a member you would like to tell us about and write an article and send it into me. Although each issue will feature only one member, I will save the articles & see that they are included in a future edition.

I thank you in advance for your assistance. With your help, I am sure this will be an enjoyable experience for me! Please feel free to e-mail me at: picturelady@sbcglobal.net.

Three years ago, the Orange County Iris and Daylily Club and the Southern California Hemerocallis and Amaryllis Society hosted the 2001 Regional Meeting at the Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. We received a great deal of positive feedback from the attendees about our choice of location. Aside from the Huntington being the magnificent and world-renowned institution that it is, many were thankful to be able to stay in one place for the whole day with all the facilities they needed near at hand, not to mention the dozen or so various gardens to visit. Although it is fun to participate in the garden tours that are usually a part of every regional meeting, those tours can be rather tiring when you have to clamber on and off a bus all day, sometimes have only limited time available to visit at each stop, and have a bossy bus captain telling you what to do and where to go! And, of course, if people are too tired I they might just fall asleep during the daylily auction later in the evening. And that is a really serious problem.

You might wonder what this is all leading up to. Well, you've probably already guessed, because Neal Richmond, our auspicious RVP, spilled the beans in his recent mailing. Because of our wonderful experience three years ago, we asked fellow 'daylily fan' Jim Folsom, Director of the Botanical Gardens at The Huntington, if we could use his spectacular facilities again. He is happy to oblige. Those who attended three years ago will see the amazing progress that has been made to the New Botanical Center since then. And we may even get to see our favorite perennial, as the daylilies planted just prior to the last meeting should now be mature clumps and in full bloom. Those of you who have never been to The Huntington are in for a real treat.

For those of you not familiar with this wonderful establishment, it is a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate developer Henry Edwards Huntington and opened to the public in 1928. It is "an oasis of art and culture set amidst 150 acres of breathtaking gardens" (see www.huntington.org). Three art galleries and a library showcase magnificent collections of paintings, sculptures, fare books, manuscripts, and decorative arts. Highlights of the collection include the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (c. 1410), a Gutenberg Bible (c. 1455), Thomas Gainsborough's masterpiece The Blue Boy (c. 1770L Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie (1794), and Rogier van der Weyden's Madonna and Child (15th century).

The botanical collection features over 14,000 different species of plants, including Amorphophallus titanum, 'the world's largest bloom'. The 150 acres of stunning gardens are divided into multiple areas: the Rose Garden, Shakespeare and Herb Gardens, Desert Gardens, Japanese Garden, Australian Garden, Subtropical and Jungle Gardens, Palm Garden, North Vista and Camellia Collection, and Art Gallery Garden. The first phase of a new 12-acre Chinese Garden, the largest outside of China, commenced in late 2002. And just in time for our meeting, the new Children's Garden, located right next to our meeting place, will open on June 19th .

Okay, that's enough about the location, Now for the program, which is equally as exciting. We are lucky to have secured three outstanding daylily hybridizers as our guest speakers, all of whom are traveling a great distance to be with us.

Our first morning speaker will be Gunda Abajian of Ledgewood Gardens, a family owned and operated nursery in Deland, Florida. Gunda has a diverse tetraploid program that includes both large. round flowered daylilies with intricate eye and ruffled edge patterns, as well as UF's (unusual forms) in a variety of colors and eye patterns. Her smaller diploid program has resulted in the development of unusual mini-UF's with complex blue-eyed patterns. For a peek at Gunda's latest introductions, log on to her website: www.ledgewoodgardens.com.

Following Gunda will be Ludlow (Luddy) Lambertson, owner of Art Gallery Gardens of Lake Helen, Florida. His main hybridizing focus is on blue eyes, as well as layered eyes and edges on regular, spider, variant and unusual formed daylilies in all colors. In the words of fellow hybridizer Dan Trimmer, a recent slide show by Luddy "blew his socks off". Luddy's website is: www.artgallerygardens.com.

After lunch, attendees will be able to choose their afternoon activities from a number of options, For the scientifically-minded or the just plain curious, Jim Folsom will offer a lab session which will be comprised of a close-up look at various plant structures (from pollen to rust) focusing, of course, on daylilies and their kin. Alternatively, for those who have never been to The Huntington before (and even for those who have) there will be guided walks available that will include a general tour of the gardens along with a specialty tour of either the succulent or the Asian gardens. The third alternative is for attendees to tour the gardens on their own and at their own pace. There should be plenty of time to participate in at least two of these activities.

After regrouping for our reception and dinner, we will hear our third speaker, Bob Schwarz of Rainbow Daylily Gardens, East Hampton, New York. Bob's focus is on Unusual Forms. In fact, he is known as the 'Father of Unusual Forms' due to his efforts (successful) to have this new class of daylily officially recognized by the American Hemerocallis Society. Check out these unique flowers at: www.daylily.net/bobandmimi/. Bob's program promises to be fascinating, and we are so grateful that he was able to take a couple of days off from his hybridizing activities for a quick trip to the West Coast.

Rounding out the day, of course, will be the daylily sale and auction, always a great opportunity to pick up some fabulous plants at bargain prices and add to Region 7's coffers in the process.

So, daylily fans, let's get those registration forms in the mail. Nancy Webb is eagerly waiting by her mailbox for their arrival. We hope you can join us.

To date, we have the following promised for auction:

ADA MAY MUSIK*, Lambertson '04
ANCIENT WISDOM*, Petit '03
BLUE EYES GLANCE*, Lambertson '02
EXECUTIVE DECISION*, Petit '03
FAIREST OF THEM*, J. Salter '02
DIPPED IN HONEY*, EH Salter '02
DOUBLE IMAGE*, P Stamile '03
HALF MOON KEY*, Petit '02
JULIE NEWMAR*, Morss '01
MICRO BURST*, J. Trimmer '03
QUASIMODO*, P. Stamile '01
RHYTHM DEVINE*, Petit '03
VILLA DEL SOL*, P. Stamile '01

Since this is the sole fundraiser for Region 7, your generous donations would be greatly appreciated. We are looking for plants with a EUREKA value of $50 and up for the Auction. Plants with a value of $25-50 will be sold for a very attractive fixed price on the sale table.

Your donations will help keep The New Region 7 growing. Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance for your support

Neal Richmond
(925) 689-1595
dadsplace@astound.net

Sue Brown is known to most of us, as our Region 7 Treasure. She is also the procurement person for our local Nor-Cal club. I had the pleasure of meeting Sue through an on-line garden forum. She invited me to attend the Nor Cal meetings a year ago. Since then she has gifted me with her friendship along with many daylilies from her garden in San Jose, CA.

Sue grew up with a mother who loved daylilies. As Sue tells the story, she thought daylilies only came in orange and yellow. Since these were not her favorite colors, she was not into daylilies. Her love of daylilies began when she saw the lavender spider FLUTTERBYE. After that, Sue attended a garden tour garden of Jim and Marci Peterson in Los Altos, with her mom. It was here that she was just "blown away with their beauty". Sue just sat and stared at Janice Brown and daylilies with gilded edges. She thought they looked like "crusted sugar"! From then on, Sue was hooked on daylilies and attended the Nor Cal meeting with her Mom. This was in 1997.

In the spring of 1998, Sue re-landscaped her whole backyard, with a pond & paths and planted roses, annuals and perennials. One year later, she changed much of this again…this time daylilies took up a great deal of her yard. As the years pass, more and more plants are being removed to find space for her ever-growing daylily collection. Sue's yard is fairly small, but in it she has about 100 daylilies in containers plus about another 100 + in the ground.

In 2001 when the need arose for a new Procurement Chair for Nor-Cal, Sue accepted the position. As the Procurement Chair, she felt it was necessary to meet the hybridizers and therefore attended the Cam Am. At the Cam Am she was introduced to many hybridizers and viewed many slides of seedlings and the saw the direction that the future introductions would be taking. After that Sue visited Mecca, where she again had the chance to again meet many hybridizers and this time to visit their gardens.

Sue can often be seen with a camera in her hand. She loves to take photos and takes some beautiful ones. Some of her photos have been featured in daylily catalogues and stories.

Besides Sue's love of daylilies, she is very committed to her family. She tries continuously to balance her two loves. Sue shares her love of daylilies with her family. She is thrilled to have her 5-year-old grandson Connor, share her love. Sue began hybridizing this past year and is teaching Connor how to do it too! (See front page of this issue!)

Sue enjoys club meetings and meeting other daylily lovers on on-line forums and the robin. She loves to invite others to the Nor Cal meetings and to get them involved with the AHS activities. Sue is always there to help and is presently working on the auction to benefit Sanford Roberts, which begins April 5th. Besides all of this, Sue recently became a grandmother to a new baby girl, Natalie in March.

I could go on and on, but I think it is time to bring my story to an end. My story would not be complete without telling you that Pat Stamile has honored Sue this year, by naming a most beautiful introduction after her….SUE BROWN !! A real beauty of a daylily, for a real beauty of a person. Congratulations Sue!

Thank you Sue, for who you are and for all you do, I applaud you! It has been my pleasure to know you and to introduce you to others!

Sue's delightful San Jose garden

SUE BROWN *, P. Stamile, registered '04, release pending.

Region Seven has eighteen garden judges, and eight of those are new this year. Congratulations go to Roberta Brenner, W.D. Herman-Walker, Bonnie and Stan Holley, Marilyn Johnson, Elisabeth Lassanyi, Kelvin Lew, and Don Rainey.

For the remainder of you, please notice the year your appointment expires, as there are six judges whose terms expire in 2005. Please make plans to take garden judge's workshop two soon to qualify for renewal.

There have been several changes made in the awards ballots this past year, but the most obvious were the elimination of both the L. Ernest Plouf Award for consistently fragrant Hemerocallis and the classification of "Spider Variant".

From now on the definition of Spider will change to include previously classified Spider Variants. In other words, a "Spider" will be defined as a daylily whose petal length to width ratio is at least 4:1

The Region needs new Exhibition Judges! There are currently only nine senior Exhibition judges, two student judges, Roberta Brenner and Kelvin Lew, plus four students in training in the Region. It would be most helpful if the clubs would consider presenting Clinics for judges training for their members during the year.

Please contact me for additional information.

What is a garden judge, and why does Region Seven need more of them?

Answers to these questions may be found in the Spring 2004 AHS Journal. One of the principal responsibilities of a garden judge is to vote annually for cultivar awards. These include the Stout Silver Medal, Awards of Merit, Honorable Mention, and the numerous specialty awards. The tabulations for this year's winners may be found on pages 37 through 45. It doesn't take a "rocket scientist" to realize that the impact on the award results by Region Seven voters is very limited, (six votes for ED BROWN in the Award of Merit category) was the largest amount registered for any one of the selections.

Region 7 has a number of great hybridizers, plus regional members have their own favorite cultivars. The only way to have a regional impact on the AHS awards is to have more of our members become garden judges.

Currently of 195 AHS members in Region 7, only 19 hold Garden Judge status. How may this shortage be corrected? First, join AHS, as one of the first requirements to become a judge is three years membership in AHS. Additional requirements are: Attend and pass the test for Garden Judges Workshop One. This is a short slide presentation on the award structure as well as garden etiquette.

Attend Garden Judges Workshop Two. This must be given in a garden during bloom season, as it introduces the student to judging the entire daylily plant. File a garden judge's application with the RVP and appointments are for five years.

It's relatively simple, and you learn a great deal about daylilies in the process. So please consider becoming a judge.

There are friends with whom you'd share your most intimate secrets; who love you in spite of your faults. There are friendly acquaintances, and neighbors who, if you're lucky, turn out to be friends as well. With the current popularity of personal computers, I think the word "Friend" has taken on an added dimension!

About five years ago I saw a beautiful daylily on the internet- but what was it? I wrote the AHS editor, who found out from "e-mail Robin" members that it was BANNED IN BOSTON. Another question - "What's the Robin?" The Robin is a group of approximately 1500 "Hemaholics". Some members email nearly every day, ("Time to head for the hot tub with Samuel Adams"), others very seldom, ("Long time lurker, first time writer"). When rust first hit, we had the information. Top hybridizers share their knowledge and wisdom. Others who are excellent photographers share their pictures. We are kept abreast of when meetings and symposiums are held all over the U.S. and Canada. Best of all, some lovely friendships develop!

After I had asked about BANNED IN BOSTON, one member who lives in Alabama, wrote "My wife and I are coming to San Francisco, I'll bring you BIB from my garden! Naturally, I invited them to dinner (THEN I found out he's a gourmet cook!). We went to my cabin, and to Yosemite. At the end of their stay, he proposed a toast, "To the end of a beautiful vacation, and the start of a beautiful friendship"!

The ten-year-old daughter of a member, Mark Carpenter, in TX had won a contest on SW Airlines, for a trip anyplace in the U.S. Her dream was to see redwood trees, and the father asked if anyone knew of someplace around this area where they could rent a cabin. I figured anyone who is that good to his daughter must be an OK guy! I lent them the key to the cabin, and found them to be the most delightful people! It turns out that he and my husband had been in the same college fraternity, but at different schools! Last fall, I flew to San Diego to hear him speak, and my daughter, who lives in Southern CA, got "Hooked" on daylilies after meeting Sanford Roberts. (Do you suppose it was that huge bouquet of them that he gave her…?) Most recently, a Michigan member came to the Bay Area, and we were to meet for lunch. Five hours later, after lunch, a trip to the garden, and a bird watching walk, we parted feeling as if we had been friends forever! There is a man in St. Louis who is my singing mentor, always ready with wonderful suggestions and moral support. I swap funny stories with a lady in Australia. It seems I was in nurses' training with one lady on the East Coast, back in 1952! When my son had chemotherapy, people from all over the country sent their prayers and well wishes. Thanks to the Internet, several members of our Nor-Cal Daylily society have become friends, too! "Bosom buddies"? No. "Friendly acquaintances"? More than that. Sharing a love for daylilies, I think, makes for a special kind of friendship.

As one Robin member (Kay Day) put it so well- "We come for the flower, but WE STAY FOR THE PEOPLE"! That says it all, doesn't it?

Anita Hartshorn Walnut Creek and Sonora

EDITOR'S NOTE: As an AHS member you can join the e-mail robin by sending a note to Tim Fehr, fehrtj@uwec.edu, with a request to join and a short bio of your daylily life. You will then be "hooked up" with hemaholics from around the world.

The afternoon of Saturday, October 25th was a "Halcyon Summer" day as October was leisurely drawing to a close. Soon the cooler and shorter days of November's light would be upon us as it was only a few hours until 1:00 a.m. and the ritual of turning back clocks for an hour would occupy some of us. The 875 hemerocallis crosses for the summer had been planted from the three-week ( or more) stay in one of the three refrigerators used for storage of tet seeds dating back to 1990.

In late afternoon this writer watered the year's production of seed and noted many green shoots pushing the emerald heads above the planting mix. Pleasant musings entertained all as at least an HM, if not Stout Medal, winners. All those crosses with GRACE FROM ABOVE, IT. DAVIS, LOVE SENT FROM HEAVEN, DIL. ROBIN NICHOLS, THE FLOWER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GRIFF, JULIE NEWMAR, SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE, EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, and the genes "captured" in my garden all the way back to Mr. Russell's Tet. LIME PAINTED LADY.

The 1,500 sq.ft. shade house was "put to bed" for the night and I turned to greeting my four partners: Armani, Czar, Erica Kane, and Portrait-the last of our 44-yr. career of successful breeding and showing of purebred dogs. All are aging champions that had their "day in the sun" long ago as they attained AKC Championship of Record. The thoughts of the extra hour of sleep later generated energy in my being-I poured two second-nuckles of Scotch over twelve ice cubes and began assembling ingredients to prepare a Green-Chili Tomato Quiche-not one--always two.

This writer was "putting to bed" memories of one of the finest summers I could possibly remember. I was learning to become a Scratch DJ to aid painful arthritis and I was discovering a new "me." I was into HipHop and loving every moment of it! After dinner, I listened to a half-dozen jazz albums that had arrived by mail earlier, and a final goodnight to my precious dogs now soundly sleeping in their crates, I turned in for a sound sleep.

When I awoke at the "new hour" of 6:30 a.m. next morning my life was inalterably changed. It will never, ever, be the same!

A walk around the pool perimeter revealed an "angry red" sky from ground's floor to sky's ceiling in a full half circle. It was frightening and fiery red with an intermix of black, thin smoke. It seemed so distant, yet so ominous! Back inside I turned to making coffee, exercising the four dogs and taking them to their individual kennel space. After their morning treat of a bone my thoughts turned to the foreboding danger of what I had seen at the earlier hour upon arising. Outside the fiery intensity and the "anger" in the roiling red clouds gave indication that this day would be a day like no other.

The bit of paradise I claim as home is a three-acre strip of good dirt. The Pacific Ocean laps its gentle waves ashore about 25 miles due West. From the Northeast, "my mountain," El Capitan, in its majesty, lofts skyward and fills a fourth of a half circle with its base of rocks and scant vegetation. The opposite side of the back half circle is where the sky dips to the earth and touches my garden and its lilies. Daylily fanciers have remarked: "You found the spot where the sky kisses the earth and developed a daylily garden." During Summer Solstice the daylilies undergo a complete change. Evidence of this was so amply displayed at the Southwest Hem Society's club meeting the first Saturday of October 2003. Mark Alan Carpenter was the guest speaker and this writer cut 36 well-grown scapes in full bloom and sallied forth to impress Mr. Carpenter with the looks of "California" daylilies. A scape of OVERALL WINNER (Salter) had five branches and five open blooms. A scape of LEE PICKLES (Salter) was an attention-getter, even for Mr. Carpenter, as he remarked it was the best branched and tallest scape of that cultivar he had seen. LEE PICKLES had five branches and four open blooms. Several scapes of Bob Carr's PRESUMED INNOCENT and John Kennebrew's SPACECOAST DISCOVERY had five-way branching and four freshly opened blooms in such static balance of each other one could hear the sighs of members as they viewed the scapes I had "lugged" 84 miles to impress Mr. Carpenter. (It was worth it, Mark!) The best scape was Salter's EDGE OF REA YEN with five-way branching and four open blooms. Scapes of JULIE NEWMAR and SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE were equally stunning, as was ASSYMETRY. October is a good time to dig and replant and to set seeds, if the weather is right. The fire loss of maturing seed pods set in early fall was enormous. (This, in addition to normal seed set in late April, May, June and early July.) The shade house was never used for daylilies except for seed germination.

It was in this idyllic setting that I paced the driveway, barefooted, in PI tops, Levis and binoculars, all morning observing the fire as it descended the tall slopes and ridges of the mountainous terrain of this area. Through it all runs Oak Creek (see large photo) a dry stream bed most of the summer with an overgrowth of perhaps fifty years without burning or clearing. The winds on this morning were easily 45 miles, or more, per hour and blowing in all directions-like a Sidewinder moving on hot desert sand. Oak Creek is less than a half mile ITom my door with a paved roadway on either side and continuing development of a community of a middle school, two fire stations, three large plant nurseries, horse owners, and the usual convenience stores; most felt we were as safe as possible, with our annual weed abatement programs in effect and proper greenbelt landscaping. The giant Interstate 8 highway is less than a mile from the garden's back gate. We were wrong!

About 10:30 I walked up the driveway for the last time for this day. Suddenly, I turned to look again and noticed neighbors atop their roofs sprinkling rooftops with a meager force of water. (We have ten pounds per square inch.) A pump and pressure tank has always been necessary to sustain pressure for a shower, an automatic washer, and, in my case, to supply continuous drip irrigation to three acres of plantings. I called out to the neighbor whose property adjoins my plot and inquired: "Will that do any good?" His reply: "Probably not." His home later burned to a pile of ashes.

Suddenly, the telephone was ringing away. It was my neighbor and plant friend, a retired Fire Chief with California State Forestry Department after 29 years service. In the fewest of words he indicated he had watched TV and had had his Scanner Radio up since 2:00 a.m. His simple statement: "Robbie, the fire is coming. My daughter is evacuating my mom to a hotel in town. I'll be there in ten minutes to evacuate you and the four dogs. You have three minutes and you will not take anything." (As luck would have it, I had been involved in my first traffic accident the previous Wednesday and had surrendered my car next day for needed minor repairs. It would be three weeks without a car.)

Mike is the dearest of friends, and he looks after me like a father. I located four metal dog crates in the garage and quickly hosed each of all dust and critters, if any, and stacked them in the driveway. I hurried inside to look for the cardboard box in which I had placed our Living Trust, my wife's death certificates, one or two un-certificated stock certificates, my discharge and military career papers and trust deed to the home, including all court up-dates due death of my wife as I had re-directed my complete life following death of a spouse. I carried the box outside and placed it on a chair on the porch. Mike arrived in his truck and we rapidly loaded the empty crates with the four dogs. I placed the box of family records on the backseat. Fortunately, I had put on shoes and picked up my wallet from the kitchen counter. I asked Mike to wait while I locked all doors to prevent the wind from blowing them open and starting a fire inside the home. I locked those big "Surfs Up" Blue doors with the panes of iridescent orange glass for the last time. I walked through the huge living room and glanced at my three Nikon cameras and the many attachments and supplementary lenses with the carry bags on the floor: I'll never know why I did not pick them up. (The cameras were found three weeks later in the ashes; all three are fused and melted together.)

I turned and walked out the garage and locked the door. Mike was yelling: "Robbie, we're leaving!"

People were standing in awe on the road outside their homes observing the fires as the oncoming peril it rapidly proved to be to all of us. We turned right out of the driveway and as we drove north on Oak Creek Road the flames were leaping up the banks adjacent to the roadway. We had escaped! I was numb from the trauma.

Initially, I had thought it would be best to remain behind and fight the flames with a meager stream of water from a garden hose. I would have been cremated! (To be concluded in Fall 2004 Newsletter.)

The following pictures are just a few that have been generously submitted by Sanford. To view them all, click here. Thanks to Sue Brown for setting this up.

Oak Creek


Pool area before... and after

Betsy, Hamblin, Pat McDorman, Gary Colby, Anita Hartshorn, Jeanine Lussier, Jodi & Pete La Marca, Sean McDorman, Miles McDorman & Jeannine Braun, helping with the resurrection.

March 10, 2004. Wild lupin luxuriantly growing in the aftermath. Such a beauty!

It looks as if 2004 will be another busy year for us.

We started off the year at our January meeting with Geri Cibellis, Master Gardener, who advised us on how to plan and maintain a perennial garden organically. She was kind enough to bring with her a quantity of perennial plants and each club member got to take one home as their own personal door prize.

At the February meeting, John Schoustra, long-time club member and owner of Greenwood Daylily Gardens, talked about daylilies in the landscape. Of course, we all know how to 'collect' daylilies, but John's talk was geared more towards the effective use of our favorite perennial in various settings. His slide show included views of not only his own home garden, but also of locations where daylilies have been used successfully to enhance government and commercial properties, such as Beverly Hills City Hall, South Coast Plaza, Hoag Hospital, and Fletcher Jones Mercedes Dealership.

March's meeting will feature iris hybridizer Brad Kasperek of Zebra Gardens in Utah, many of whose introductions bear such whimsical names as Gnus Flash, Bewilderbeast and Gazellegant.

In April, our club will participate in Fullerton Arboretum's Green Scene. This is an annual plant sale that draws thousands of gardeners and serves as a major fundraiser for us. Usually, the instant the gates open our booth is inundated with hordes of iris and daylily lovers anxious to get their hands on the hundreds of plants the club has grown or which have been donated by our members.

Once Green Scene is behind us, we will start gearing up for the Region 7 meeting, July 9-11, 2004. Our club is sponsoring the event this year, along with the Southern California Hemerocallis and Amaryllis Society. The meeting will take place at the spectacular Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. The day's speakers, all hybridizers, have been lined up: Gunda Abajian of Ledgewood Gardens, Deland, FL;

Luddy Lambertson of Art Gallery Gardens, Lake Helen, FL; and Bob Schwarz of Rainbow Daylily Gardens, East Hampton, NY. Aside from three dynamic speakers, special guided tours and plant-related workshops are also being arranged. Please plan to join us for a fun and fascinating time.

We would like to thank all the members from numerous clubs who came down to help our own Sanford (Robbie) Roberts clean up and salvage his collection after the firestorm in October wiped out so much. We had several "work parties" and a new irrigation system is being put in place. We would also like to thank the hybridizers who offered replacement plants. Plant folks are GOOD folks!

The election of officers for Southwest Hemerocallis Society was held in December and the following folks stepped up to help guide the club.

Betsy Hamblin     President
Miles Mc Dorman     Vice President
Susan Marchetti     Treasurer
Pat Mc Dorman     Secretary/Newsletter

Gary Colby was appointed Procurement Chairman and Jodie La Marca assumed Hospitality duties. The officers have taken over their new assignments, and have promised several exciting programs for the next several months. We are hoping to have a "mini-procurement meeting" before the fall, and also a "show prep meeting" before the June show. A potluck get-together was mentioned for the summer when we don't normally have meetings.

Recently our newly elected VP, Miles Mc Dorman, gave a talk and demo on the different types of irrigation systems and products that could be used for our daylilies and gardens. He is a landscape contractor with 50 yrs experience.

We had a special guest for our March meeting. Bob Denman of Denman and Company Garden Tools in Orange, CA brought garden tool goodies to share with us. He designs, manufactures, and sells specialty ergonomic tools for the enthusiastic gardener.

A special bouquet of thanks is given to our new president. Betsy Hamblin has "volunteered" (been railroaded?) into being Show Chairman. Jeanine Lussier and Jodi La Marca have offered to assist, along with Gary Colby and Miles Mc Dorman. Nancy Webb has offered to arrange the judges for the event. We hope to have a bigger turnout for this year's show and want to share grooming tricks and success stories before the show so that everyone, whether backyard grower with a few lilies or larger growers with many plants, will want to "show off and share."

We have recently revised our membership roster and are actively recruiting new members through newspaper community events listings.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please call me.

Pat Mc Dorman
SECRETARY
760-724-8448
0ne4julio@aol.com

The daylily season is now upon us, and the first day of spring has now passed. With winter well behind us the Nor-Cal Group has now turned their focus to what brings us all together, Daylilies! There is much in store for the only club dedicated to daylilies in Northern California. Exhibitions, regional meetings, garden tours and hybridizing will soon occupy much of our time. It is said that the strength and viability of our organization is within the hands of our membership and in this we are truly blessed. Nor-Cal is very fortunate to have such a supportive group. Our membership is now over eighty and growing strong.

While the history of our club can surely go down as note worthy, look at some of the events we have in the works for this year. At our May 15th meeting we will have a guest speaker talking on daylily photography, both conventional and digital. Then on June 12th, we have our ever popular flower show at the newly remodeled Sheppard Center in Sacramento. Following the show weekend will be a new event on June 19th and 20th, Daylily Days. Club members across northern California will be opening their gardens for the touring and enjoyment of anyone wishing to see daylily gardens. For a list of gardens open to touring and in some cases, the purchase of plants, please write me and I'll be glad to forward it to you. Okay, no pauses allowed, I know several of our members are off to the AHS National in St. Louis, Missouri July 2nd-4th or the Region 7 Regional at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Southern California, July 10th. Then to wrap up the year, we have two fall meetings, a barbecue at Gold Coast Daylily Gardens September 11th, where our guest speaker will talk on growing of daylilies in a greenhouse culture. Finally, at the Shenandoah Valley Community Center in Plymouth, CA, on November 13th, we have a plan to coax out two of our favorite hybridizers and speakers from Florida.

In the words of our illustrious Regional VP "the bar has been raised". It seems our friends to the north in Region 8 had a popularity poll return, of 41% and we came in at 38%. I know our club is fully prepared to support Neal with his challenge that we can come up with a better return than our neighbors in the "cold" Pacific Northwest!

I would like anyone who loves daylilies as we do in Northern California, to considering joining our group. We have an excellent quarterly newsletter, multiple activities planned and a large membership just waiting to share their interests. Participation in the Nor-Cal Daylily Group is a gift to be treasured!

Thank you,
Jeff Corbett
Nor-Cal Daylily Group President

               American Hemerocallis Society-Region 7
               TREASURER'S REPORT-OCT 1-MAY 15, 2004

Opening Balance:                                         $10,238.85

Income: 
Newsletter-AHS Label Reimbursement           174.35	
Newsletter Subscriptions                      30.00		
Donations                                    140.00
                                           --------
                                            $344.35         $344.35
Expenses:
Regional Newsletter printing               1,396.38
Director Expense Allowance                   750.00
Officer Expense Allowance                    400.00
Insurance                                     61.50	
                                           --------
                                          $2,607.88       $2,607.88

Closing Balance                                           $7,975.32
                                                         ----------
Sue Brown, Treasurer, AHS Region 7
May 15, 2004

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to the Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona area to review Gene & Eloise Koonce's garden as part of the approval process for new Display Gardens. I was met at the airport by Gene, unmistakable in his new club shirt, and promptly whisked off to a regular meeting of the Desert Daylily Society. While this group is small in numbers, they certainly have plenty of enthusiasm for daylilies. After the meeting we went out to lunch and then off to the Koonce's.

Gene & Eloise's garden is unlike any that I have visited before. Of course there was the heat, it was about 102 that afternoon. I was informed that it wasn't really hot yet and of course it is a "dry" heat! They have done a lovely job of landscaping in the desert, with the focus on daylilies. Trees have been planted that are starting to provide some light shade and will negate the necessity of using shade cloth in the near future. Everything is irrigated by drip and they use a mulch of crushed rock to help conserve water. On May 15th they were near peak bloom. While many of the flowers were wilted that afternoon, at 6 AM the next day, they were wide open and looking terrific!

My heartfelt thanks to Gene, Eloise and their band of merry hemaholics for their hospitality and support of the AHS and Region 7. If you are going to be in the area, give them a call and plan a visit. You will not be disappointed.

Is your club having an event that requires a certificate of insurance? If so, the AHS maintains a Commercial General Liability policy that you can take advantage of. Contact:

Chasity Eiland
Harmon Cone Agency
7115 Halycon Summit Drive
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 273-7277
ceiland@harmoncone.com
(334) 273-9197, fax

2003 was a year of transition for Region 7. After a couple of years of what at best could be described as poor performance, events have shown a positive step forward.

With the trend towards diminishing Garden Judges numbers, there are seven members that have completed both clinics and submitted their applications for the 2004 year. This was done in the unusual fashion of holding both clinics over the course of one weekend, during our 2003 Regional Meeting held in San Diego June 28-29. This necessitated an exception from Lea Ann Williams, AHS Garden Judges Chair, and the efforts of David Kirchhoff as the instructor for both clinics. Without their support, we would not have been able to jump start Region 7 in this area.

The Region 7 newsletter, THE HEMEROCALLIS REGISTER. has made a significant move to a publication that is more relevant to its members. Page count has gone frmom 4-5, to 16 or more per printing. Several color pages have been added, with the pictures being submitted by members. Members are also submitting articles about events, hybridizing efforts, club meetings, etc.

Jeff Corbett is an up and coming hybridizer in Region 7 and the AHS. Bob Carr, on the AHS e-mail Robin, praised Jeff's 2003 introduction, SHELTER COVE, as the best cream yellow daylily he has ever seen. It is no wonder that Jeff has sold it out. Jeff's FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (Corbett, 2000), tied for the top vote getter in this year's Region 7 Popularity Poll.

The participation in this year's Region 7 Popularity Poll was 38%. This is compared to less than 10% over recent past years. A friendly challenge has been made to Region 8 (41 % participation in 2003) for the national honors to the top participation percentage. We hope to exceed 50% participation next year.

There have been two new additions to our AHS Display Gardens in Region 7, Gold Coast Daylilies and the private garden of Richard Bowen. Gold Coast Daylilies in Rockland, California, is owned by Stan and Bonnie Holley. Their home garden was approved in February for Display Garden status. They have recently partnered with Jeff Corbett, and are in the process of developing 13 acres for commercial sales of daylilies. Richard Bowen is an avid daylily enthusiast in Paradise, California. He has only been an AHS member for just over three years, and has succeeded in building a significant collection and achieved Display Garden status in July. These two additions have hopefully generated interest in an area that has been stagnant for several years in Region 7.

Gene and Eloise Koonce have started a new club, The Desert Daylily Society, in Arizona. These recent transplants from Texas have had to learn about growing daylilies and other plants in the desert. They have in a very short time, gathered 15 enthusiastic daylily growers and formed this club. There are already plans for their first show in 2005.

Respectfully submitted, Neal Richmond RVP-AHS Region 7 4 Wren Court Concord, CA 94519-1740

December 6, 2003

Editor's note: This is a copy of the report submitted to the AHS.

While it is hard for me to believe, this is in fact an election year for the RVP position. I have accepted the nomination of the attendees of the 2003 Regional to be on this ballot for a second and final 2-year term. There has been much accomplished, and much more to be done. With your support we may be able to achieve those goals.

That said, I must encourage others to "stand up and be counted". Region 7 is only as good as those that choose to do so. It's fun! What are you waiting for?

The following ballot is for those that will not be in attendance at the 2004 Region 7 Meeting in July. All ballots submitted will be compared to the attendance list of the Regional and then added to the vote taken there.(You may print the ballot by (a) selecting it with your mouse and (b) copying and pasting it into any word processor.)

NEAL

                    Region 7 RVP Absentee Ballot

            For the term of January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2006

                 BALLOTS MUST BE POSTMARKED BY 7/2/04

  Vote for one 
  Mark your ballot with an "X"

  _____   Neal Richmond, Incumbent


  _____   ____________________________________  (Write in Candidate)


  Print Your Name _______________________________________

  Signature _____________________________________________

  Date ____________________

  Please mail your ballot to:

  FRANK CASTELLO
  NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR
  955 AMALIA AVE
  LOS ANGELES CA 90022-4001

 

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

This brings this edition of The Hermerocallis Register to a close. At 24 pages and 2 loose inserts, it is the largest edition in my memory. If I've missed something, please let me know. I'll make it good. I encourage you to attend this year's Regional at The Huntington in San Marino. The speaker lineup is unprecedented for Region 7. There will be fun, food, gatherings of old friends and the making of new ones. If you haven't been to a Regional, this year's will be a great one to start with. Don't be shy. As Pat McDorman stated, "Plant folks are GOOD folks"! If you need to fly, there are some really great airfares available. Remember that besides the wonderful lineup of speakers, we'll have fun and prizes in Photo Phuzzies and Daylily Bingo. The famous Region 7 Auction will be the perfect nightcap for the perfect day.

Many of you are at or near peak bloom. Now is the time to take notes about your favorite daylilies this year. The deadline for mailing your Popularity Poll Ballot is September 1, 2004. Why wait? Leave the procrastination to the other regions. Nothing could be finer than exceeding our 38% participation rate of last year and beating the pants off of Region 8. I am not competitive. This is all for fun. I am not competitive. This is all for fun. I am not competitive. Aw what the heck, let's be # 1 in the nation this year!

I'd like each of you to reaffirm why you've joined the AHS and a local club. Stand up and be counted! The AHS, Region 7 and your club of choice are only as good as you are. If you haven't joined a club, why not? They are fun, informative and full of "GOOD folks"! If there isn't a club close by, give me a call. Let's see what we can cook up. Just look at what's happened in Arizona in just one short year.

Many, many thanks to the wonderful contributors to the events of Region 7 and to this publication. Without your participation, we would just be an ordinary plant society, instead of the extraordinary New Region 7!

My door is always open for questions, comments, compliments or concerns.

There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen.

SCENES OF THE HUNTINGTON