show schedules (& Beginner Friendly shows)



George has an interesting point.  All my years showing daffodils I have always made time to help anyone that came to me with a problem or wanted to know the name of a daffodil, while I was staging my own.  Unfortunately because I stage a large number of daffodils of my own I don’t have a lot of time to look for new people to help.  However, many of my fellow daffodil stagers send people to me for help and I help them. 
 
A few years ago I was at the Richmond Daffodil Show a new person kept walking from across the staging floor to ask me questions.  I finally had this person move over to the same table where I was staging as they had only a few flowers and I had a lot.  I was able to talk to and help this person while I staged my flowers.  They were so happy after the show but apologized because one of there flowers beat one of mine in a head-to-head competition.  I told them that I had won also because I had helped them stage their flower that beat mine. 
 
Now a few years later that person has become a furious competitor at Richmond and wins more than their share of blue ribbons.  I enjoy it most when someone I helped at a show comes back as a strong shower in years to come like at Morristown, NJ – hey Ray.
 
I believe it is our duty as daffodil showers and growers to help the new persons.  I found it interesting that the first year that we had the Daffodil show in Barco, NC that we had a table full of daffodils in the unknown category as most of the people at the Barco, NC show are newcomers. We made a big deal about identification of the unknowns and awarded, with ribbons, those that brought the unknown flowers to the show.  However, the second year we only had six flowers in that unknown category as already the newcomers were learning to identify and classify their flowers with help from our more experienced daffodil growers at the show.
 
Clay
 
Clay E. Higgins
(240) 632-0002
cell (301) 814-4206


 
—–Original Message—–