MICROSOFT

August 2015 Volume 25, Number 2

Hosta Happenings

You can pay your 2016 dues at the annual meeting. You can pay your 2016 dues at the annual meeting. You can pay your 2016 dues at the annual meeting. Make sure you have priority for Hosta CollegeMake sure you have priority for Hosta CollegeMake sure you have priority for Hosta College...

gifts!

Come to the workday and get a raffle ticket from Clarence.

what he likes! At the annual meeting after the workday we will have a drawing for hosta prizes. The Grand Prize is a mini-

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Hidden Lake Gardens Tipton, MI

August 23, 2014

President Jim Munson called the meeting to order at 1:15. Jim thanked everyone for coming and all of their hard work on the Hillside. Bob Sinke motioned, Elaine Rappley seconded, to dispense with the reading of the meeting minutes. Motion approved.

Bob Everson gave a report on the membership. We have a membership of 247. Lisa Quiggle reported on the plant sale. We had a very successful sale and sold 416 plants. Plans have been made to order the 2015 and 2016 plants this year. This will give us a jump start on plants for the 2016 sale. We are continuing to use Rosewind Nursery in Osseo since their plants are very well grown and easy to sell. Bob Sinke reminded everyone of Hosta College which will be held on March 20 and 21, 2015 in Piqua. The Tailgate will be held on July 10,11 and 12 in the Buffalo, NY region. This will be held during the Buffalo Garden Walks with over 350 gar-dens on tour. Clarence Owens reported on the Hosta Hillside. Clarence said that this year the garden looks better than it ever has. There have been quite a few volunteers working in the area along with workers at Hidden Lake Gardens who have spent their lunch in the Hillside sprucing it up. Mike Grenya did an excellent job redo-ing the mini-hosta bed. Clarence also thanked Gerry and Bob for all of the gator work and Bob and Lisa for planting hostas in the old Krossa Regal bed. Wayne of Hidden Lakes would like to set up a few additional workdays during the summer of 2015. Meeting adjourned at 1:45.

A little over a year ago I was minding my own business while attending the American Hosta Society national convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Following an evening dinner banquet, I was approached by Randy Goodwin from the Indianapolis Hosta Society about replacing him as the Chair of the Benedict Garden Performance Awards program. All the time he is talking about the awards program

bout all of the cultivars out there and how in the world could I chair a committee and program that I know practically nothing abo ??

n Judge will you.

By now, maybe you are wondering, what is the Benedict Garden Performance Awards program? It is actually a 3 tiered, multi-awards program where a hybridizer begins by nominating a cultivar they have registered and that cultivar is placed in the first level where it must compete against other cultivars to become one of the top vote getters. The hostas receiving the most votes will win an award and it then moves on to the second tier where they again compete against other hosta and those cultivars move on to the third round if they again continue to receive the most votes. At this point in the third round, the one cultivar receiving the most votes wins the coveted Benedict Garden Performance Medal and this medal is the highest award of recognition given out by the American Hosta

I think you can see that any hosta such as H. Leading Lady that was competing against 30-40 hosta in each of the categories and wins at all levels, is a hosta of distinction that is certainly worthy of such recognition and I think you can see the prestige that goes with winning it. It should be an honor to be able to participate in the selection of a hosta to receive this distinguished award and that is the job of Garden Judges who are people like you and I who love the plant and should involve ourselves more in the society that advances the genus. You can start today by becoming a Garden Judge if you are not already one. Being a Garden Judge takes practically no time.

ta functions s. Some

will stick out and appeal to you more than others. But it is likely that you will never see all of the hosta out there, even some of the acy at

first is true of many of the members of the Board of the American Hosta Society, the committee that represents the Benedict Garden self

in this program. We have a strong region (Great Lakes Region) and typically our region is the highest number of voters in the country, but that participation has been slipping as of late and now the Midwest region which includes states like Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa to name a few have surpassed us. Please fill out an application and send it to me so you can become eligible this fall to cast your vote. You can read more about the Benedict Garden Performance Awards program and Garden Judge eligibility by going here http://www.americanhostasociety.org/Hosta%20Judging/Section%20IV%20-%20GardenPerformance.pdf and you can apply to become a Garden Judge by filling out the accompanying application. If you should have any questions or need more information, please let me know. I will email your acceptance as a Garden Judge soon after you send me your application and you can vote any time thereafter until about the end of November. I look forward to hearing from you. Michael Greanya Chair, Benedict Garden Performance Awards mfg10@comcast.net

THE BENEDICT GARDEN PERFORMANCE MEDAL

AMERICAN HOSTA SOCIETY GARDEN JUDGE APPLICATION FORM

As an AHS Garden Judge, a candidate should be qualified in the following: Be a maintaining member in good standing of the AHS for three

consecutive years. Requirement met? ( Y/N)

Reviewed the Benedict Garden Performance section of the AHS Handbook found on the AHS web site. Requirement met? (Y/N)

Have a background knowledge in hosta culture and Individual cultivars. Requirement met? (Y/N) Garden background information:

Approximate number of hostas grown in personal garden. (many, dozens, hundreds, or specific number) _____ Approximate the number of hosta cultivars added to personal garden in the last five years. _____ List the gardens visited in your region, other regions, or at national AHS conventions during the last two years. Use additional page if needed.

Year Garden Location _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________ _____ ________________________ ________________________

Have the desire and ability to visit a representative gardens containing hostas in his/her

region of residence. Requirements met? (Y/N) Send application to the AHS Garden Performance Chair for processing and ap-proval. (Michael Greanya, 2204 Vandemere Dr, Jackson MI 49201 mfg10@comcast.net) Name________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________ Telephone Number_______________Email_________________________ Signature __________________________________

gifts!

Come to the workday and get a raffle ticket from Clarence.

what he likes! At the annual meeting after the workday we will have a drawing for hosta prizes. The Grand Prize is a mini-

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A display garden and nursery. Northern hardy, field grown daylilies. July is peak bloom season for over 1600 AHS varieties.

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2016 Dates

Michigan Hosta Society

AUGUST 23, 2015AUGUST 23, 2015

THE Event of the Hosta Social SeasonTHE Event of the Hosta Social SeasonTHE Event of the Hosta Social SeasonBe there!Be there!Be there!