Having one of the last shows in the state has upsides and downsides......The two major upsides are: 1) outstanding judges and clerks are available to come and help us out by bringing a high quality of evaluation to our entries; and 2) our dahlias are finally ready! I've talked to several local dahlia growers who share the experience of having some of our plants FINALLY blossom after the freakiest spring/summer most of us can remember! This means that we might have the opportunity to see some of the loveliest of "late bloomers" that we will see all summer! And, if we want, we can actually enter these lovelies in our September 17-18 show.
Most of my days in the past couple of weeks could be chronicled by one of those "Time wheels" that repeat and repeat, over and over - disbud, deadhead, weed, disbud, deadhead, weed, disbud, deadhead....and so on, and so on, and so on.......... with an occasional "cut for bouquets, especially if you have donated a couple of bouquets to a charity fundraiser" break......... Some of our members have very large gardens with hundreds of dahlias (Pat G. won't say how many she has, but she has hundreds, trust me!) I have dahlias growing in three locations: about 80 at home, about 80 (with my two sisters) at Russell Street, and about 36 in the Tony DeRooy Memorial Garden on Emerson Street. And we are truly Novice (look it up!) growers, unlike Pat, Sherry, Fernie, Lois, and several others who have been growing fantastic dahlias for so many years......I feel like, on a good day, every other week or so, the best I can do is about two decent bouquets. So you can imagine the stress I experienced this week when I realized that entries for the Central Washington Fair were due on September 7, the "donated bouquet" was due on September 8, and our show is on September 17, which means I will cut on September 16. Oh, the agony!
On top of everything, my husband Gary is at the beginning of a long recovery from a 10-level spinal fusion......This surgery is extremely extensive and rarely done on anyone other than serious accident victims, and people with extreme scoliosis. Ten levels means that he has 6-12 month ahead where the bone regenerates, the muscles learn how to work again, and the spine once again is able to support his commitment to remaining ambulatory. He is an athlete with an athlete mentality, so that means he has already been exceeding any expectations. However, it is still a long road ahead, and I want to help him as much as I can. Today, he drove for the first time since the surgery a little over two weeks ago. He did fine, and I expect that this little taste of freedom will beget a sense of independence that he has not experienced in several weeks. If Gary is free, then I am free ....... or at least, as near as my cell phone, in case he needs me.
That said, he went with me this week as I selected blooms to enter in the fair, which I managed to do yesterday - only 4 entries, but better than nothing. He also rode along when I cut the flowers for the bouquet I promised to Dr. Rutherford. This morning, when I was ready to deliver the bouquet to the clinic, he told me HE would drive.......He has been doing so well, so I said OK. Having succeeded in that mission, I had him stop by the printers to get our new advertising flyers, and then at the Mall to give them to Megan P. for posting around the mall this week. He did so well, that within an hour of arriving at home, Gary told me he was going to go out for coffee. OK......if you feel like you can do it, go ahead.....So he did.....and he did fine! He hit two of his favorite haunts and then made an appointment for a haircut, took himself out to lunch and then to the barber.
Wow... Freedom for me, too! I was able to stop by the garden, disbud and deadhead, and with a little extra time on my hands, I decided to drive to the fair in Cashmere to see how my 4 dahlia entries did......It was senior citizen day, which meant that, after 2:00 pm, I got in free.... (Age has privileges, youngsters!) and as I walked into the horticulture building, I browsed through the dahlias on the tables....I saw my Hollyhill Electra, which, although a fabulous flower, was wilted and not in good condition, so it only got a red award. I was looking for my other three entries, when Deanna Lorentzen, one of the Master Gardeners said "Look on the Head Table....." and there was my lovely Skipley Claudia J, with a best of class ribbon hanging from the tag.....Yay!!!! I told her, 25% is NOT bad......As I started to walk back to the other dahlias, I think it was Lois Munro who said "I think you have another one there....." so I walked back, and found that my triple entry of Tahoma Kelli had also received a rosette as Best of Class.....Double Yay!!!! I changed my percentage of "not bad" to 50%! Before I finished at the flower entries, I located my last entry, Taratahi Ruby, which was still looking lovely, and sporting a Blue award.....So.....overall, not too bad for my first year at the fair.
Next year, I hope to see a lot more entries from novices like me......It is easy to enter, and if you get a rosette, you feel like you have just been crowned Queen.....even though Sherry Anderson justifiably received "Best in Show....." You can't win if you don't enter...just sayin"......
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