Welcome 2014 -It's Time to Renew Your Membership

January is the time to renew your dahlia society membership and pay yearly dues to help sustain our organization. If you joined the Lane County Dahlia Society after September 1st 2013, then your dues are good through 2014. We encourage members to join the American Dahlia Society and the Pacific Northwest Dahlia Conference as well.

Lane County Dahlia Society Dues are $10 per person, $15 each family; Members receive 11 issues of our newsletter The Dahlia Data

American Dahlia Society $24 per person, $27 for a family. Members receive the quarterly ADS Bulletin and the 2010 Classification Guild. The Bulletin contains timely articles pertaining to dahlias, information on new cultivars, and a host of other topics. The Classification book is indispensable as a guide that states which cultivars performed well in your region and lists winning varieties from around the nation. The ADS provides a great service to all dahlia enthusiasts at a bargain price.

Pacific Northwest Dahlia Conference $10 per person or $15 for a family. The PNDS hosts 3 trial gardens: Inland Empire Garden in Spokane, Canby Trial Garden in Canby, Oregon & the Victoria Trial Garden on Canada's Vancouver Island. The PNDS provides training for judges, maintains records for all member societies, and sponsors an annual show. Each member of the PNDS receives 3 newsletters a year, a membership booklet, and an exhibiting number.

Please renew your dues by mailing them to our Treasurer Phyllis Shafer at : 312 Limerick Ave., Eugene, OR 97404. Make all checks payable to : The Lane County Dahlia Society.

Our first meeting of the new year will be held Thursday, February 6th. at the Celeste Campbell Center in Eugene. Our program that evening will be a DVD of the new 2014 dahlia introductions. We hope to see you there!

November Meeting

Our November dahlia meeting will be held Thursday, November 7th at 7:30 PM at the Celeste Campbell Center, 155 High Street, Eugene. The topic of this meeting will be the proper digging, dividing, and storage of dahlia tubers. Society members will be set up at many work stations, giving hands-on demonstrations of tuber dividing. This is one of our most popular meetings of the year and we expect a large turnout. As always, the meeting is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

October Meeting

This month there will be no regular meeting of the Lane County Dahlia Society. Instead, the Society will host our first ever Member's Only Garden Tour! The tour will take place Saturday, October 5th, from Noon until 4:30 PM. Specific details of the open garden's locations are found in the monthly newsletter.Goodies to eat and beverages will be available at each garden. If you are a member of LCDS, and did not receive your monthly newsletter via e-mail or snail-mail, please contact Cheryle at 541-461-8004 for directions. The weather is suppose to be sunny and warm so please join us in this last celebration of Summer.

50th Anniversary Dahlia Show Recap

This past weekend, the Lane County Dahlia Society had the great honor of hosting our 50th Anniversary Dahlia Show. Exhibitors from Oregon & Washington arrived at the Lane County Fairgrounds early Saturday morning for a weekend of fun as we celebrated our history and our deep love of the dahlia.

By early morning the Wheeler Pavilion was filled with table upon table of beautiful blooms. Judging started at 9:30 and the head table judging finally wrapped up around 2:00 PM. It was hard work to choose the best of the best among so many beautiful entries.

This year we had an especially lovely selection of basket entries, including a few by novices.

The arrangement tables were also filled with outstanding exhibits.

Our information table, backed by hanging quilts, was a popular place. The general public could pick-up free informational flyers and get their questions answered. We also welcomed 14 new members during the weekend!

As always, the centerpiece of our show was the Head Table. All of the "Best-in-Show" 1-bloom & 3-bloom entries were brought here, as well as Special Section winners. Each year the table is topped by a gorgeous arrangement created by Eleanor Shantz.

Another view of the Head Table. Below is a recap of the 4 top blooms in the show as well as the top arrangement & basket. They are followed by all head table winners entered by a member of the Lane County Dahlia Society. Congratulations to everyone!

Best 1-Bloom Fully Double in the Show

Yellow Ball Seedling

Mike Iler

Best 3-Bloom Fully Double in the Show

"Carnivale"

Kathy Iler

Best 1-Bloom Open Center in the Show

"Fancy Pants"

Kathy Iler

Best 3-Blooms Open Center in the Show

"Raeann's Canis Majoris"

Wayne Lobaugh

Best Basket in the Show

Mini Slam "Elvira, Lo Blush, & Bruidegum's Royal"

Eleanor Shantz

Best Arrangement in the Show

"An Evening Glow"

Margaret Kennedy

Best 1-Bloom "A" in the Show

"Elma Elizabeth"

Camille Noel

Best 1-Bloom Miniature Ball in the Show

"Chimicum Davi"

Lexa Cookson

Best 3-Bloom Miniature Ball in the Show

"Chimicum Les C"

Lexa Cookson

Best 1-Bloom Waterlily in the Show

"Pam Howden"

Dan Duffy

Best 1-Bloom Anemone in the Show

"Alpen Fury"

Brian Fullerton

Best 3-Bloom Mignon Single in the Show

"Stillwater Plum"

Brian Fullerton

Best Amateur 1-Bloom "AA" in the Show

"AC Ben"

Camille Noel

Best Amateur 1-Bloom Ball in the Show

"Snoho Dorris"

Brian Fullerton

Best Novice 1-Bloom "A" in the Show

"Show-N-Tell"

Deb Gilmer

Best Novice 1-Bloom "AA" in the Show

"Emory Paul"

Scott Holub

Best Novice 1-Bloom Ball in the Show

"Snoho Doris"

Tom Heath

Best 1-Bloom Dick Canning Miniature Origination

"Don C"

Michael Canning

Best 1-Bloom "AA" Float 

"AC Ben"

Camille Noel

Best 1-Bloom Lane County Origination

"EV Purple Puff"

Sonia Hall

50th Anniversary Dahlia Show

Lane County Dahlia Society's 50th Annual Show

"Golden Jubilee"

Where: The Wheeler Pavilion, the Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene, OR

When: Saturday, September 14th  11 AM - 5:30 PM

    Sunday, September 15th  10 AM - 4 PM

Admission is Free! Come help the Lane County Dahlia Society celebrate its 50th Anniversary show! There will be hundreds of blooms on display this weekend as exhibitors from all over the Pacific Northwest arrive in Eugene to vie for the "Best In Show"awards. There will be an information booth with LCDS members ready to answer all dahlia related questions and free information handouts. Just outside the Wheeler Pavilion is a dahlia display garden tended by LCDS members. This year the garden pays homage to dahlias that are 50 years and older as well as dahlias that were hybridized by LCDS members over the years. Bring your camera and your questions and prepared to be amazed. We will see you there!

September Meeting

The Lane County Dahlia Society will hold its September meeting Thursday, September 5th at 7:30 PM at the Celeste Campbell Center, 155 High Street, Eugene. This month's meeting will focus on how to enter a bloom in a dahlia show. We will discuss how to improve bloom quality on your plants, how to transport blooms safely to a show, and demonstrate how to stage a 1-bloom and 3-bloom exhibit. A presentation will also be given on how to create and enter a flower arrangement in our show. We will also have an informal dahlia "show-and-tell" as members bring in blooms to share. The meeting is free and open to the public. Free refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

August Meeting

The Lane County Dahlia Society will hold its August meeting Thursday, August 1st at 7:30 PM at the Celeste Campbell Center, 155 High Street, Eugene. This month's program features a DVD with Wayne Shantz demonstrating the steps he uses to hybridize dahlias. A question & answer session will follow with  Sonia Hall & Wayne. We will also have an informal dahlia "show-and-tell" as members bring in blooms to share. Eugene Kenyon will also give a "mini" presentation highlighting what's happening in the dahlia garden this month. The meeting is free and open to the public. Free refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there!