Daffodil Friends,
The Miniatures Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee this past Saturday was both exceptionally informative and pleasingly entertaining. My sincere thanks to Becky Fox Matthews, Kathy Welsh, and Harold Koopowitz who made it happen.
Of course, kudos must go to the presenters: Lawrence Trevanion, Leone Low, Larry Force, Delia Bankhead, Harold Koopowitz, and (in absentia) Nancy Wilson. Ill health prevented Nancy from attending, but Harold gave a synopsis of her excellent paper on daffodil history and hybridizing – the full paper will soon appear in The Daffodil Journal. The other presenters gave us a glimpse into their hybridizing methods, goals and accomplishments. Enthusiasts of miniature daffodils can take heart! There are exciting things in the pipeline. (I must mention the brightly-colored seedlings coming from Malcolm Wheeler and Rozanne Burnby in NZ, as well as the latest from Rod Barwick, which were featured in Nancy’s paper.)
Lawrence Trevanion double-hatted as after-dinner speaker – and greatly entertained us all with an overview of his program of breeding miniatures. It was eye-opening to see his daffodil seedlings along with their species parents thriving in his drought-stricken climate. Thanks Lawrence, for taking the cramped and tediously long journey from Canberra to Nashville (air flight time alone is over 17 hours each way) – to join us for a one-day event!
Finally, appreciation goes to Ans & Jan Pennings and Brian Duncan who traveled across the Atlantic to join us.
PS. The ADS Board, under the gavel of President George Dorner, also conducted a most productive business meeting at Saturday morning!