To see the full original newsletter with all the photos click here to get the pdf: January 2014 Newsletter
NEXT MEETING: January 14 @ 7:30 @ 9th and Lincoln
Program: Frank brings us the ADS New Introduction photos for our post-holiday wish lists. Come drool post yule. Who will kick the New Year off with yummies????
HO HO HOLIDAY!
What a great party! Pat arrived early laden with tablecloths, fir boughs and candles. Bill lit the oven and stoked up the coffee urn. John and Devi rearranged tables for our rectangular feast. Jenna took 3 extra steps to not only bring cutlery, but to wrap it in festive napkins, tie each bundle gaily and stand them all like holiday soldiers in a napkin bin.
Erik’s ham and Deborah’s chicken curry wafted alluring aromas. Someone brought killer clam linguine. MMMM. DSCers whipped up such wonderful dishes. I took pix of 4 different people’s plates and they each looked as if they’d gone to 4 different parties! Imagine an entire monster cookie sheet of Scotty’s peanut brittle! Who molded the cranberry wreath? For their swan song, John and Donna arranged a huge plate of cold cuts for their last appearance before decamping for SoCal. We will miss their wonderful energy and great ideas so much. The Gaenslers stocked a wonderful bar with Dahlia Wine and sparkling things. Comfort food at its finest, Pat’s Shepherd’s Pie soothed many a tummy.
Phil and Marilyn donated 3 boxes of her famous pottery. Tinnee and Devorah hope to use these beautiful items in a raffle for those who renew or join DSC in Dec. or January. What a treat!
PRESENT PILFERING
During our chatter, suddenly there came such a clatter on the windows. Big Santa and his smaller elf clamored to climb in our windows. Santa remonstrated that good dahlia growers to participate in the Big Dig Jan. 11-12 otherwise they might find caterpillars, cut worms and BAD nematodes in their stockings.
Deborah passed out 36 of Bill’s magic poker chips. With Lola keeping track, we knew exactly when the amarillyi were frozen, along with the croaking frog, the weird fertilizer, and the succulent gardens. Who knew that the spirit of Christmas Past – Lou and Thelma – would so pervade our lively party! Erik scoured their humongous garage sale last April for fabulous dahlia treasures: a dahlia platter, dahlia vases, and the two magnificent framed dahlia photos that had adorned Thelma’s memorial. Needless to say, these heirlooms swapped owners rapidly to everyone’s delight. (See the final picture poachers on the next page.)
More from the felonious festivities
So this Englishman goes into a pub. . .
“Pat, do you think all the peoplke reading about our wonderful Christmas party are current DSC members?”
“I hope so Shelly. If not it’s easy to join or renew. All they need to do is read the article below. By the way, cute elf you’ve got there.”
IT’S A NEW YEAR – TIME TO RENEW YOUR DSC MEMBERSHIP:
Hot off the wire Here is a message from our Membership Chair, Devi Joseph. We are offering a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Annual Tuber Sale to all ADS/DSC members who renew by January 31st. Each renewal will earn a raffle ticket. The raffle will be held at the February meeting; you do not have to be present to win. (We are trying to help out the ADS Membership Chairman by getting as many ADS renewals in on time so he can send the first mailing out. However we are extending this offer to all DSC members as well.)
Here is a link to the 2014 Membership form. Please fill it out and mail to: Devi Joseph, DSC Membership Chair, 862-39th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121.
Tinnee will also draw winners of Marilyn’s lovely ceramics. Such incentives! Dahlia Society of California membership costs $10 for which you may attend 12 meetings with informative speakers, compete in both our mini and maxi shows, help with DigOut, volunteer at the Dell, and receive e-newsletters like this one throughout the year. Membership in the American Dahlia Society costs $24 for individuals and $32 for a family. For this, you receive the ADS Classification Guide (the dahlia Bible), 4 quarterly Bulletins, and “membership only” access to the ADS website.
DIGOUT 2014:
Who: You and your dahlia diggin friends
What: DIGOUT 2014 – Return of the Tuber!
Where: The DELL
When: Jan. 11-12, 9 am till dark.
Why: Because tubers like to winter in a cool, dry place
RAIN OR SHINE but pray for shine. Do wear layers that can withstand dirt and bring an extra set of clothes just in case; water is abundant and sometimes wayward. Toasty pads (butt warmers) make cold seating less so. Knee-high water boots, hat, ADS Classification Book, and gloves, recommended. Your benevolent society will provide pizzas for lunch, but your side dishes or treats are greatly appreciated.
Apprentice yourself to an exhuming engineer or master surgeon and learn to dig and divide. Bring your best LARGE penmanship to the Label Table.
Most importantly, bring your A attitude for helpfulness and cheerfulness.
A BRUSH WITH AN ARTIST:
Tourists and dahlia volunteers alike delighted with a resident artist this past season. Kevin Woodson, whose work appears on museum walls all over the world, spent hours and days capturing his particular vision of our favorite flower. Layer after layer of water colors grew into lovely renderings. Kevin even shared one of his artistic secrets, “I use a 300 lb cold press watercolor paper called lanaquarelle. What makes it special is that I can keep it wet for hours!!”. What a blessing to have blooming dahlias on these pages during these Mud Months.
MAUS HAUS SUNSHINE:
Orlando gifted Deborah with a snazzy Dremmel divider for Christmas. Good thing, because Half Moon Bay Dahlias gifted DSC with 40 clumps of prime A, AA, and B delights. Faced with this humongous delivery, Deborah asked Mike, “Does this mean I’ve been naughty or nice?” So Deborah, her new Dremmel, the kitty and NPR zzzzed away appreciating the dry and toasty “winter” weather we’ve been enjoying.
So far, there’s over 100 milk cartons in the loft awaiting germination and already 5 sprouted in her hallway greenhouse window. Ah, a new season begins!
Speaking of milk cartons – Baker Bill announced that anyone who would like more milk cartons in which to plant tubers for early germination should give him a call [ 650-871-7200 ] and make arrangements to pick them up. Bill has already cleaned them and slit their flaps. (Yet another bonus for DSC members. Have you renewed your membership yet? See pg. 3 for details.)
PREVIEW OF NEW INTROS:
Verrone’s Judd Sherman
Holgar Jansen
Roland Verrone offers these four new dahlias for the ’14 season. For even more check out his website at Verrone’s Pride of the Prairie Dahlias (wadahlias.com)
Verrone’s Sarah Sherman
Verrone’s Julie Ann
JUMP START JANUARY:
Given our dry December, tubers left in the ground should have fared well. However, you could still put large pots over them to protect from any rain we might get as well as keep bugs out and slightly warm the soil. Now is the time to add chicken manure which needs to sit mixed in 4-6 weeks to be utterly safe on fragile new dahlia roots. Keep composting. Worms are slower during the cooler times, but nevertheless, they process and aerate your soil continually.
Check out some new commercial dahlia websites: Aztec, Verrone’s Pride of the Prairie, Linda’s Dahlias, Cowlitz, and a new recommendation from Devorah, Blossom Gulch. Participate to your utmost at the BigDig 2014, Jan. 11-12. Milk carton up some extra dahlias to donate at our annual Tuber and Cutting Sale in April. Ask new growers if they’d like to help you process some of your beauties or if you could help them with theirs. Dividing in company is much more fun. Sprinkle some poppy or other wild flower seeds over your patch to mitigate the moody brown feeling. They compost in easily as you begin to plant. Happy New Year!
Yours in Dirt,
Dahlia Society of California, Inc., San Francisco, CA — Copyrighted
Editor: Deborah Dietz
Page layout: Mike Willmarth
Photo credits: Dietz, Hart
Originally Organized in 1917 in San Francisco
the Dahlia was adopted as the Official Flower of San Francisco
on October 4, 1926 by its Board of Supervisors