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Hi
All,
Here we are with the second quarterly
e-newsletter. I am pleased to hear that the first
e-newsletter was well received. I have heard many favorable
comments regarding this new venture. It has been my goal as
President to improve communication with members. We began
four years ago with a complete overhaul of our website.
Shortly thereafter an email list was created to improve
communications to the presidents of local societies so they
can keep their members informed about what's happening
within the AHS. |
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Now as my term in office expires in June, I am pleased to have
this quarterly communication established and under the editorship
of Reldon Ramsey. Reldon is the editor of the Russ O'Harra Hosta
Society newsletter and has accepted the position of editor of our
e-newsletter. Thank you, Reldon, for accepting this position.
The e-newsletter is not restricted to just AHS
members. It is intended to also be an outreach to anyone
interested in hostas, and it will hopefully encourage them to join
the AHS. If you know of anyone that might want to receive our
e-newsletter, there is a link on the homepage of our website, www.hosta.org.
In the left column under the "Community" link is a link
to the e-newsletter. There is a way to subscribe, and past
e-newsletters will also be archived there. Please help spread the
word about the AHS.
Also if you know of anyone that has not been
receiving this e-newsletter, it is because we do not have their
email address. Please let them know that they should update their
contact information with our Membership Secretary.
Contact
Sandie Markland
The most important
thing I have to talk about now is the impending loss of one of the
great traditions of the American Hosta Society - our National
Convention. Please read my article directly below. If your local
has been considering hosting the 2013 National Convention, please
contact me immediately so we can talk about
it.
Contact
Tom Micheletti
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Are you still a
member? |
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It is also time to publish the semi-annual Membership
Directory, so it is important that every member check their
contact information to be sure it is correct. I
received many complaints after the previous Directory was
sent that members contact information was not correct.
We cannot have accurate information if we are not informed
of changes. Please check your contact information and
update it with our Membership Secretary. |
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As mentioned earlier, my term as President expires with the June
convention. It has been an honor to serve the society for
the past four years. I have worked with a very dedicated and
hard working board, and we have wrestled with some difficult
topics. I want to thank every one of them for their hard
work and support. Along with the expiration of my term,
other board members terms expire. I appointed a committee to
select nominations for the board and they have been approved by
the board. A vote will be held at the business meeting at
this summer's convention. I am pleased to announce the
nominations for office of those positions that are up for
election. |
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President |
Doug Beilstein |
Executive Vice
President |
Cindy Tomashek |
Vice President
Judging & Exhibitions |
Chuck Zdeb |
Vice President
Genus Hosta |
Rob Mortko |
Vice President
Member Services |
Jim Weidman |
Vice President
Publications |
Ken Harris |
Vice President
Awards & Honors |
Mike Shadrack |
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Are AHS
National Conventions Ending? |
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As the president of the AHS I am very concerned about the
impending loss of our national conventions. You may know that we
do not have any conventions scheduled beyond 2012. This is
because we do not have any locals who are interested in hosting
a convention beyond that time. You may not know that the AHS
cannot hold conventions without the participation of a local
society. If our national conventions cease to exist, it will
hurt our society as much or more than the recent declines in
membership, and I would not be doing my job as your president if
I did not emphasize the importance of that. Losing the AHS
National Convention will mean yet another serious blow to our
society's finances and inevitably will impact what we can do for
our members.
As important as that message is, I'd like to take
off my president's hat now and just talk to you as a fellow AHS
member.
My first
convention was in Minneapolis in 1990. That experience is what
solidified my hosta addiction. I had never seen so many
beautiful hostas growing in one place as in the gardens in
Minnesota. While I have not attended every convention in the
intervening time, I have attended most of them, and it is one of
the highlights I look forward to each summer.
As with many of us the hosta experience begins
with our infatuation with hostas and then progresses from there.
We meet fellow enthusiasts and bonds are formed. With all
the ways we have to stay connected, mail, phones, email, etc.,
none can beat a face to face meeting with friends. It is at
hosta conventions that we connect with these friends and make
new ones. Each year I meet new people that are as inflicted with
hosta-holism as I am. A connection is made and they become new
friends. While not everyone of them attends a convention each
year, when they do we reconnect and the friendship is renewed.
Some of these friends have also become mentors
and have shaped my life over the years. I have learned so much
about hostas from Bob Solberg from North Carolina and we have
discussions long into the night about our favorite plant. Kevin
Walek from Virginia has taught me about being the leader of an
organization like the AHS. Audra and Fred Wilson from Iowa have
taught me about sharing and generosity and about the true
meaning of the "Friendship Plant". Van and Shirley
Wade from Ohio, have exemplified the kindness and humility that
I have tried to emulate. My Minnesota connection has been very
heartwarming. Don Dean has become a good friend and confidant.
We have heartfelt discussions about life, about hostas, and
about the AHS.
Mary Schwartzbauer
and Kim Larsen have also become friends of my wife Becki and we
share life experiences and laughter whenever we are together.
Bob Olson has taught me that we are a society of people and how
to respect each individual. Roger and Kak Kopmans have shown me
how to be a more meticulous gardener and that keeping up with
the chores pays off in the end with a cleaner and neater garden.
Becki and I have been adopted as an honorary Minnesotans. (You
betcha, hey!) There are so many more friends and I could go on,
but the editors have limited me.
The point is that I
have met people from all over the country at our conventions
that have shaped and enhanced my life and hosta experience.
Without our annual convention I will not be able to be with all these
friends, and likely would never have met them in the first
place.
I am sure every one that has attended a
convention can share their most memorable experiences. For most
attendees the gardens are a highlight of a convention. It is
truly a privilege to be invited into some of the most beautiful
hosta gardens in the country. The gardeners put in countless
hours to beautify their gardens so that they become works
of art. In touring we become acquainted with new hostas in these
gardens that we must add to our collections. And where else but
at a national convention can we purchase so many beautiful new
hostas from the leading hosta nurseries who vend there.
The convention also holds our National Hosta
Show. This is the largest display of perfectly grown leaves that
one will see anywhere in the world. It is inspiring to see
meticulously grown hosta leaves and what our plants can look
like. I remember walking the show floor admiring the new hybrids
and sports and adding which ones I "needed" to
purchase to my wish list. I still seek out these new hostas and
add them to my wish list, even though I have become more
selective due to limited growing room. This is the best place to
see the new desirable plants of the future.
If we no longer have a convention, I will greatly
miss all of the memories and connections I have made over the
years. It will be very sad to no longer have the
inspiration of the gardens or the perfectly grown leaves in
the hosta show, or to be able to see and purchase the
newest cutting edge hostas. Most of all, I will miss seeing all
my hosta friends, and the opportunity to make new friends
from another part of the country I have not visited before.
Without a convention, members will miss out on the
opportunity to make their own memories or form new friendships.
Since our conventions are hosted in different parts of the
country each year there will be many new members that will no
longer be able to attend their first convention. They will
not get to create and share their own experiences as those of us
who have attended them have done. They will not have all the
wonderful memories we have collected along the way.
If conventions are a part of the hosta
experience that you will miss, I urge you to talk to your local
society and urge them to consider hosting a future convention.
Better yet, offer to take the lead and chair or co-chair a
convention for your local. Sometimes it just takes the initial
offering to get the ball rolling to get people to step up to
help. The AHS is open to discuss hosting a convention with
anyone. We have new ideas about how we can help you and even
redesigning conventions we'd like to share with you. Most of all
we need someone to step up and be the point person on the ground
to help arrange for gardens, and organize volunteers that are
needed to help perform the tasks that make conventions run so
smoothly. The AHS will do anything in its power to make future
conventions possible. We need your help, please contact me or
Doug Beilstein, our VP for Conventions.
Contact
Tom Micheletti
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We Need Your
Thoughts --- Doug Beilstein |
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The
Presidents and Newsletter Editor's meeting to be held during this
summer’s National Convention will be an extremely important
meeting for the health of the American Hosta Society. This year
the meetings will be combined and held together. A
significant part of that meeting will be devoted to hopefully a
spirited and informative in-depth discussion on the future of the
National Convention of the American Hosta Society.
Over the years National Conventions have
provided a venue for sharing our love of hosta as well as making
lasting relationships and memories. We share this time
together in various parts of our country and get to see firsthand
how other hosta lovers work their creativity with the friendship
plant. The AHS relies on local societies to host conventions
for our members – we cannot make them happen without the
partnership of a local.
What we are hoping to learn from this meeting is
how we can better assist our local host societies with all the
work and expense of a national convention. We are prepared to make
whatever changes are necessary to keep the AHS National Convention
alive. We are prepared to provide whatever help will be needed,
whatever form that help may take on. There are some things we
cannot do, but if we can do it we will.
Please bring your thoughts and ideas about what we
can do to help or email me, and I will include them in the agenda.
Contact
Doug Beilstein If you are unable to attend the meeting,
please designate a substitute to represent your society if one is
coming. The more ideas and input that are generated, the better we
can try to provide our hosting locals with whatever assistance
they need.
We will be forming a special Convention Assistance
Committee headed up by local society members who themselves have
chaired AHS conventions. This committee will have the skills and
experience to answer any questions and offer real help in the more
difficult jobs of setting up a convention.
We invite and encourage all of the local society
Presidents and Newsletter Editors in attendance at the National
Convention in Marlborough to join us at this meeting. Check
the convention handbook for the day, time, and place.
Our last scheduled
convention is Nashville 2012. Please help us prevent that from
being the last AHS National Convention. I look forward to hearing
from you, and seeing you at the 2011 Convention. |
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“Hostas and
Heritage” - The 2011 AHS National Convention
June 22-25, Marlborough, Massachusetts
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- REMINDER! - The cutoff
date for early registration is May 1st.
Any registrations postmarked after that date are subject to a
late fee of $75. Register soon if you want to avoid the
late fee.
- Other news:
- The optional tours are rapidly
filling to capacity with over half the available bus seats
filled at this time. Once the seats are filled the optionals
will no longer be available.
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- A new speaker has been added -
Professional photographer Rich Pomerantz will talk about
garden photography and sign copies of his book.
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- A new on-your-own group tour -
the Cape Cod Caravan - has been added on Thursday the 23rd.
Tourers will need to arrange their own transportation.
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- Keep checking the website for
schedule changes and other news -
Convention Website
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The Hosta Train |
Bob
says to make reservations, call Amtrak at 800-872-7245. Advanced tickets
are needed. The code for the 10% discount convention rate is X58D-909.
The code for a 15% senior discount is D0D1E. Book train 448 departing on
either Mon. June 20 or Tue. June 21. The return train is no. 449
returning Sun. June 26. Bob asks that ticketers notify him after
purchasing tickets so he can keep an accurate total for the block of
tickets reserved.
Travelers can congregate in the parlor car for
pre-convention fellowship and revelry. The cost of train travel will
depend on the station a person boards the train, but it much less
expensive than travel by car. Bob says the trip from Chicago saves over
$60 for tolls alone. What a great way to fellowship with hosta friends
to while away the miles!
Contact
Bob "Indiana Bob" Balitewicz |
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Other Upcoming Events! |
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On June 10th,
the Dixie Regional Hosta Society holds its annual convention
in Birmingham, Alabama. Judy Feltman is the chair and
can be reached for more information by clicking HERE.
The Dixie
Regional Hosta Society's website is --- www.dixiehosta.net
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This year First Look
will not be a separate meeting. It will be held in
combination with the AHS National Convention in Marlborough,
MA on Thursday, June 23rd.
The First Look website is: http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/ |
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The
Midwest Regional Hosta Society annual convention will be
held July 7-9 in Madison, Wisconsin. For
more information go to their website at:
www.midwesthostasociety.org
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MEMBERSHIP -
Sandie Markland |
Just a few reminders for our
members:
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AHS Membership runs from
January 1 through December 31 of each calendar year
regardless of when an individual joins or renews.
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The year of your AHS
membership expiration always appears immediately following
your name on the mailing label of every publication mailed
to you by the AHS. Your membership will expire on
December 31 of that year.
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A renewal form is always
included with the second Journal of the calendar year.
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Complete renewal information
is available on the AHS website.
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AHS Memberships make great
gifts for your gardening friends. Gift Membership
Welcome Packets include a presentation sheet indicating the
year of the gift membership, the giver of the gift
membership and any personal message the giver wishes
included. The Welcome Packet also includes a copy of
"The Hosta Adventure: A Grower's Guide" and
the new AHS $15.00 Plant Voucher for individuals new to the
AHS.
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Any questions regarding
membership status, the password for the Members Only Section
of the AHS website or missing issues of recent Journals
should be sent directly to AHS Membership Secretary:
Contact Sandie Markland.
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HOSTA JOURNAL NEWS
--- Bob Olson |
We
have finished the first Hosta Journal of 2011 - Volume 42
Number1, which is pictured at right. It is in the mail now and on
its way to your real-world mailboxes. Our Journal Staff thinks
you'll really enjoy this issue!
Included with this Spring Journal will be a copy of
the 2010 Registration book produced once again by our hard-working
International Registrar, Kevin Walek. If you have not yet visited
the Registrar's web site at www.hostaregistrar.org you have a real treat
waiting for you. |
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Call for Photos for
The Hosta Journal --- Andy Marlow, THJ Photo Editor |
The Marines presumably are
still looking for “a few good men” and women. The Hosta Journal
is looking for a few good photographs. We’re always in need of great
shots to keep the standards of our publication at the level our members
expect.
We much prefer digital photos. They should be jpegs of at
least 1 MB file size. Even larger files mean higher quality and better
for us. You can either email them (if you are sending no more than 10 MB
at a time) or put them on a CD and send them through the postal mail.
The addresses are at the end of this article.
We do also accept slides and prints. Send the original
slides (not copies) please. We will return them to you when we are done,
but please do not scan them to send. We have all slides and prints
professionally scanned to insure the highest quality.
A couple of caveats: don’t send photos taken with a flash
or with high contrast between sun and shade. They just won’t
reproduce well. Try for even overall lighting.
All photos must be accompanied by 1) name(s) of gardener(s)
and 2) the name of the hosta(s) (unless it is a landscape scene). And,
if there are people in the shot, they must be identified. We will not
print a photo of a person without getting their permission, so we have
to know who they are.
We are open to any photographs you might like to submit for
consideration. Garden scenes and landscapes are always nice to get in
addition to hosta close-ups. |
For our next issue we have a particular wish list:
· Hosta 'Skylight' (especially a large vertical)
· Photos of Randy Goodwin's garden
· Gardens on the Rochester, MN optional tour from the 2010
AHS Convention
And, we need photos to illustrate
two articles. The first is on the many sports of H. 'Blue Mouse
Ears'. Among the plants we could use shots of are: |
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H.
‘Green Mouse Ears’ |
H.
‘Frosted Mouse Ears’ |
H.
‘Royal Mouse Ears’ |
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H. ‘Cat
and Mouse’ |
H.
‘Mighty Mouse’ |
H. ‘Pure
Heart’ |
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H. ‘One
Iota’ |
H.
‘Mouse Trap’ |
H. ‘Snow
Mouse’ |
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H.
‘Mighty Mouse’ |
H. ‘Blue
Mouse Ears Supreme’ |
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The second article is about
miniatures. The author talks about all of the hostas listed below. If
you have good, tight close-ups of any of these please submit them:
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H. gracillima |
H. venusta |
H. ‘Tiny Tears’ |
H. longissima breviflora |
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H. ‘Little Devil’ |
H ‘Kabitan’ |
H. ‘Green Eyes’ |
H. ‘Little White Lines’ |
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H. ‘Hart’s Tongue’ |
H. ‘Bizarre’ |
H. ‘Snow Flakes’ |
H. ‘Gosan Gold Midget’ |
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H. ‘Gosan Gold Mist’ |
H. ‘Rosanne’ |
H. ‘Little Wonder’ |
H. ‘Princess of Karafuto’ |
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H. ‘Feather Boa’ |
H. ‘GaGa’ |
H. ‘Wiggle Worms’ |
H. ‘Yellow Submarine’ |
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H. ‘Akikaze’ |
H. ‘Popo’ |
H. ‘Tortifrons’ |
H. ‘Silver Anniversary’ |
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H. ‘Tiny Bubbles’ |
H. ‘Manzo’ |
H. ‘Corkscrew’ |
H. ‘Mr. Asami
Improved’ |
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H. ‘Otome-no-ka’ |
H. ‘Quill’ |
H. ‘Tardiflora’ |
H. longissima ‘Nikazaki’ |
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H. ‘Hacksaw’ |
H. laevigata |
H. ‘Suzuki Thumbnail’ |
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Send photos to Hosta Journal photo
editor Andy Marlow by Email at ajmarlow@comcast.net,
or mail to: Andy Marlow, 10700 Minnetonka Boulevard, Hopkins, MN 55305
USA. |
2011
AHS ONLINE AUCTION! --- Tom Micheletti |
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- We had the
most successful online auction ever, with a
record-setting total of $10,306.64! Thank you to
all those who donated plants, and thank you to all
of you that bid so generously on the plants. As
the AHS relies on events such as these for income, this
very successful auction will go a long way to help
replenish our treasury. I want to also thank Don Dean
who put in countless hours organizing this auction. A
big thank you also goes out to Bob Axmear for hosting
our auction on the HostaLibrary and handling the
technical side of things. Thanks everyone that helped
make this such a huge success!
- Pictured at
left are the three top-dollar plants from the auction.
From top to bottom, they are:
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1. |
H. 'Bob
Axmear' (Meyer NR), a sport of 'Elegans' donated
by Bill Meyer..................$750 |
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2. |
An unnamed
streaked seedling from Bob Kuk donated by Bob Kuk
...................$600 |
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3. |
H. 'Brant
Rock Jetty' (Goodenough NR), donated by Rick
Goodenough....................$550 |
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Click
here for complete auction results:
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Click here for the Big Bid items:
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Brian and Virginia
Skaggs Benefit Auction
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The
benefit auction for Brian & Virginia Skaggs was an
overwhelming success! The auction ran for just eight days –
from 5 PM (CST) Saturday, March 26th through 8 PM (CST) Saturday,
April 2nd - but generated more donated items (142) and revenue
than any previous online hosta auction. The action was
frenzied at times during the final three hours since no item
closed until there was a five minute lull in bidding. $20,691.00
was raised and included several sizable cash donations. The
auction was organized by Jeff Miller with assistance from Bill
Meyer, Carol Brashear, Don Dean, and Joanna Kovalscik. It was
hosted by Bob Axmear at the HostaLibrary.
The Top Five
Items: |
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$870.00 – One
of Mary’s Best (seedling) donated by Bill Meyer & Carol
Brashear
$701.00 – H. ‘Imagine’ donated by Jeff
White & Marie Rahman
$550.00 – H. ‘Bob Axmear’ donated by
Bill Meyer & Carol Brashear
$500.00 – H. ‘Humback Whale’ donated by
Paula Lehtola
$500.00 - H. ‘Outrageous Dragon’ donated
by Rod Kuenster.
57 items brought $100 or more. 31 - $100–199; 14 -
$200–299; 5 - $300-399; 2 - $400–499
Complete auction
results may be viewed at http://www.hostalibrary.org/firstlook/SkaggsResults.htm
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JUDGING and
EXHIBITIONS --- Meg Dalton
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Ballots
for the Benedict Garden Performance Award will be sent to all
Garden Judges in late April. If you know and love hostas as most
of us do, and are not a garden judge, please won’t you consider
becoming one? It’s very easy. The requirements and application
form are located at the bottom of the Benedict Garden Performance
Judging page at the AHS website. To go there click HERE.
The completed form should be mailed to Barbara Jones, Chair. Her
address is at the bottom of the application. |
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Volunteers are needed for the hosta show taking place at the AHS
National Convention in Marlboro, Massachusetts from June 23-25, 2011.
We need volunteers in the areas of: Staging, Registration and
Exhibitor Assistance, Placement and Clerking. If you are able to help,
please Contact Meg Dalton HERE,
or Kent Terpening by Email.
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Hostas, Friends,
& Music - The 2012 AHS National Convention |
In 2012,
as we venture into Mason Dixon territories, treasures such as
southern hospitality and genteel gardens invite our relaxing
imagination to wonder, sweet smell of magnolia and all.
“Friends-Music-Hostas” is scheduled for June 13-16, 2012. Mark
the date!
We hope you all make a very special attempt to attend
these wonderful conventions with us. These are both new venues for
AHS conventions and the committees have worked hard to show their
local hospitality, new and beautiful gardens and the sites and
culture of their area.
Convention
Info |
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IN MEMORIAM |
Mildred
Seaver, The Passing of a Hosta Legend
Mildred Seaver,
one of the founders of the New England Hosta Society and a
prolific hosta hybridizer, passed away in early March at age 98.
Mildred was known for the vast number of hostas that she had
introduced, many with her trademark "Sea" prefix.
Learn more about this boisterous lady and her hostas on the AHS
website:
http://www.americanhostasociety.org/mildred_seaver_memorial.html
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William W. Zumbar, 75, of Alliance, OH, died on
Saturday, February 19, 2011. He was born on April 7, 1935
in Alliance and lived in Alliance most of his life. He was
internationally recognized as a hybridizer of hosta. Bill
introduced many varieties of hosta especially miniatures.
His most well-known varieties are H. ‘Cheatin Heart’ and H.
‘Sultana’.
Bill was a lifetime
member of the American Hosta Society. He was a member of
the American Rose Society, the Buckeye District of the ARS, the
Stark Rose Society, and the Mahoning Valley Dahlia Society.
He was an accredited judge of the American Hosta Society and the
American Rose Society. He received the Outstanding Judge
Award for the Buckeye District of the American Rose Society in
2004.
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AHS WEBSITE NEWS ---
Josh Spece |
New Hosta Hybridizing
Forum
A new sub-forum has been created on the AHS Hosta
Forum. The Hybridizing Hosta Colloquium is a forum for informal
academic discussion of hybridizing along with related research and
scientific or anecdotal observations. Discussion can include
hybridizing goals, strategies, confirm and question long held beliefs,
etc. Rick Goodenough is moderating the new forum and will lead
periodic in-depth discussions on certain hybridizing topics.
The new forum is off to a strong start with some
heavy weight hybridizers sharing their thoughts! The AHS Forum
is open to everyone, so stop by, register, and join in the fun and
learning.
To visit the forum: http://www.americanhostasociety.org/forum/index.php
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What’s
Happening in the Hosta Garden?
---
Tom Micheletti
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It
is spring! It finally has arrived! This seems to have
been a longer winter than usual. Just about every part of the
country has experienced what I refer to as a "real
winter"! One like I remember when growing up with lots of
snow and cold temperatures that lasted all winter.
We have had all winter to reflect on our
gardens, the successes and failures of the past season. Now
that spring has arrived, depending on where you live, it's time to
put all that resolve into action. Labels need to be checked.
Somehow many of them were pulled out of the ground or knocked
over. This is something that can be done on one of those sunny
clear days when we all are itching to get outside before the
hostas emerge. The garden can also be cleaned up of fallen twigs
and last summers hosta foliage and scapes if this wasn't done in
the fall. |
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As
the hostas are emerging, the first application of fertilizer needs
to be applied. If one applies a slow release fertilizer that
releases its nutrients over a few months time, a general
fertilizer, an organic fertilizer, or a top dressing of compost,
it can be applied now. The slugs are also active, hungrily
looking for a meal! Feed them with slug baits before they
find our beloved hostas. Once the holes are noticed in the
hosta leaves the population has built up so much that it will be
more difficult to control the slugs. Starting early gets a head
start on slug control.
Dividing in the spring is easier due to the
fact that the leaves of hostas don't interfere, making it is
easier to see the divisions. Remember to keep these new
divisions watered very well as their roots have been damaged.
The rest of the hosta garden will also benefit from attention to
watering, especially as the foliage is emerging.
Most of all, enjoy this magical time of year.
The garden is coming to life from a long winter's sleep.
Plants are as anxious to appear as we are to see them. The
garden changes daily so go out and enjoy! |
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AHS
eNEWSLETTER EDITOR
---- Reldon Ramsey
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The position has been filled. I had only glanced at the first
eNewsletter a few days before I attended the Winter Scientific
Meeting. I hadn’t even scrolled all the way to the bottom so I
wasn’t aware of Tom Micheletti’s request for an editor. I
had just recently become the editor of the Russ O’Harra Hosta
Society’s “Hosta Horizons” newsletter. My first issue had
gone out by email only a few days earlier. So I was very
surprised when Tom asked me to become the editor of the
AHS eNewsletter. And I was just as surprised when I said
“Yes”.
I should probably learn to control my spontaneous
outbursts, but that hasn’t been the pattern of my life.
Whether it was asking for my wife’s hand in marriage or
volunteering to move my entire garden to a new location to be
part of the 2010 Midwest Regional Hosta Convention, I just knew
it was the right thing to do. Everything happens for a
reason. |
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In the
spring of 2002, I was buying plants for a memorial butterfly garden for
my wife. She had died of cancer the previous November. It was then that
I began to discover the diversity of hostas. I bought a few to put in a
shady part of my garden where other perennials didn’t do well. The
pots multiplied quickly as I found more varieties at every garden center
and nursery. I discovered hosta forums on the internet. And then hosta
clubs. I was reeling in my grief and hostas, and the wonderful people I
met because of them saved me. So when Tom asked me if I would help the
society that has given me so much, it was a spontaneous decision on my
part. I’m honored to be able to contribute. |
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