FROM YOUR REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT

 

The gardening year of 2011 provided gardeners with many challenges. In the Rochester, New York area, we had 17 straight days of rain in April. Frequently, areas of the garden were flooded, and iris rhizomes rotted.

 

I attended the Median Iris Convention in Oklahoma City. They had an early spring, and most of the Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) irises were finished blooming before the convention began. Luckily, there was plenty of bloom on the Intermediate Bearded (IB) irises and the Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB) irises. I don’t recall seeing any Border Bearded (BB) irises in the gardens. The hospitality couldn’t have been better.

 

Then, in May, it was off to the AIS National Convention in Victoria for me. In Victoria, the guest gardens had a cool and wet spring that delayed the iris bloom. Almost all of the Tall Bearded (TB) irises were not in bloom. What a disappointment! The local clubs had worked so hard, but Mother Nature did not cooperate. Here again, the IBs stole the show.

 

While I was away inVictoria, the daily temperatures at home were nearly 90 degrees. Therefore, unfortunately, the weather pushed the irises into early bloom in my garden, and I missed seeing the bloom on many of my TBs.

 

As RVP Extraordinare, Vaughn Sayles was a “tough act to follow.” I had hopes of visiting the various affiliates. But, for one reason or another, that did not happen. It has indeed been a learning experience.

 

As we do every fall, the officers of Region 2 invite you to attend the Region 2 Fall Meeting being hosted by the Central New York Iris Society on September 24, 2011. R. Dennis Hager will be the guest speaker. I’m looking forward to his presentation and hope that you are, too. You will find information regarding the meeting elsewhere in the newsletter.

 

Our by-laws need to be amended to incorporate the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec into Region 2.  There are also some other minor changes to the by-laws. Please look for the amendments, ask any questions that you may have at the general meeting and be prepared to vote on the amendments.

 

Funding for Region 2 depends upon the generosity of the affiliates and its members. We need for each affiliate to donate to the region’s treasury generously. Many of our affiliates have just a small number of active members. If you want to have regional meetings with guest speakers with a national reputation, then we need to have enough money in the treasury to support the affiliate that is hosting the meeting.

 

Members: please attend the fall regional meeting and donate to the silent auction. Please contribute an iris or gardening related item that you think someone would pay to own. And don’t forget we need someone to buy these treasures.

 

If I may be of assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Donna Lowry

RVP Region 2