I remember that my dad used to pack on the pounds every winter, expanding his girth by 10 - 15 pounds like a great black bear preparing to hibernate. It wasn't just the holiday fare of Thanksgiving and Christmas that did it, although Dad dearly loved to eat. He never met a pie or cake he didn't want to devour! Come Spring, however, he always shed his cold-weather corpulence, and slimmed back down to fightin'-trim. I never thought about that much, until yesterday when I spent April Fools Day working in the Tony DeRooy Memorial Garden. I realized that working outside in the Springtime truly means "working out," and the pounds literally melt away! Working alongside other NCW Dahlia Society members, our "Work Pary" started at 9 am, with members raking, weeding, picking up debris and rocks, and laying the irrigation lines in each of the 23 rows that will be tended by members. This "party" didn't have cake, but we all enjoyed Sherry Anderson's yummy cinnamon rolls and hot coffee during our mid-morning break. Beth Miracle, the baby of the group, spent several hours with us, even though she and her husband Charlie were planning to leave for an anniversary trip to Antigua later in the day - now that's what I call commitment! Sherry, along with Fernie Slabaugh and Gloria VanBuren Hainline came ready to work, armed with garden tools, wheelbarrows, strong backs and relentless passion. Ray Brain, who personifies the work ethic we all strive for, oversaw the process for getting the soaker hoses in place, and all the smaller row sprinklers down. Fernie and I were tasked with forcing those little tiny plastic pokey-things into the blue-striped hose lines and believe me, our thumbs were screaming by the time we finished! You'd think we were a couple of teenagers with "texting-thumb!"
The Memorial Garden is adjacent to the parking lot at the Numerica Credit Union, and in the past several years, we have been striving to improve the growing environment and the irrigation process so that our flowers will be the best they can be. The garden is in a high-visibility area, with much foot traffic going to and from the credit union, Wenatchee Valley Clinic, Safeway, or Garden Terrace senior apartments. Every year people stop and tell us how much the love the flowers, how beautiful they are. They have an unconditional love for these beauties, even if the blooms aren't show quality. For those of us in the Dahlia Society, however, we want to be able to compete in shows and produce tubers that from blooms that win ribbons, so that means we need to keep upping the ante and improving our growing techniques.
As a novice grower, who knows almost nothing about growing great dahlias, I have a lot to learn. Days like yesterday, where I get to work alongside others who have been growing dahlias for longer than I have, or who have had some successes with techniques that they have tried, are invaluable to me. One of the most significant benefits of being part of a dahlia society is the opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with people who share in the quest to grow perfect flowers. I know it is not possible for everyone to take part in these work parties, but if you get a chance to do so, I highly recommend it - and next time, I'll bring cake!
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