2021 Virtual National Convention

February – May 2021

Hosted by The American Daffodil Society

Convention Registration | Photography Show |
Schedule of Activities | Access to Recorded Sessions |
2021 Spring Convention Survey

The ADS 2021 Virtual National Convention is open to anyone interested in learning about daffodils! Please consider yourself cordially invited.

Prior registration and payment is required for participation. Registration will remain open throughout the 2021 Virtual National Convention. Please check the Convention Registration section of this page for appropriate fees and policies. The access code for presentations or events will be sent approximately two hours prior to each session.

Your successful interactive participation via ZOOM in this virtual national convention will require the following:

• Registration for the Virtual National Convention with a valid email address.
• If you plan to view the ZOOM session without participating, all you need is a web browser pointed to the Zoom site https://zoom.us/join and the meeting ID. By joining our meeting, you would see and hear everything.
• If you plan to comment, discuss, or participate in a meeting, download the “free” ZOOM client for your operating system. Windows or Mac Download. For the best experience use a laptop, PC or iPad. You can also download a ZOOM client from the APP Store or Google Play for your cell phone.
• Almost all PC’s, Macs, and mobile devices can be used with a modern internet connection.
• Web browsers known to work well with Zoom are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer does not work. Microsoft Edge is likely to work because it is based on Google Chrome.
• Please review this video guide for Joining a ZOOM meeting
• It might be beneficial to review this short video on ZOOM etiquette.

The American Daffodil Society recommends all participants become familiar and comfortable with ZOOM resources well before the start of our National Spring Convention. You will need to have ZOOM ready to go on your device of choice. You are strongly encouraged to “join” a presentation in plenty of time (15 minutes ahead of time is advisable). Enhance your virtual experience by being prepared. ZOOM offers many tutorials on line to help you get started! See: ZOOM Guides and Tutorials.

Convention Registration!

“Effective FEBRUARY 21, 2021 registration fees have increased to $35 for ADS members and $45 for non members. Registration will remain open throughout the conference.”

Please review the following policies and fees for registration and proceed to the ADS WebStore to select your registration components and render payment by Credit Card, PayPal, or Check. Registration will remain open throughout conference events.

Registration Policies

• Partial Event Registration: Your registration fee includes all programming and there is no option for partial event registration.
• Cancellations and refunds: No refund requests will be accepted for this online event.
• Recording permissions: To enable registered participants to view the educational sessions for an additional ten days after each presentation, those sessions will be recorded. By participating as a presenter or audience member in this digital environment, you agree to be recorded. (If you do not wish to be recorded, please do not participate in the live sessions.)
• Meeting/Event credentials: Zoom credentials (Meeting Access Links) for events are for designated registrants, and should not to be shared. We do recommend that multiple registrants within a household use the same device when attending the same events.

“Reach for the Stars” 2021 ADS National Convention Registration Fees

MEMBERS of American Daffodil Society
Early Bird Registration for ADS members, paying by 20 FEBRUARY: $25
(Registration fee as of 21 FEBRUARY or later: $35)
ADS Accredited Judges Refresher Credit: $5

NON MEMBERS of American Daffodil Society
Early Bird Registration for non-ADS members, paying by 20 FEBRUARY: $35
(Registration fee as of 21 FEBRUARY or later: $45)

ADS Youth Members: Complimentary Registration
(Youth should contact Suzy Wert directly at least a week ahead to register for individual sessions and events of their choice. Please send email to Suzy at: .)

After selection of registration components on the ADS WebStore, you will be asked for your contact information so we can account for your payment and send you the appropriate Zoom credentials for each event.

For questions or concerns with Registration, experiencing issues attending Zoom sessions, missing event email reminders or Zoom links for our events, please contact Registrar Suzy Wert at email: .

ADS Daffodil Photography Show!

This Spring we celebrate daffodils by virtually sharing our photographs with daffodil friends and participating in the 2021 Virtual National Convention Photography Show. There is no fee to participate in the Photography Show, but photographers must register to participate by completing an Application Form on our Daffodil Photography Show website. Photographers who registered for the Daffodil Photography Show during the Fall of 2020 remain registered and do not need to complete a new Application Form.

If you already established a ‘Log In’ for the Daffodil Photography Show website, please sign-in with the same Username and Password you used during the 2020 ADS Virtual Fall Forum. Photography Show Rules and Classes have changed since last year. Please reference the following links to the “updated” 2021 Virtual National Convention Photography Show Rules and Classes;

Daffodil Photography Show Rules

Daffodil Photography Show Classes

We encourage you to either register or ‘Log In’ and begin submitting photographs on February 21, 2021. Deadline for entering photo entries is March 31, 2021. All entries must be the work of the exhibitor and celebrate the daffodil with images of one or more daffodils or daffodil parts as required by the class.

Photography Exhibitors have the ability to upload their photographs to the Daffodil Photography Show website. Photographers must provide the class name and number, title for photo, and the name of the daffodil(s), if known. Photographers should also select a photo class that they believe is appropriate for the photo. Detailed instructions for this process can be found under ‘Photographers’ on the Main Navigation of the website or reference the ‘How to Upload Photos’ page.

During May of 2021 the Daffodil Photography Show will be OPEN for public viewing of Awards and Photographs. Top-winning Photos will be revealed at our special Photography Show recap event.

Please send additional questions about the photography show to Show Chair Jeanne Lager at email:

Schedule of Activities!

FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL | MAY

All times for sessions are using USA Eastern Time Zone

Saturday, February 20, 2021

• EARLYBIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE. See Convention Registration for further details. Don’t miss this chance to save on the registration fee!

Sunday, February 21, 2021

• 12:00 pm — SUBMISSION OF PHOTOGRAPHS FOR ADS ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW BEGINS.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

• 3:30pm — ADS Finance & Executive Committee Meeting (This is a closed Executive session meeting AND WILL NOT BE RECORDED)

Thursday, February 25, 2021

• 12:00 pm — ADS Outgoing Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting, Presiding – ADS President, Fredrica Lawlor of OH. *All registered participants are welcome to “sit in” – but only ADS Board members may vote. (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)

  From a lifelong interest in nature and gardening, Fredrica Lawlor came to the daffodil group when invited to a club dig for the South Western Ohio Daffodil Society (SWODS). She has helped out with SWODS shows over the years, first preparing the commercial exhibit, then as Show Recorder, then as Show Chair. She served as Regional Vice President of the American Daffodil Society’s Midwest Region 2013-2015. Fredrica is an accredited daffodil judge, and has greatly enjoyed the travel opportunities offered by attending spring conventions and fall Board meetings. Now President of the ADS, she looks forward to strengthening the connections of the society in the upcoming virtual events.

• Stay on your Zoom session as we prepare for our Speaker presentation coming up @ 1:00 pm.
• 1:00 pm — “RINGHADDY’S DAFFODILS”, presented by Nial Watson of Killinchy, Northern Ireland (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Nial Watson’s childhood was spent in Africa. From a young age he developed an interest in the environment, particularly plants and animals and their interactions. Nial’s childhood interests turned academic; educated in the UK, his undergraduate degree is in Agricultural Science and his graduate degree is Tropical Animal Production and Health. Following school, Nial worked as a manager on a dairy farm in Ireland and spent several years in Sudan running a rural development project, which included two plant nurseries. This was followed by three years in Zambia as program officer with The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.

  In 1988 Nial returned to live and farm in Northern Ireland. During this time a love of daffodils grew whilst working alongside the greatly respected hybridizer Sir Frank Harrison of Ballydorn Bulb Farm. Due to Frank’s encouragement, Ringhaddy Daffodils was formed, incorporating Ballydorn Bulb Farm and later Brian Duncan Daffodils. The first crosses were made just before its formation and some seedlings have already achieved recognition with awards such as the American Daffodil Society’s Innovator’s Award and a candidate for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Ralph B. White Award. Nial has won all of the ADS challenge awards for Standard seedlings including winning the Bender award for the best bloom in the Challenge section multiple times. Nial was also awarded the Gold Medal of the American Daffodil Society in 2017. This ADS award is for recognition of accomplishments of a preeminent nature in the advancement of daffodils

  Nial’s first American Daffodil Society convention was in Pittsburgh in 1999. He has attended regularly since. He has registered forty cultivars so far with the RHS. He is well known for imposing Standards like ‘Janet’s Gold’, but many intermediates such as ‘Anna Panna’ and ‘Little Alice’ are becoming mainstays in our shows. Nial’s flowers are favorites welcomed back every year.

  Nial Watson will discuss his hybridizing program and share colorful imagery of his current and future exhibition daffodils.

Friday, February 26, 2021

• 6:00 pm — Annual ADS Membership Meeting, Presiding – ADS President, Fredrica Lawlor of OH. *All registered participants are welcome to “sit in” – but only ADS members may vote. (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)
• Don’t go anywhere folks – while we momentarily transition your ZOOM session and take a very short break. ~ “BECAUSE IT MUST BE 5:00 SOMEWHERE”! Show us your adult beverage and please enjoy this open, social interactive time! No recordings here – just FUN! Virtually visit with other daffodilians – while we prepare for the LIVE VERBAL BULB AUCTION coming up @ 7:00 pm.
• 7:00 pm — ADS FIRST LIVE VERBAL AUCTION (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)
  Auctioneer, Janet Hickman of Lynchburg, VA, assisted by Jack Hollister of Starkville, MS. Grab your favorite libation and join us for a lively and fun auction of some very desirable daffodil bulbs! Janet has curated the bulbs for both the “silent” and verbal auctions. ADS trusts you will be very generous in all your bids as you support our work as a nonprofit, educational organization!

Sunday, February 28, 2021

• 3:30 pm — ADS Incoming Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting, Presiding – ADS President, Fredrica Lawlor of OH. *All registered participants are welcome to “sit in” – but only ADS Board members may vote. (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)
• Stay on your Zoom session as we prepare for our next Speaker coming up @ 4:00 pm.
• 4:00 pm — View “PATH OF THE DAFF – A STORY OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION” Video, presented by Diane Valle of Boston, MA
  (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED) View the “Path of the Daff” Trailer Video!

  Diane Valle is a Boston resident, an avid urban horticulturist, and a passionate community organizer and collaborator. Diane has been beautifying greenspace and building community in the City of Boston for decades, spearheading the first private/public partnership at the historic Bunker Hill Monument site; starting the first Crime Watch in her neighborhood, and serving as President and Founder of many urban horticultural organizations.

  Discovering the joy of improving open spaces, as Chair of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Gardens on six acres of the newly reclaimed land, Diane’s focus is on bringing fine horticulture to the public where they work, play and live.

  In ways that none could imagine, The Boston Marathon tragedy caused unfathomable loss of innocent life, injury, and affected the BAA marathoners, the City of Boston residents, workers and visitors. To welcome the BAA Marathon the following year, as an act of hope, recovery and a tribute to Boston Strong, Diane organized the eight communities along the marathon route and with the help of hundreds of remarkable Garden Club Federation members, Massachusetts Master Gardeners, horticulturists, volunteers and donors, planted over 130,000 Marathon Daffodils along the route. The generous public support of Marathon Daffodils inspired the distribution potted Marathon Daffodils along the Finish Line and Back Bay, to greet marathoners and visitors, and to lift spirits for the historic weekend.

  In our seventh year, Marathon Daffodils Plan B 2020 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were disheartened that the Boston Marathon was cancelled, as our city, our country and our world closed down due to the virus. In a remarkable community effort, Marathon Daffodils donors and volunteers agreed to distribute the beautiful, cheerful Marathon Daffodils to our hardworking, brave hospital workers, nurses and doctors throughout Boston.

  For 2021 the BAA Marathon may be postponed to the Fall of 2021. With our coolers full of Marathon Daffodils, ready for April, we hope our donors and volunteers will rise to the occasion again, and help us distribute the daffodils to the hospitals. The more funds we raise, the more we may share our symbols of Hope, extend these gifts of beautiful Marathon Daffodils to celebrate Spring, and to make a statement of Boston Strong.

  **Support ‘Boston Strong – MARATHON DAFFODILS’ – DONATE TODAY!

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

• 7:00 pm — Judges Refresher: “Daffodil Jeopardy Game” Don’t let your daffodil judging skills be in jeopardy! Your host will be — Becky Fox Matthews of Brentwood, TN. Contestants need not apply in advance and non-judges are also welcome to attend. Everyone can play along! Be sure to register in advance via the ADS WebStore, if you want to receive credit.(EVENT WAS NOT RECORDED)
  
  Becky Fox Matthews of Brentwood, TN is a Past President of the American Daffodil Society, the current Media Programs Chair, an Accredited Daffodil Judge and Judges’ Instructor. She is a Past President of the Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society and the current Show Chair, Website and Newsletter Editor. Becky served as a daffodil judge at the 2008 RHS Daffodil Show in London, at the 2012 North Island Show in Hamilton, New Zealand, at the 2016 World Daffodil Show at St. Louis, Missouri, and at other ADS local and national shows. Her one-acre garden in Brentwood, TN, includes an astounding collection of over 16,000 daffodil bulbs of over 3,000 varieties.

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

• 7:00 pm — “BUTTERFLIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD”, presented by Andrea Schepmann of Cincinnati, Ohio (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Andrea Schepmann, General Manager, Krohn Conservatory and Warder Nursery has worked in the public horticulture sector for 40 years and with Cincinnati Parks for 38 years. Her degree in Ornamental Horticulture is from Cincinnati State College and she also is certified to teach secondary education in the area of Vocational Horticulture through Ohio State University.

  Ms. Schepmann recently retired as General Manager of the Krohn Conservatory. As General Manager her duties include managing the conservatory operations as well as the support production nursery, Warder Nursery. The creation and continued success of the Butterfly Show at Krohn is part of her many achievements.

  Her previous experience with teaching Vocational Horticulture in Cincinnati Public School Aiken HS and Great Oaks Vocational School has provided good building blocks for her current responsibility of designing and implementing the public programs at Krohn Conservatory. She enjoys sharing the stories behind the amazing plant collections of the conservatory and inspiring visitors to enjoy the richness of nature. Her knowledge of the collection area comes from her many years of experience at the conservatory, her interest in habitat restoration work in all parts of the world and her personal hobbies of growing orchids, bonsai and food plants.

  Andrea Schepmann will share stories of bringing butterflies from all over the world to enchant thousands of visitors to many years of the blockbuster Butterfly Show at Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

• 7:00 pm — “HOT WATER TREATMENT FOR DAFFODILS USING SOUS VIDE UNIT”, presented by Kathleen Simpson of Gandeeville, West Virginia (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Kathleen Simpson is a retired engineer who grows her daffodils on a 130+ acre wooded property in very rural West Virginia, with a second garden at her childhood home in not-quite-as-rural Arkansas. She has a special fondness for triandrus, cyclamineus and poet daffodils. She also loves fancy splits and garden oddities, the gaudier or stranger, the better.

  Inspired by queries raised during the 2020 Virtual Fall Forum, Kathleen Simpson of West Virginia will lead an instructional session on Hot Water Treatment for the control of pests in daffodil bulbs.

Sunday, March 21, 2021

• 2:00 pm — ADS ONLINE DAFFODIL AUCTION BEGINS ON eBay!
  Search for ‘ADS 2021 Spring Daffodil Auction’ to find our daffodil auction items. Auction closes on Sunday, March, 28, 2020. Check the listings you’re interested in for the exact time bids close on that day – it varies slightly for each listing. Please note: Any eBay member can bid at our ADS Online Bulb Auction. ***List of Daffodil Items available at eBay ADS 2021 Spring Daffodil Auction!

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

• 6:00 pm — LET’S TALK HISTORICS! DAFFODIL SLEUTHING: SHOW AND TELL TIME – Join Sara Van Beck of Atlanta, Georgia, and daffodil friends Janet Hickman of Lynchburg, VA, Genie Applegate of Gloucester, VA, Ross Hornsby of Auburn, Alabama and Linda Eirhart of Winterthur DE, for an hour of lively discussion about Historic Daffodils. (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Sara L. Van Beck, of Atlanta, Georgia, is a horticulturist and plant historian. A prolific author and speaker, Sara is the author of ‘Daffodils in American Gardens 1733-1940’.

  She presently serves the Cherokee Garden Library of The Atlanta History Center, as a member of the Acquisitions Committee. ADS has benefited from Sara’s expertise as a member of the BOD. She has served as President of The Georgia Daffodil Society. Sara’s knowledge of historic landscapes preservation, and her love of historic daffodils has been a great asset for Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.

  She has served the RHS as a corresponding member to the Narcissus Classification Advisory Group. Sara has volunteered as the long time list serve moderator for the ADS Historics Committee internet group.

  Sara began her professional career as a museum curator for the National Park Service’s Southeast Regional Office. She had developed a love of gardening from both her parents, growing up in Tallahassee, Florida. The Van Beck family learned that historic daffodils performed well in north Florida and they began extensive research, which resulted in their legacy: numerous books and articles about historic daffodils – and the equally fascinating historical landscapes where they could be found.

  Historic daffodil friends Janet Hickman of Lynchburg, VA, Genie Applegate of Gloucester, VA, Ross Hornsby of Auburn, Alabama and Linda Eirhart of Winterthur DE.

  

Janet Hickman of Lynchburg, Virginia, is an ADS Accredited Judge and Judge Instructor as well as the ADS First Vice President. She has served as the Daffodil Chair of the Garden Club of Virginia and is the Horticulture Vice Chair for the Board of the Old City Cemetery and Arboretum in Lynchburg, VA. She grows about 1800 daffodil varieties and likes them all, from miniature to massive, Historic to brand new. She has enjoyed exhibiting in local, regional, and National shows across the country.

Genie Applegate of Gloucester, Virginia grew up in Fairfax County, Virginia on part of George Washington’s original River Farm. She was from a family of gardeners: her father was English and her mother from Indiana, thus Daffodils are in her DNA. After many years in a typical suburban lot in Arlington Virginia, she now gardens in a little more space in Gloucester, Virginia (Tidewater area)-zone 7b. She is drawn to Historics by her love of history, but also that they were state of the art (ahem) and in the garden when she was a child, so the sentiment is important to her too. But she also appreciates the feats of modern breeders’ improvements in color and form. Genie now grows about 1000 varieties and is learning which do well in Virginia.

Ross Hornsby of Auburn, Alabama first became interested in daffodils by exploring my great-grandmother’s gardens and land where many historic daffodils were naturalized. Ross holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University in Ornamental Horticulture and has been gardening and growing daffodils since he was 15 years old. Ross will be discussing his journey to Pond Spring, located in Lawrence County, Alabama, and other Alabama historic daffodils he might find this Spring.

Linda Eirhart of Winterthur, Delaware is the Director of Horticulture/Senior Curator of Plants at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. Linda and her staff are responsible for the horticultural care, design, and documentation of the Winterthur Garden. Their goal is to preserve the H. F. du Pont’s original design intent for the garden while enhancing the seasonal display and plant collection. Over her career at Winterthur, she has been responsible for garden interpretation, plant records, and garden restoration. Linda will be talking about Winterthur’s efforts to document and identify the historic daffodils in the Winterthur garden.

Sunday, March 28, 2021

• ADS ONLINE DAFFODIL AUCTION CLOSES ON eBay TODAY!
  Search for ‘ADS 2021 Spring Daffodil Auction’ to find our daffodil auction items. Check the listings you’re interested in for the exact time bids close – it varies slightly for each listing. Please note: Any eBay member can bid at our ADS Online Bulb Auction.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

• 12:00 pm — DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PHOTOGRAPHS TO THE ADS ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW.

• 6:00 pm — “BREEDING ADVANCES IN DIVISIONS 5, 6, 7, 8 AND 10 IN AUSTRALIA”, presented by Lawrence Trevanion of Canberra, Australia (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Lawrence Trevanion grew up in the 1960’s out in the sticks, Snowy River country, where the only remnants of early European settlers are the daffodils they planted. As a youth he planted these daffodils along the fences where they flower to this day.

  In the mid 90’s he started daffodil breeding in Perth, Western Australia. There he benefited from an immense collection of older and newer varieties owned by Marie Parton and others. He soon moved to Canberra and was able to expand his activities to a 20 acre property near the neighboring town of Yass.

  Lawrence breeds all kinds of daffodils, every division, flowering for about 8 months from March to October. Thousands of crosses later he is still discovering new and exciting things about daffodils. His innovative daffodils include: ‘First Stanza’, bred from the tazetta species Narcissus elegans; ‘Viriquilla’, that combines the fertile jonquil hybrids with the fertile Narcissus viridiflorus hybrids; and ‘Gold Step’. a fertile bulbocodium inter-sectional hybrid.

Monday, April 5, 2021

• 12:00 pm — ADS ONLINE DAFFODIL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW IS OPEN FOR POPULAR VOTING!

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

• 12:00 pm — “SOME OF MY NARCISSUS CROSSES AND HYBRIDIZING GOALS”, presented by Theo Sanders of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)
  Theo Sanders worked as a professor for Material Science at the University of Essen in Germany, began breeding daffodils in 1973 on a small scale and nowadays has a field of 1500 m² with frost resistant daffodils and 20 m² with 520 pots of species and hybrids under glass. He makes about 150 to 250 crosses per year. Approximately half of them set seed. Since 1996, he travels each year to Spain and/or Portugal to study narcissus species in the wild and began to cross standard daffodils with species. He looked especially at the fertility of these crosses. His articles concerning daffodil hybridizing can be found in Dafflibrary.org or on www.theo-sanders-daffodils.de.

The main items of focus for Theo Sanders presentation follows:

• Practical hints for hybridizing
• Preconditions of fertility
• Examination of pollen fertility
• Chromosome doubling
• Different crosses, especially standard daffodils with species
• Hybridizing goals

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

• 6:00 pm — “DAFFODIL RAMBLE THROUGH YEARS OF JOY HYBRIDIZING AND TRAVELING”, presented by David Adams of Christchurch, New Zealand (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  David Adams Born in Oxford and raised in Sheffield, David is a second-generation daffodil grower. His farmer father, Les Adams, showed daffodils as well as Jersey cattle, Southdown sheep and poultry. “He got me into growing daffodils as well and I had my own little collection when I was about eight,” David says. Success came early – a best in show at the Oxford Methodist Daffodil Show – when David was just 12 and at Sheffield Primary School. But fate interrupted David’s daffodil career at 14 years old, when his Dad died. The family home was sold and the daffodil bulbs dug up and discarded.

  It was while attending a Canterbury Horticultural Society daffodil show in the early 1970s that David again felt the pull of the daffodil. “I said to Leitha ‘I think I’d like to do that again’. That almost led to an obsession.” The society’s daffodil circle embraced the couple, dispensing bulbs and advice on breeding. From renowned daffodil breeder David Bell in Templeton, David bought about a dozen varieties and entered the novice section of the society’s daffodil show in 1974. He won a collection of bulbs from a breeder at Broadfields and on picking up his prize, discovered it was sugar sacks full of them. “We lived on a 700sqm section in town, so the vege garden got taken over by daffodils and so did our life,” David says.

  David became involved in the National Daffodil Society and international daffodil groups. He exhibits daffodils throughout New Zealand and in Australia, and judges globally. “There’s the challenge of competition and the creativity of breeding your own. I absolutely believe there is incredible satisfaction in making something. It’s yours; it’s nobody else’s,” he says. “We’ve travelled to England, Northern Ireland and Holland and I’ve been honoured to judge at the Royal Horticultural Society. We just had a World Daffodil Convention in St Louis [in the United States] in April. They selected an elite panel of judges and I was one of those.”

  But it’s perhaps at home, sprinkling pollen and dreaming up new varieties, that David is happiest. In one case, David put some jonquil pollen on to a double daffodil. “Nobody else had done it, so that was a bit unique. I got these little double daffodils with a jonquil fragrance.” He sold this variety, which he named ‘Little Kiwi’, to a visiting Netherlands buyer for $100 a bulb. Instead of royalties, which some international breeders insist upon, David asked a price he thought nobody would pay. The buyer didn’t flinch. Even then, David wasn’t greedy. “He ordered one bulb at $100 and I put a couple of extras in.”

  After a new variety has been confirmed comes the joy of naming the arrival. So far, David has named 150 daffodils, often after places and rivers of his childhood – ‘Waimakariri’, ‘Waipara’, ‘View Hill’ and ‘Flagpole’. ‘Waituke’ (Y2K) is his millennium daffodil. ‘Flying Hawk’ looks like a cyclamen with its swooshed-back petals.

  “We’re striving for the perfect daffodil; new colours and types. They’ve got pink into the petals now, so we’re not far away from an all-pink daffodil. We’ve got the green ones and the orange ones. They’ve gone from mauve, getting into blue and this is without genetic engineering. It’s just someone seeing a characteristic of a flower and enhancing it.”

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

• 7:00 pm — “PHS AND THE DAFFODILS OF THE SHOW ME STATE”, presented by Jason Delaney of St Louis, MO (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Jason Delaney sole proprietor of PHS Daffodils, a sprawling collection of nearly 3,000 unique varieties grown on family land in Southeastern Illinois, specializing in classic, historic, and novel daffodils for garden and exhibition. Jason’s mother, Jane, takes much of the credit for her son’s obsession/profession, considering it was she who first planted the family’s property with rescued roadside daffodil bulbs in 1976 while Jason was but in utero, and the rest is, as they say, history. Jason began hybridizing daffodils–and daylilies, lilies, and crinum–in the late 1990s, and the best of his first-generation daffodil seedlings and daylily registrations are now in production. Additional to PHS Daffodils, Jason operates Professional Horticultural Services, a small-scale residential garden design and maintenance business with clients in the St. Louis metropolitan region. Prior, for nearly 21 years, Jason worked at Missouri Botanical Garden as North Gardens Supervisor and Bulb Collections Specialist, where he maintained and specialized in the bulb, daylily, and iris collections, among others. During his time at the Garden, Jason participated in plant collecting expeditions to the Altai mountains of southern Siberia, the Caucasus mountains of the Republic of Georgia, the High Atlas mountains of Morocco, and the Changbaishan mountains in northeastern China. He also traveled to Taiwan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and extensively throughout the U.S. for his work with daffodils, always his greatest passion, and still very fondly remembers his first of many American Daffodil Society (ADS) conventions, the 2000 World Convention in Portland, Oregon where his obsession with daffodils became fully realized. Over the following years, Jason elevated the Garden’s once humble daffodil collection to the national stage, thanks to the support of his ADS family. In his colorful 2021 ADS Convention program, PHS and the Daffodils of the Show Me State, Jason will take you behind the scenes at PHS Daffodils to show you the operation, the acres of bulbs, and his breeding work for novelty daffodils; also featured will be cameos of established Missouri daffodil hybridizers Gary Knehans and Dave Niswonger, the late Barbara Knell, and Missouri’s newest hybridizer with a most promising future, Cindy Haeffner. In the meantime, please visit www.instagram.com/phsdaffodils and www.phsdaffodils.com for more information and visual delights.

Monday, April 26, 2020

• 12:00 pm — ADS ONLINE DAFFODIL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW CLOSES FOR POPULAR VOTING!

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

• 6:00 pm — “A DAFFODIL GROWING JOURNEY”, presented by Graeme and Faith Miller of Te Awamutu, New Zealand (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Graeme and Faith Miller married in 1982 and have four adult children, all of whom work in the medical field. Oldest daughter, Miriam is an intensive care nurse at Waikato Hospital. Second daughter, Karlyn is a community physiotherapist working out of Tauranga Hospital, and her husband, Jono is a civil engineer. Third daughter Kirsten is an infectious diseases registrar at North Shore Hospital and son Iain has just finished training as a doctor and starts as a house officer at Waikato Hospital in January.

  Faith grew up on a sheep and beef farm near Warkworth. She developed an early love of gardening from learning to grow vegetables with her father and a wide variety of flowers with her mother. Her interest in growing daffodils arose after she married Graeme. They began exhibiting daffodils as a partnership in 1984, two years after being married. Faith is knowledgeable about a wide variety of plants. When visiting the Quarry Gardens in Whangarei a couple of years ago, daughter Kirsten remarked, “It’s like going round the gardens with a walking encyclopaedia.”

  Graeme grew up on a dairy farm near Wellsford. His paternal grandfather was a horticuluralist throughout his working life and was a renowned plantsman. His knowledge of plants was vast. He was the first patron of the National Chrysanthemum Society and a Life Member of the National Daffodil Society. Graeme grew and exhibited his first daffodil at 13 years of age. His grandfather was very excited by this. He passed away six weeks later. He won a first prize for it as no-one else exhibited in the class. This triggered his interest in growing more daffodils and he began using the money he had earned for helping on the farm to purchase more bulbs. His father and a brother exhibited at local shows during his teen years. His father passed away when he was twenty. Graeme continued to exhibit until his mid twenties and then took a six year break but still grew about five or six bulbs of around 25 varieties. A year after being married, Faith said to Graeme, “You spend so much time fussing over those daffodils, you may as well show them again.” Graeme responded with, Right, I will then,” and the rest is history which you can find out about by tuning in to the virtual presentation.

Saturday, May 1, 2021

• 5:30 pm — “THE DAFFODIL AND PERFUME”, presented by Dianne Bowditch of Shelter Island, New York (THIS IS A RECORDED EVENT)

  Dianne C. Bowditch, of Shelter Island, New York, is the current ADS Membership Chair. She is an accredited Judge for the ADS and the former ADS Northeast Regional VP. Dianne enjoys “chasing the Daffodil up the East Coast” each spring receiving many invitations to judge ADS local shows from Virginia to Massachusetts. She is an avid competitor on the Show Bench herself and has won every major ADS ribbon, outside of miniatures, since she joined the ADS in 2010. Dianne came to Daffodils through her local Garden Club on Shelter Island. “I walked into a room full of yellow which took my breath away! I had no idea there were so many types. I won a red ribbon and I was hooked!”

  Dianne is a Natural Perfumer and founded her company Lady Bowditch Naturals after studying under Mandy Aftel in Berkley California. Dianne’s products contain only whole ingredients from the natural world, no synthetics here. She will fill us in on which floral scents cannot be extracted naturally. And she is very excited to share her knowledge of the special role of the Daffodil in the international Perfume Industry.

• 6:15 pm — ADS ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW WINNERS ANNOUNCED, presented by ADS Photography Show Chair – Jeanne Lager of Nashville, IN (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)

  Jeanne Lager has been interested in photography, and been taking pictures, since she was a child and received a Brownie camera as a gift. As an adult she has been a member of camera clubs, participated in club competitions and has attended seminars on photography. Her favorite subjects are flowers, butterflies, and scenery. Travel is another one of Jeanne’s hobbies. Travel and photography are very compatible as the world is full of beautiful places and interesting faces.

  Jeanne lives in Brown County Indiana with her husband Richard and dog Lexi. They have plenty of space for gardens and enjoy growing many different flowers and vegetables. Each year the gardens are made larger for their ever-increasing daffodil collection. The first activity in her spring or summer morning is to survey the garden with a cup of coffee to see what is new. Jeanne loves being part of her little town in Brown County Indiana and serves as a board member for the local chapter of ‘Keep America Beautiful’. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters and a local hiking club. Before retiring Jeanne was a hospital pharmacist, but since retirement she is happy to have more time for her hobbies, children, and grandchildren.

• 7:00 pm — ADS SECOND LIVE VERBAL AUCTION (EVENT IS NOT RECORDED)

  Auctioneer, Janet Hickman of Lynchburg, VA, assisted by Jack Hollister of Starkville, MS. Grab your favorite libation and join us for a lively and fun auction of some very desirable daffodil bulbs! Janet has curated the bulbs for both the “silent” and verbal auctions. ADS trusts you will be very generous in all your bids as you support our work as a nonprofit, educational organization. ***List of Daffodil Items available at the ADS Second Live Verbal Auction!

 

Access to Recorded Sessions!

To comply with recording permissions outlined for the 2021 National Spring Convention, registered participants will be able to view recorded educational sessions for an additional ten days after each presentation. By participating as a presenter or audience member in this digital environment, you agree to be recorded. (If you do not wish to be recorded, please do not participate in the live sessions.)

The following list of events will be recorded and then deactivated on the date specified next to each event;

• Nial Watson (Northern Ireland) – “Ringhaddy’s Daffodils” (THURS 25 FEB – 1:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAR 9
• The “PATH OF THE DAFF – A STORY OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION” Video will be available for viewing from February 28 to March 10.
• Andrea Schepmann – “Butterflies from Around the World” (WED 10 MAR – 7:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAR 22
• Kathleen Simpson – “Hot Water Treatment for Daffodils using Sous vide Unit” (WED 17 MAR – 7:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAR 29
• Sara Van Beck – “Let’s Talk Historics! Daffodil Sleuthing: Show and Tell Time” (WED 24 MAR – 6:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON APR 5
• Lawrence Trevanion (Australia) – “Breeding Advances in Divisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 in Australia” (WED 31 MAR – 6:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON APR 12
• Theo Sanders (Germany) – “Some of my Narcissus Crosses and Hybridizing Goals” (WED 7 APR – 12:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON APR 19
• David Adams (New Zealand) – “Daffodil Ramble through Years of Joy Hybridizing and Traveling” (WED 14 APR – 6:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON APR 26
• Jason Delaney – “PHS and the Daffodils of the Show Me State” (WED 21 APR – 7:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAY 3
• Graeme and Faith Miller (New Zealand) – “A Daffodil Growing Journey” (WED 28 APR – 6:00pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAY 10
• Dianne Bowditch – “The Daffodil and Perfume” (SAT 1 MAY – 5:30pm) – DEACTIVATE ON MAY 13

If you wish to view any of the recorded events outlined above, before the deactivate date, please contact Sue Luken at email . You will need to provide your Virtual National Convention registration email, First name & Last name to verify your registration and give you access to the 2021 Virtual National Convention – Recorded Sessions page. Please be patience while the Zoom recording is processed and moved to the ADS website. Our Recording Presentation Host Sue Luken will send you instructions to access the recording as soon as it is available for viewing.

ADS 2021 Spring Convention Survey – How Did We Do?

Click ADS 2021 Spring Convention Survey to participate.

Thank you again for your registration to the 2021 Virtual National Convention, we appreciate your support as we Reach for the Stars. The 2021 Spring Convention was ADS’s second virtual event. While the production team is gaining experience, we need reports from you about:

1. How well did it work for you?
2. How can it be made better for you in the future?

We really appreciate your time and effort to please click on this ADS 2021 Spring Convention Survey Link, check all the options that apply to you and hit SUBMIT when you are done.

The American Daffodil Society will “Reach for the Stars” in 2021 when we host an exciting Virtual National Convention!

Questions should be directed to 2021 Virtual National Convention Chair, Fredrica Lawlor at: