Utah Dahlia Society: 2015

Thursday, December 10, 2015

2015 Awards Banquet

The Utah Dahlia Society's

Annual Awards Banquet

was held on November 11, 2015.

The competition at our show this year was tough with more experienced growers bringing flowers that were amazing.

Congratulations once again to all the winners!

Mark Hurst, President of the Utah Dahlia Society

presented the awards.

Karen Crook, Wanda Aurora Best AA

Ryan and Julie Williams, Emory Paul Largest Bloom

The Williams Family

Stephan LeCheminant and Marlene Johnson

Mark & Sue Hurst, Dick Taylor and Dave and Laree Ross

Becky, Lumpy, Bill and Barbara Hughes

Spence and Emily Mortensen with Vergil and Kathy Young

Another great dinner from Joe Morely BBQ

Mark presenting Bill Hughes the vase for

Best of Show flower, Show n' Tell

Bill Hughes, Best A and Best of Show flower Show n' Tell

Julie Williams, Best Arrangement

Megan Badger was not able to join us but won the award for Best 3 Blooms for her Embrace.

She may not have been at the Banquet but she did all the work before she left town to make sure everything was in place for a great evening. Thanks Megan!!

Stephan LeCheminant, Best Pompon Glen Place

Bill and Barbara Hughes, Best Ball - Greendor

and Best Exotic - Verrone's Morning Star

Stephan LeCheminant, Best M - Weston Spanish Dancer

Elizabeth Palmer, Best BB - Nicholas

Mark Hurst, People's Choice - Ketchup and Mustard

Ryan Williams, Best B - Just Married

Last but not least thanks to everyone who helped dig the Demonstration Garden Tubers on November 14th. We had a nice day to get that job done. The plants were divided between Sandy, Mark, Stephan and Karen to process. Thanks to Megan and Ryan and Julie for storing many of the tubers.

Fingers crossed for success next spring!

Speaking of Megan, Ryan and Julie....

Congratulations to them for starting a new cutting business.

It will be the place to buy cuttings in 2016.

Look for more information on:

Stonehouse Dahlias!!!

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

A Thank You from Kathy and Verg Young

Recently, Kathy Young lost her dear Father.

Megan cut a bouquet from our demo garden and took them as a condolence to the services from the UDS.

Thank you to Megan for doing this on our behalf.

Kathy asked that I share this photo of the flowers

and her thank you note:

For our friends of the Utah Dahlia Society....

Our humble gratitude for the beautiful dahlia bouquet!

So hard to say goodbye...But easier with the kind thoughtfulness of others.

Kathy and Verg Young

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Another peek at Dick Taylor's Garden & The Ladies of the Demo Garden

Dick Taylor spent all spring making sure he had the best soil possible.

His huge investment of time, hard work and resources paid off in beautiful dahlias.

The Taylor's Garden Mascot, Laci

Dick planted 170 dahlias.....

...with blooms that are stunning.

Thank you Dick for sharing your garden.

In fact, Dick and Marilyn are so generous that they have a sign in their front yard inviting everyone in to take a look.

The Ladies of the Demo Garden

Even though it is October 25th we have yet to have a hard freeze in Salt Lake City.

We are winding down the work at our demonstration garden and spent a few hours on October 16th to dead head and clean up just for the fun of it.

Elizabeth and Jan enjoying some sister time while helping in the garden.

Megan, Elizabeth, Sandy, Karen and Jan

Sandy

Once it does freeze we will be digging the tubers and storing them for the winter.

This is a big job that none of us look forward to.

But, we do it anyway because we love these flowers!

Our Awards Dinner will be held

on November 11, 2015 at 6:30

$10.00 per person for a delicious Joe Morley dinner and lots of fun.

Hope to see you there.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

A Visit to Logan, Utah

Finally!

Megan and I have wanted to make the trip to Logan, Utah to visit Ryan and Julie's garden for years now. We finally made it a few weeks ago and certainly was impressed.

They bought a home that was built by one of the first settlers in the Logan valley.

Ryan is a talented craftsman and has built custom furniture and cabinets for the inside and outside they grow prize winning iris and of course dahlias.

They have utilized every inch of their garden for unique and beautiful plants still leaving a bit of grass for their three darling daughters to play.

Their oldest daughter, Leilia is proud of the plant she carefully planted herself.

Cafe Au Lait that grew larger than expected.

Ryan and Julie with Iris and Violet.

Violet was very happy to have a scarecrow in their front garden.

Megan brought cookies.

I could have photoshopped the crumbs but thought Iris looked so cute with them;)

Thank you Ryan, Julie and girls for taking time out of your busy Saturday to give us a tour.

We loved every minute!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2015 Exhibition Show

Utah Dahlia Society Exhibition Show

September 26th and 27th 2015

Megan wrote an e-mail that summed it up perfectly:

I am still on a bit of a "dahlia high" after our fantastic show. It was absolutely breathtaking. Thanks to all who participated in any way. Especially show chairman Sandy Burgess. Thank you, thank you Sandy for everything you did to make it such a success!

The quality of the entries was the best we have ever had, due in large part I think to the fact we are learning as we go and becoming better growers. I so appreciate the generous spirit among our group to share their knowledge and experience. Every time we are together I learn something new.

Not only were the dahlias better than ever; the photos entered in our calendar contest were exceptional. Congratulations to our winners! The following will have their photos in our 2016 calendar: Bill Hughes, Elizabeth Palmer, Dick Taylor, Amy Hargreaves, Jan Litster and Karen Crook. Calendars will be available at our November 11th banquet. Cost $11. If you would like to order any, please let me know by Oct. 10th.

Welcome to new Utah Dahlia Society members Doug and JoAnn Smith, Linda Newman & Connie Drenker. It was great to meet you at the show and look forward to getting to know you better. For those who requested receiving our emails and haven't joined yet, it is never too late. Checks ($28 for individual or $32 for a family) Can be made payable to Utah Dahlia Society. Mail to: UDS, 1175 AUGUSTA WAY, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84108. Please send with your mailing address, email and phone #.

Upcoming events:

November 11, 2015 at 6 p.m., our end of year banquet will be held at the Granger Christen Church (site of our demo garden) 3232 West 4100 South. Dinner will be catered by Joe Morely BBQ. This would be a good time to renew your UDS membership.

Another pretty show with 183 entries