When you go to a meeting, sit, listen and then ask loads of questions. There is nothing, shy of seeing a seedling bloom for the first time, that a garden person had rather do than answer questions. They love to talk. When someone is new and has the excitement of learning still in their veins, the old(sometimes young) masters can still get a surge of that energy from the newbie. I've yet to meet a gardener that didn't love to talk!! You'll have a wonderful time. Have fun and blessings, Mona

Calif_Sue said:If you can ohhh and ahhhh over pretty blooms, you'll fit right in!

THAT, I know how to do

Hey, even dabblers allowed - the problem is that todays dabblers, become tomorrows enablers.

And that's a promise!



Really, all you have to do is LIKE them - and eventually you will love them. It doesn't matter if all you do is plant them to enjoy, or to try your hand at hybridizing, or even, to start SHOWING them. If I remember correctly, Michele was a newbie last year at showing them.

There is a daylily or 40, for everyone's taste ~Jan

Ann, I am excited that you have checked out the daylily club in your area and have found that there is one. Don't wait. Go to the next meeting, start meeting daylily people and learning more about daylilies. You live in a great area for growing daylilies and visiting daylily gardens in N. FL and maybe even South GA. How far are you from the GA. line?

Doris

I agree - go to the meeting. I have met some of my best friends through daylilies.

Jan, you are correct. Last year was my first time entering a show (or two). Last year was my first year hybridizing as well. I'm also the president of our local club this year (I joined in Sept. 2010 so this is only going into my second year as a member). I'm a very shy person so every time I get up there and do my president thing I get so nervous and I worry I am not doing a good job. Speaking of shows, I'm going to chair our show this year so it's another first for me. I'm taking the garden judge classes as well. I basically jumped head first into all this daylily stuff.

If I would have never gone to that first meeting that Fred (Spunky1) invited me to I would not be doing all of these things right now; I probably wouldn't have gone if my best friend wouldn't have gone with me though. I wouldn't of had to the opportunity to meet such nice people and some great hybridizers. I'm glad I took that big step out of my shyness.

Michele, I commend you!!! You are very courageous. You definitely stepped out of your comfort zone BIG TIME! Sometimes others see leadership abilities in us that we can't see. I am sure you are doing a fine job. It is good that you were willing to try. You know more than anyone how much you have personally grown in the past couple of years. Being show chair is a huge responsibility. I want to stay within my comfort zone there being plant sale and hospitality chairs. As I remember, you did exceptionally well showing the first time, too.

I went, I survived, I had a good time, joined the group, AND brought home a Victoria's Ribbon (I think) daylily to commemorate the day.

Thanks, Doris, for looking after me. I really appreciate it, and look forward to getting to know you better.

Yay for you Mary! Way to go girl! And to Doris for being Mary's "big sister".

fiwit said:I went, I survived, I had a good time, joined the group, AND brought home a Victorian Ribbons daylily to commemorate the day.

Thanks, Doris, for looking after me. I really appreciate it, and look forward to getting to know you better.

edited to correct name of daylily I brought home

Mary, we are glad that you came to our meeting! Your joining was icing on the cake. Thank you for helping me get the tables put back and turning the tape recorder on. It was probably you who put it in my box to bring home. Mary was my helper! The meeting ran longer than I told you. I did not even get to introduce you to the other (3) members from your county. There was so much to cover in the time we were together. We did not have time to talk about the speaker for March, and we must get one scheduled ASAP. This was our first meeting of the year. We picked up 5 new members today! Next month's meeting on Feb. 18 should be very informative, too. We will have a panel of members who will take Q & A from the members and touch on daylily issues not covered by today's speaker.

Doris

Actually, I said something to the president lady about reminding you about the tape recorder, and she put it in the box. And I met a lady named Nancy who lives in Cherokee -- the vice president lady introduced us (and the VP is from outside Chicago, not far from where I went to college).

(I suck at names - can you tell?)

AwRIGHT, Mary!!

Glad it was fun for you.

Doris, thank you, too!

WOW! I am impressed, Well done! ~Jan

Mary, you made connections today! Nancy is really nice and really into growing daylilies. Nancy is the secretary of the Cobb County club. I hope you will come to that meeting on Feb 12. It is a great group of people who are very friendly. Several of us today also belong to the Cobb club including our VP. See, Mary was looking out for me, making sure I got home with my new tape recorder. I really appreciate all your help.

OK, now I think you need to take out that word "blaming" in the header and replace it with "thanking"!!
Look how fast things have moved since you started this thread!!

Casshigh said: Nancy is the secretary of the Cobb County club. I hope you will come to that meeting on Feb 12.

I plan to, and should be able to, unless I get an unexpected business trip. There's no travel on my schedule right now, but our schedules tend to change when the wind changes direction, so I always hedge my bets.

I realized a year or so ago that I've really narrowed my world since moving to GA in 2001, and am trying to broaden it again. Seems it's very easy to turn into a hermit when you live alone (with 3 dogs), work from home, and don't belong to many organizations. Most of my hobbies (yardening, photography, writing) are easy to keep solitary, and the intarwebz makes it easy to be "friends" with total strangers around the globe, which makes it easy to forget you don't know the people 3 houses down from you (but I do know my immediate neighbors, so I get points for that).

I told the VP lady this morning (what IS her name, Doris? I think it starts with a P? or is it the Prez who starts with a P?) that I was trying to remember how to interact with people in the real world. That's my feeble attempt at humor, but it's true, too. Today's technology makes it really easy to isolate oneself without feeling isolated.


Moving into the realm of TMI now, so feel free to stop reading, anyone I probably wouldn't even be saying this next bit if I weren't on my 2nd glass of wine...

I used to trust people at the drop of a hat, then I trusted the wrong people a couple times. Between that and some long-buried memories re-surfacing, it was easy to shift into hermit mode, especially after moving to GA and not really knowing anyone. You know how a wounded critter will crawl into a cave or a dense thicket to lick its wounds...sometimes I think that's what I've been doing for most of the last decade. I have to consciously remind myself that most of my experiences with people have been GOOD, not bad, and that most of my trust has been rewarded, not abused. (I have a good therapist - that helps)

Anyway, I'm trying to get away from hermit-mode, and I'm glad that the NWGDwhatever is a nice group of folks, who easily reach out to visitors. It makes it easier to keep coming back.

Way to go Mary!!!!!

Mary, it sounds like you had a good time. I'm glad you did and got to step out of your shell some. Keep it up girl you will be learning new stuff and making loads of new daylily friends. 'Daylily people' are the best. Come summer and bloom season you will be amazed at all the fab blooms your gonna see. I'm so excited for you, it will be an adventure.
Doris, how cool for your club, 5 new members .