2009 Dahlia Show

MARK HURST won Best of Show President's Award for his "Hana Hitosuji".

Hana Hitosuji

Best in their Class Winners
Best AA - Hana Hitosuji - Mark Hurst
Best A - Lovely Lana - Karen Crook
Best B- -Hamari Accord - David Ross
Best BB - Painted Lady - Vergil Young
Best M - Western Spanish Dancer - Karen Crook
Best Ball - Brookside Snowball - Mark Hurst
Best Pompon - Glenplace - Mark Hurst
Best Exotic - Pooh - Megan Badger
Best Three Blooms- Western Spanish Dancer - Stephen LeCheminant
Best Club - Mark Hurst
Best Arrangement - Pristine White - Kathy Young


SHOW WINNERS
101 AA Formal Decorative
2- Kelvin Floodlight - Mark Hurst
3- Bonaventure - Mark Hurst
102 AA Informal Decorative
1-Sam Huston - David Ross
2-Croydon's Masterpiece - Megan Badger
3-Vera Seyfang - Megan Badger
103 AA Semi Cactus
1-Penhill Andre's Memory - Mark Hurst
2- Grand Finale - Dick Taylor
3- Dr. Les - Megan Badger
104 AA Cactus
1- Hana Hitsuji - Mark Hurst
108 A Informal Decorative
1- Gitts Respect - Stephen Le Cheminant
2- Spartacus - Mark Hurst
3- Gitts Perfection - Dick Taylor
109 A Semi Cactus
1- Lovely Lana - Karen Crook
2-Inland Dynasty - Stephen Le Cheminant
3- Wildman - Larry Stevens
111 A Lacinated
2- Show n Tell - Stephen Le Cheminant
113 B Formal Decorative
1- Sterling Silver - Mark Hurst
2- Kiara Pompadour - Stephen Le Cheminant
3- Cafe' Au Lait - Megan Badger
114 B Informal Decorative
2-I'm a Hottie - Edna Young
115 B Semi Cactus
1- Hamari Accord - David Ross
2- Kenora Challenger - Stephen Le Cheminant
3- Jennifer Lynn - Dick Taylor
116 B Cactus
1- Sweet Dreams - Karen Crook
118 B Three Blooms
1- Miss Delilah - Mark Hurst
119 BB Formal Decorative
1-Formby Alpine - Mark Hurst
2- Clara Marie - David Ross
3- Mr. Jimmy - Karen Crook
120 BB Informal Decorative
1-Painted Lady - Vergil Young
2-Bahama Mama- Stephen Le Cheminant
3- Purple Beauty - Becky Clark
121 BB Semi Cactus
1- Embrace - Mark Hurst
2- Loverboy - Megan Badger
124 BB Three Blooms
1- Jomanda -David Ross
2- Herbert Smith - Megan Badger
125 M Formal Decorative
1- Regmans Polish Kid - Mark Hurst
2- Mardi Gras - Megan Badger
3- Daniel Edwards - David Ross
126 M Informal Decorative
1- Brushstrokes - Mark Hurst
128 M Cactus
1- Western Spanish Dancer - Karen Crook
130 M Three Blooms
1- Western Spanish Dancer - Stephen Le Cheminant
131 Miniature Ball
1-Woodlands Dufus - Karen Crook
2-Hy Suntan - Mark Hurst
132 Miniature Ball Three Blooms
1- Ivenetti - David Ross
133 Ball
1- Brookside Snowball - Mark Hurst
2- Brookside Snowball - Vergil Young
3-Paul Smith - David Ross
135 Pompon
1- Glenplace - Mark Hurst
136 Pompon Three Blooms
1- Glenplace - Mark Hurst
140 Single
1- Bashful - David Ross
145 Anemone
1- Dad's Favorite - Dee Jones
146 Collarette
1- Pooh - Megan Badger
147 Club Flower - Spartacus
1- Mark Hurst
2- David Ross
3- Sandy Burgess
148 Small Arrangement
1- Pristine White - Kathy Young
2- U of U - Megan Badger
3- Orchids - Sandy Burgess
149 Large Arrangement
1- Autumn Glory - Kathy Young
2- Dahlia Topiary - Megan Badger
3- All My Garden - Kathy Young

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
Thank you to everyone that participated and a special Thank You to Nick Spencer for his work as Show Head, Megan Badger and Mark Hurst for their efforts and Spencer Mortensen and others for their generous donations of flowers for our fund raiser.

2009 Dahlia Exhibition Show

The Utah Dahlia Society

2009 Dahlia Exhibition Show

Saturday, September 26th 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 27th 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

To be held at the Garden Center

at Sugarhouse Park 1620 East 2100 South

FREE ADMISSION

There will be cut Dahlias

and

Greeting Cards

with original photography of our dahlias

for sale

If you have dahlias you would like to exhibit you need to have your flowers at the Garden Center before 10:00 a.m. on the 26th.

You do not have to be a member to join in the fun.

Nick's Dedication

There are several people in the Utah Dahlia Society that are dedicated to this lovely flower.Nick's dedication is amazing to say the least.
He comes home each day at lunch time to install dozens of umbrellas to shade his precious blooms from the harsh afternoon sun or an expected storm.

The dahlia display in his garden reflect the patience and care they have been given.

If you would like to see Nick's and other's dahlias be sure to attend the State Fair that started today.

Better yet, be sure to attend our upcoming

Utah Dahlia Society show that will be held

September 26th and 27th.

We will post more details soon.

Hope to see you there!

Dahlia Judging Seminar

Wayne and Eleanor Shantz conducted our first Dahlia Judging Seminar on July 25th and 26th.

We appreciated the effort they put into teaching us all more than we could have imagined about Dahlias. This class was not for the light of heart, it concluded with a 9 page comprehensive test that made sure we all knew our dahlias and would insure that our show coming up in September would be judged in a proper manner.

A big Thank You to Megan Badger for her organizational skills and for all the delicious food.

June News from Megan

Hello Utah Dahlia Society,

Since we last met... we have held our first tuber sale, which was a huge success thanks to the sale manager Jane Dahle and our host, Millcreek Gardens. Thanks also goes to all the local growers and the Colorado Dahlia Society for donating tubers. Summer is here and now that our tubers are in and (hopefully) growing, there is a lot to think about. If you have questions or answers about topping, fertilizing, staking or pest control...Come to our next meeting at Becky Swallberg's home on Wednesday June 24th at 7 p.m.. It is the perfect time to come learn more, ask questions of our resident experts, see a beautiful garden and hear about our upcoming events.

BIG NEWS! We have the good fortune of having two retired ADS (American Dahlia Society) Judges coming to give a 2 day judging school on July 25th & 26th. The school will be held downtown at 215 So. State on both days from 9-4 with registration starting at 8:30 a.m.. The cost is $20 and includes all material. Wayne and Eleanor Shantz are the Judges who have so generously offered to come help our group get off to a great start before our first "real" show. We never dreamed we would have this amazing opportunity of having a judging seminar so soon after the start of the Utah Dahlia Society. It really is a once in a lifetime chance and we hope that those who are interested will be able to attend.

More BIG NEWS! Thanks, to Mark Hurst & Lumpy Grayson for preparing and planting 63 tubers in the new Utah Dahlia Society Demonstration Garden. It is located at the Granger Christian Church (3232 West 4100 South). A garden tour is definitely on the agenda when the dahlias are blooming. At the present time 2/3 of the tubers are up. That's good news for the rest of us who are wondering why ours aren't growing yet. All this rain is great, but we need some good hot days to get things growing.

*see below for more information about Wayne and Eleanor and what will be covered in the course. *Credentials for Wayne and Eleanor Shantz:
Schooling: Master’s degrees from the U. of Oregon
Occupation: Public School Teachers (Eleanor with a major in elementary education and Wayne secondary with a major in English).
Experience: Senior judges for over 30 years; Chairs of judges and clerks for the Lane County Dahlia Society Shows (Eugene); dahlia judging instructors since the 1980s, (locations for instruction include Victoria, Canada, Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Eugene, Cottage Grove, Roseburg, North Bend, and San Francisco); Seminar presentations at ADS National Conventions and Shows; Members of the ADS Executive Board (currently representing the Pacific Northwest Dahlia Conference); Members of the ADS Classification Committee, Members of the Revision Committee for the Guide to Judging Dahlias publication, (2002), 2001-2007; Classification Chairs of the American Dahlia Society; Compilation of a DVD on dahlia hybridizing.
Awards: PNDC Gold Medal Award; ADS Gold Medal Award, and winners of best in show entries.

Potential Course Content:
The seminar will be a dahlia immersion experience, designed to inform participants about dahlia evaluation and husbandry. The course will accommodate both the beginner wanting to know more about growing dahlias and those desiring to assess the finer qualities of the dahlia. Every attempt will be made to tailor the content to the needs of those present.
The syllabus consists of the following:: Texts and materials, dahlia evaluation overview, horticultural overview, evaluation of principal dahlia characteristics, judging in a show, scorecards and scoring dahlias, dahlia botany, goals for a competent judge, and an extensive bibliography on gardening and dahlias.

Dahlia Sale

Despite cold temperatures the First Annual Utah Dahlia Society Tuber Sale was a grand success. Thanks to Millcreek Gardens for hosting our event and our generous members for donating the tubers.


Jane busy sorting tubers into categories and Steve is all smiles for our customers.

Megan braved the cold with helpful information and took care of business.

Dave and Nick had growing tips for everyone.....just don't get in the way of those blue ribbons!












If you missed out this past Saturday we will be at Millcreek Gardens again Saturday, May 2nd from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. We still have plenty of tubers so come and join the fun!

First Annual Tuber Sale

Notes from the Dahlia Diaries
2009 Spring Tuber Sale

By Jane Dahle

…been looking for a “special something” to add to this year’s garden to

*brighten a forgotten corner of the yard?
*put some pizzazz! into your summer flower routine?
*challenge or expand your horticultural expertise?
*give the neighbors something to talk about?
*create a little healthy “garden envy” among friends?
*add to your cut-flower repertoire?
*earn a blue ribbon at the State Fair?
*answer the soon-to-be-asked: What to get the woman-who-has-everything for Mother’s Day?

The answers to all these queries and criteria can be summed up in just one flower: Dahlia!

Hard to believe that all this – and more – awaits you in one (little) tuber. But it’s true! Familiar yet elusive, it’s no secret that the dahlia graces the most discerning of gardens. Not difficult to grow, but responsive to TLC, a dahlia may be in your future. If you’ll forgive the simplistic, “if you can grow tomatoes, you can grow dahlias”, then many a gardener is in for a new floral treat.

From miniature (Poppet) to mountainous (Vesuvius), historic (Erik the Red) to hilarious (Betty Boop), mythical (Prometheus) to mysterious (Who Dun It), hero (Robin Hood) to heroine (Scarlett O’Hara), shy (Bashful) to shameless (Bodacious), dahlias have it all! Dahlias are great imitators, masquerading in many a garden as “cactus”, “orchid”, “peony”, and even “water lily”. But down to their tubers, they’re dahlias all the same.

The best place to find the dahlia(s) of your dreams is at the Utah Dahlia Society’s first Annual Tuber Sale on Saturday, April 25. Mill Creek Gardens (3500 S 900 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84106) has graciously agreed to host this event, beginning at 10 a.m.

Many Utah Master Gardeners have introduced dahlias to their gardens through the years via Mark Hurst’s tubers at the MG plant swap. Mark was sure to emphasize that he’ll have no tubers at the swap this year; all his tubers are headed for the Tuber Sale!

While dahlia tubers are available to Utah gardeners from many sources across the country, one thing to note is that the tubers at the Sale have “proven” themselves (i.e. survived) in our Intermountain climate. As with other botanical species and cultivars, not all are viable in Utah’s climate and conditions. We’re expecting over 60 different cultivars to be available for the sale! Come chat with some of our local dedicated dahlia growers (our youngest enthusiast is 10 years old!), and see what delights are waiting for your garden this year.

Utah Dahlia Society

The Utah Dahlia Society

The Utah Dahlia Society is up and running. All the preliminary steps have been taken to launch the newest of Utah's garden societies. A common interest and a love of dahlias has brought us together as a group to enjoy their beauty and to learn how to better grow and cultivate them.

Our first exhibition was held last October. We had 163 entries and over 100 people in attendance.

Exciting events have been planned for this year.

The First Annual

Utah Dahlia Society Tuber Sale

will be held April 25, 2009.

We are looking for the perfect location and will post the information when it becomes available.The Utah Dahlia Society flower show will be held

September 26th & 27th

at a location to be announced.

We now have 34 members; some long-time growers, some with a little experience and some complete novices. If you would like to join please leave a comment and your contact information. Membership is only $25.00 and includes detailed information on growing dahlias, workshops and fun.