Utah Dahlia Society 2016

The Utah Dahlia Society

 blog has been forgotten this summer but that certainly doesn't mean that the dahlias have been forgotten.

Mark, Megan, Sandy and Karen planted the demonstration garden on Saturday, May 7 and got rained out so finished on Monday, May, 9th. 

  

Fast forward to 

Thursday, August 18th to our summer social.  

Becky and Chris Swalberg hosted the event at their lovely home.  We all enjoyed touring their fantastic gardens and the delicious food.  They served us hamburgers with homemade buns and all the trimmings while we all brought yummy side dishes.   

Thanks so much to Becky and Chris!

The topic at the social was of course dahlias.  It has been an unusual year:  a very wet and cool spring followed abruptly with over 100 degree heat that stayed for weeks, cooled a bit and then the temperatures went soaring again.  

This weather, we think, is the cause of our smaller plants and late blooms.  

Our annual Exhibition Show is scheduled for 

September 24th and 25th 

at the 

Sugarhouse Garden Center.

Details to follow in our next post.

 Lovely Lana

 AC Ben

 Wanda's Aurora

 Honeymoon

(this is the one drawback to my cages-tough to get a photo without them in it)

 An example of grasshopper damage:(  

They are so frustrating!

But taking these to a friend is worth putting up with weather issues and grasshoppers.

2016 TUBER SALE

SAVE THE DATE 

FOR THE 

UTAH DAHLIA SOCIETY

TUBER SALE!

SATURDAY, APRIL 30TH

9:00 am until 1:00 pm

Sugarhouse Garden Center

1610 East 2100 South

STONEHOUSE DAHLIAS

Stonehouse Dahlias is up and running just in time to order your dahlia cuttings for your 2016 garden.

Check them out at: 

http://www.stonehousedahlias.com

You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

They have a fantastic website with a fabulous variety of lovely dahlias that are sure to please.

Get your orders in ASAP!  They have already sold out of some favorites.

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!!!

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

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.

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!