Last June the American Dahlia Society (ADS) leadership came to Brighton, Colorado for their open annual meeting, hosted by the Colorado Dahlia Society (CDS). I had only been a member of CDS for a year and I was interested in learning more about ADS. I was curious about this classification book I received in the mail and after winning my first amateur ribbon in a CDS show, I was intrigued by this event called the ADS National Show. Being warmly welcomed into CDS, especially by the Cook Family of Arrowhead Dahlias, I took the gamble and made the hour and a half drive from Colorado Springs up to a part of the state I had never been before. I figured getting to Brighton, half hour north east of Denver, would be an interesting drive and at least I could see my favorite CDS family even if I didn't get much else out of the weekend.

A casual Friday night dinner was the first gathering of this group before the weekend business meetings. It's always a strange feeling when you are in a town you have never been to, walking into a restaurant you have never eaten in, and coming upon people whose names you don't know. But when I sat down at a long table, next to Marsha, she greeted me with a big smile on her face. We introduced ourselves and ended up conversing for several hours about our dahlias. This was Marsha's first time, too, with the ADS leadership team, and by Sunday afternoon, both of us came away with more understanding and appreciation for everything that goes on behind the scenes to stimulating interest in, disseminating information about, and promoting the culture and development of, the dahlia.

A week or so later, Marsha called me with excitement in her voice. "Would you like to go together to the national show in Portland?" The practicality of Marsha not wanting to travel alone gave us an opportunity to book flights and a room together and to further the development of our friendship. We had a ball! The show and workshops were fun and we both learned so much about new varieties, the Genome Project, and what it takes to win a non-amateur ribbon!

Both Marsha and I have small commercial dahlia farms, learning about flower farming from Floret right around the time Covid began. Some people we meet in our dahlia society circles snicker when they learn of our new business adventures, stating that in the last few years, more and more people want to 'monetize their dahlia hobby.' I scratched my head when this first started happening to me because I didn't see it that way at all. We were both simply women who were retired from our multiple-decade careers and were wanting to spend our time sharing our love of flowers with other people. Being outside in nature, having the chance every day to talk to customers, and being challenged by all that comes with flower production - that's what excites us and keeps us going no matter who rolls their eyes at us.

Anne Helen Petersen has written about the Dahlia Wars albeit I don't like the word 'wars'. It's true that there is a frenzy about dahlias that is unprecedented due to more varieties, the internet and a renewed interest in general about gardening. I see this as a fabulous opportunity for ADS. At first glance it may not seem that those who grow their dahlias in the backyard for show or for pleasure have anything in common with folks like Marsha and me, but I beg to differ. With our kinship of the dahlia, we can learn from each other about preserving the integrity of our favorite flower, sharing best practices, especially with disease prevention and being aware of different arrangement trends happening in different states across the country.

ADS is more relevant and needed now more than ever. One example: With so many people discovering dahlias, the classification handbook that is part of our ADS membership, is invaluable to new and seasoned growers. If more flower farmers really understood that this resource can help them save time and money on which varieties they should be seeking and growing, they will gladly sign up to be a member and maybe even carve out some time for their local society.

Without ADS/CDS, I might have never became good friends with another flower farmer or attended a national dahlia show or met the multigenerational Cook Family who has taught me so much about the dahlia. Camaraderie is so important for our mental well-being and our national and local ADS societies give us a chance to learn from and support each other and bring on some more levity and fun to our lives.

I'm honored that I recently had a chance to work with ADS leadership on a new campaign, the National Show Endowment Fund. As a retired non-profit fundraiser, it makes me proud to introduce a way for all of us to support a legacy project within a unique organization that has been around for decades and is poised to be the center of the dahlia world for generations to come. Marsha and I will see you in Wenatchee in September!

P.S. Every week, Marsha and I have a standing appointment to view together one of the judging modules on the ADS website. These 16 modules are very well done and we have learned so much regarding form, uniformity, substance, etc. It has been doable for us to view one module a week and we hope to be done with the series in June. On the inside of the back cover of the April 2024 ADS Bulletin, you will find the member log in information. Find the Member Login in the upper left hand corner of the website and then on the Member Info Page, scroll down to Judging & Show, then Judge Training and finally click the ADS Judges Training Modules. Scroll down a bit more to proceed to the modules themselves. Even if you never plan to become a judge at a dahlia show, you'll gain a greater appreciation for all the intricacies of the dahlia.

Why should we financially support the ADS National show fund? 

For more than 100 years the ADS has been the focal point for dahlia growers throughout the United States and Canada. The value of connecting face to face cannot be replaced by the various forms of social media.

From their beginning more than 50 years ago, these shows were intended to be hosted by local societies from coast to coast. They provide opportunities to learn new ideas, growing techniques. It's not only fun but attendees learn about varieties they might not have known existed!

The primary purpose of the ADS National Show Endowment Fund is to provide funding to local dahlia organizations who are hosting an ADS National Show. Putting a deposit down on a show venue and locking in hotel arrangements, meeting spaces, bus rentals, and other activities keeps many societies from coming forward. This endowment will reduce that barrier. Over the short term the ADS will continue to offer support from its operating funds. But we need a long-term solution. The goal of the initial fund-raising campaign is $150,000. Interest from the Fund will support grants provided to a national show host society.

ADS was founded in 1915 and is comprised of over 70 independent local societies in the US and Canada.  We want as many as possible to be comfortable hosting a National Show.

What is an endowment? 

Endowments may generally be described as assets (usually cash accounts that are invested in equities or bonds, or other investment vehicles) set aside so that the original assets (known as the “corpus”) grow over time. The corpus may also be added to over time.

The ADS can use the annual investment income and also grow the Fund. This is a daunting task. Since the Board agreed to establish the Fund, matching gifts for individual and societal donations have been offered to encourage donations.

Please consider making a gift to the ADS National Show Endowment Fund.

Thank you!

Dahlia Talk Co-Authors Martin Kral and Dianne Reitan

at the 2023 ADS Show in Portland

Archive of previous emails here,