1. American Hemerocallis Society Garden Judges’ Workshop 1
This presentation is available as a PowerPoint show for digital projectors and laptop computers as well as a conventional 35mm show.
The PowerPoint CD and the slide carousel are provided to each region’s Garden Judges Liaison.
The show is the product of the AHS Judges Education Committee, David Kirchhoff, Chair.
Garden Judges’ Workshop 1

2. Course Outline Timeline: Hybrid Daylilies & Awards The Garden Judge
Plant Evaluation Criteria
The Cultivar Awards
The Awards and Honors Committee
Responsibilities of Garden Judges
Etiquette in the Garden
Accreditation
Teaching Points
The class works best if it is interactive, lots of student participation. The show includes several pause points with “Class Discussion” questions in white print. Feel free to insert such moments for discussion throughout the class.
Discuss Workshop 1 Curriculum page so attendees know the areas to be covered prior to the exam.
Please be sure that all students taking exam have been members of AHS for the required 12 consecutive months.
Candidates must be a member of AHS for 24 consecutive months before appointment as a Garden Judge.

3. 1950: AHS sets up the awards system for cultivars:
Timeline
1950: AHS sets up the awards system for cultivars:
Honorable Mention
Award of Merit
Stout Silver Medal.
Teaching Points:
The Awards System was set up as a pyramid, just as it is today, with a single annual prize for the best daylily cultivar.
The system also recognized people who made substantial improvements to the daylily through hybridizing, and people who made outstanding contributions to the health of the daylily organization.
It’s important to ponder the social benefits of gardening; sharing information with people, sharing plants with each other. Garden Judges are part of an international network of friendship and good will. When they visit gardens to evaluate plants, they are also good will ambassadors for the AHS.
Part of a garden judge’s code of conduct is to be ever-mindful of the etiquette of visiting. Good will is a precious commodity.

4. 1961: AHS adds specialty award categories.
Timeline
1961: AHS adds specialty award categories.
Specialty awards may change from time to time: new ones added, some discontinued.
Examples: deletion of award for Fragrance, recent additions for Extra Early bloom and Extra Large Flowers.
1997: AHS develops a formal curriculum for training Garden Judges.
2008: Change of rules for Spiders and UF flowers. If eligible in both categories, dual registration possible and nomination for both awards.
Teaching Points:
Previously, a nominee for the Lambert/Webster UF award could not be registered as a spider or have the spider’s 4:1 length-to-width petal dimension. That resulted in some awkward situations, so the rules changed for A flower that meets the criteria for BOTH classes may be registered as both and may be nominated for both awards.
However, the cultivar actually has to be registered in a class in order to be nominated in that class. This will matter to Garden Judges who decide to cast a write-in vote. As with any other write-in vote, it is a really great idea to check eligibility first.
The discussion question focuses attention on the one trait that defines the award category and the MANY traits to qualify a flower for a vote. You could turn the question around toward the negative, too. “Which cultivars do you know that have great “specialty” attributes but terrible substance, poor opening, or poor plant vigor?”

5. Class discussion:
Which “specialty” cultivars do you think are “champion performers” in your garden?

6. The AHS Garden Judge
Performs impartial, consistent evaluation of the complete plant and its overall performance in a garden.
Collectively, Garden Judges focus attention on great performance outdoors in a garden.
The vote tallies help gardeners select the most impressive performers in their region.
Teaching Points:
The performance of great Garden Judges is both fair and consistent.
Each judge contributes one point of view into a national composite point of view.
That is why there is emphasis on doing your evaluation within your own region.
We want to know about performance in a variety of conditions.
When the awards votes are published in The Daylily Journal and on the AHS web site, they are broken down by region. That helps gardeners shop with more confidence.

7. The Garden Judge’s Duties:
Observe complete plants in established clumps, under varied conditions, and at different times of year.
Serve the AHS mission through extended plant evaluation within one AHS region.
Teaching Points:
Judging daylilies for awards is a year-round activity.
You can’t possibly evaluate a total plant if it is just a new double fan in the garden. You have to see how it establishes and how it grows.
We can’t begin to observe all the candidates for awards, but we can give extended observation to a selection of them and act on what we see.
We can also extend our knowledge by talking to other daylily gardeners, focusing on the total plant.
The more we focus our attention on what we see in our own region, the more useful our contribution to a national system.
The class discussion question can be expanded to include the subject of full-sun performance versus growing them in a shady spot.

8. Class Discussion:
What are the performance differences between a new plant and an established clump?

9. Plant Evaluation Criteria
The overall system is a composite: many evaluations from a variety of soils and climates.
Judge the same plant characteristics in the same way.
Train your eyes to see the whole plant.
Grow samples of the very best of each category.
Teaching points:
Garden judges evaluate daylilies in all U.S. climates and soils.
If you grow a sample of the best of each type of daylily for your region, you will have good benchmarks for evaluating award candidates.

10. Point-Scoring Daylilies Complete plant: beauty,
vigor, performance
Flower: Substance,
color, form
Scape: height,
branching, bud count
Foliage
Distinction
10 %
10%
10 %
10%
30 %
30%
20%%
20%
30 %
30%
Teaching points:
Point scoring is optional. A system of point scoring reflects a desire for consistency and objectivity.
R. W. Munson’s essay on point scoring is a classic in our field. It’s in the student packet.
A judge may also decide to adopt a companion system of disqualification. The Junior Citation award for seedlings urges the judge to disqualify the seedling if it lacks distinction. Taking the pie chart as an example, if one of the aspects of evaluation earned a failing grade in your evaluation, would you say it deserved a national award even if it earned a high score in the other aspects?

11. FLOWER CRITERIA Opening characteristics, length of bloom
Teaching points:
These are photos of flower faults. Name some others, or describe what “champion performance” looks like in your opinion.
Opening characteristics, length of bloom
Substance, fragrance, and weather resistance
Attractiveness of color and pattern
Form: Observe the sepals as well as petals

12. General Flower Characteristics
Daylily blooms have a wide array of forms. Currently, only six forms have been officially defined by the AHS for the purpose of registration records:
• SINGLE: basic daylily form is single—a bloom that has three petals, three sepals, one pistil, and six stamens.
• DOUBLE: have extra petals or petaloids (petal-like tissue) lying on or above the three petals and three sepals of a single daylily. In order to fully qualify as a double, the flower must possess at least 3 extra petals or petaloids.
• UNUSUAL FORM: based exclusively on form, not on color or color patterns. The flower must have distinctive petal or sepal shapes, or a combination of both on all three petals or all three sepals.

13. General Flower Characteristics-cont.
• SPIDER: have a length to width ratio of at least 4:1.
• POLYMEROUS: have more than the normal number of segments in each floral whorl (usually four or five) in the outer whorl and more than three petals (usually the same number as sepals) in the inner whorl..
• SCULPTED: have three-dimensional structural features involving or emanating from the throat, midrib or elsewhere on the surface of the petals.

14. Subforms
Circular
Informal
Triangular
Trumpet
Star
Flat

15. Colors and Patterns Self Bitone Blends Reverse Bitone Polychrome
Patterned

16. Colors and Patterns
Bicolor
Band
Reverse Bicolor
Halo
Eye
Watermark

17. Uneven Color Distribution Uneven Color Distribution
Colors and Patterns
Contrasting Edges
Contrasting Midribs
Diamond Dusting
Uneven Color Distribution
Uneven Color Distribution

18. SCAPE CRITERIA
Height and strength of scape in relation to flower and plant
Spacing of scapes in a clump
Long period of flowering (number of scapes)
Branching and bud count
adequate spacing of blooms on the scape
blossoms not obscured by the foliage
Teaching points:
“Branching” is not about the quantity of branches. It is about the beautiful presentation of the flowers. The result has to be beautiful.
“Branching” or “bud count” do not equate with a long period of bloom. To evaluate the number of days a plant looks pleasing, you have to know the keep an eye on the plant throughout the season.
That is why the most important work you will do as a Garden Judge will happen in your own garden.

19. How many branches do you see?

20. Scape Height & Branching (Page)
1. A branch is a stem that originates from the primary scape and bears two or more buds.
2. A terminal branch occurs at the top of a scape and may be arranged to form a “V” (two branches), a “W” (three branches) or even four or more branches. A terminal branch which does not divide at its terminus is counted as a single branch. ALL terminal branches are counted which meet the required standard of two or more buds per branch.
3. Lateral branches originate from the original scape, occurring where there are bracts. Proliferations and stems with a single bud are NOT considered branches.
4. Sub-branches of lateral branches are NOT included in the count of branches. ONLY stems which originate at the junction of the original scape are counted as branches.

21. How many branches do you see?

22. Scape Height & Branching (Page )
1. A branch is a stem that originates from the primary scape and bears two or more buds.
2. A terminal branch occurs at the top of a scape and may be arranged to form a “V” (two branches), a “W” (three branches) or even four or more branches. A terminal branch which does not divide at its terminus is counted as a single branch. ALL terminal branches are counted which meet the required standard of two or more buds per branch.
3. Lateral branches originate from the original scape, occurring where there are bracts. Proliferations and stems with a single bud are NOT considered branches.
4. Sub-branches of lateral branches are NOT included in the count of branches. ONLY stems which originate at the junction of the original scape are counted as branches.

23. FOLIAGE CRITERIA Color Insect and disease resistance
Proportionate to rest of plant
Appearance in spring
Appearance in fall
Teaching points:
Foliage is all the daylily contributes to the perennial garden when the flowers aren’t there, so train yourself to look at the form of the plant itself, the qualities of the leaves, their ability to profess “Clean!” all through the season.

24. THE COMPLETE PLANT Garden value and beauty Vigor Overall performance
Teaching points:
Note that the images show full clumps at peak bloom.

25. Class discussion: What makes a daylily distinct?
To be distinct, a daylily must be better than and/or different from those already in commerce. It is a quality that sets it apart in some way.

26. Invalid Criteria Consistency in Judging (Summary)
Evaluate observable plant characteristics.
Evaluate the same characteristics in the same way.
Learn to judge excellence in all award categories.
Invalid Criteria
Taking the hybridizer or year of registration of the cultivar into consideration.
Evaluating how the cultivar has performed as a parent.
Allowing your personal preferences in color, form, size, etc. to influence your vote.
Teaching points:
A commitment to focusing on the total plant will help you avoid arbitrary reasons for casting award votes.

27. Cultivar Awards Voted by Garden Judges

28. AMERICAN HEMEROCALLIS SOCIETY “Pyramid of Awards”
STOUT SILVER MEDAL
Teaching Points:
The “pyramid” builds from bottom up - Honorable Mention to Award of Merit to the highest, Stout Silver Medal, and requires a number of years.
Award of Merit
HONORABLE MENTION
Honorable Mention

29. Honorable Mention The HM is the first official “stamp of approval.”
To win: 15 votes needed from at least 4 regions.
Garden judges may vote for up to 12 cultivars as observed in their region.
The list of HM nominees is extensive. You won’t know them all. Only vote for cultivars that you know well enough to commend.
Teaching Points:
The HM award is unique in that the hybridizer determines which years the cultivar will appear on the ballot.
A cultivar has three years of “eligibility” and the hybridizer can determine how much time to allow between listings so that the plant gets into wider distribution.
In the other cultivar awards, the hybridizer has no say over timing.

30. HM Portion of Ballot
Teaching Points
The ballot is prepared and mailed in the spring by the Awards and Honors Committee to all accredited Garden Judges.
An explanation of each award is printed on the ballot with qualified cultivars listed under each and with voting instructions.
The concept of write-in votes has a different impact in the HM than it does in specialty awards. To win the HM, a candidate only needs to garner 15 votes spread across 4 regions. It would not be hard to organize a “write-in movement” for an HM-eligible daylily. ‘Fooled Me’ won the HM by write-in vote and it went on to win the Stout Medal in 2005.
Specialty awards are determined by majority vote and no regional distribution is required. Also, there is only one winner of each award. That means that a solo write-in vote will be a throw-away. Only a “campaign” of write-in votes would have a chance of creating a win for an eligible cultivar that is not on the ballot.
Excerpt from the four-page ballot showing part of the HM section. Voting instructions appear at the top. The list can be quite extensive. You can’t know them all.
Note the space for a write-in vote. If you do this, make sure the daylily is eligible.

31. How Does a Cultivar Get Placed on the HM ballot?
The hybridizer nominates a cultivar that has been registered for at least 3 years.
The AHS Awards and Honors Committee may nominate up to 10 overlooked cultivars each year.
Teaching Points:
Judges are instructed to limit their consideration to established clumps of at least 3 fans (hopefully more!), so the hybridizer has to take time and geographical distribution into account before listing a nomination for the HM.
Garden Judges have given high marks to the “overlooked” cultivars that the Awards and Honors Committee placed on the HM ballot.
Garden judges may write-in an eligible cultivar.

32. HM Eligibility Cultivars become eligible 3 years after registration.
Hybridizer may nominate 7 cultivars in any year.
No win? Hybridizer may nominate same plant again two more times.
Hybridizer’s choice how long to wait before re-nominating. Max of 3 appearances on the HM ballot.
Teaching Points:
You are not required to vote for 12. If you only know of 9 deserving cultivars, just circle the 9 you believe in.
Placement of HM winners on the AM ballot after a wait of three years is automatic.
Once a cultivar wins the HM, the hybridizer has no latitude to pull a cultivar off the AM ballot to preserve its eligibility.
It remains on the AM ballot for three consecutive years unless it wins the AM during that time.

33. Next step: Award of Merit
HM winners are listed automatically on the AM ballot 3 years later. It’s out of the hybridizer’s hands now.
The wait permits wider distribution.
Eligible for 3 years.
Garden judges vote for up to 12 cultivars seen in their own region.
The AM list is extensive. You won’t know them all. Vote only for those you have evaluated.
Teaching Points:
The AM is a substantial award, as there are only 12 winners from a crowded field.
Gardeners can build superb collections by concentrating on AM winners.
Multi-region performance is much more likely in these winners than in HM winners.

34. AM Portion of Ballot
Teaching Points
No write-ins at this level and above.
Excerpt from the four-page ballot showing part of the AM section for Voting instructions appear at the top.
No write-ins.

35. To Win an AM
The 12 winners need votes from at least one half of the AHS regions.
No more than one-third of a winner’s votes may come from a single region.
AM winners automatically go on the Stout Silver Medal ballot two years later.
Teaching Points:
It is possible for a “tropic-friendly” daylily to win an AM through a distribution of votes from the warmer regions. This frequently happens.
The AM is not equivalent to the Lenington All-America Award.
The published vote tallies can be especially useful to gardeners to want to see if an AM winner is vigorous in their region.

36. 35 candidates per year (last year’s winner isn’t there).
Stout Silver Medal
The top honor for a daylily.
Candidates eligible for 3 years.
35 candidates per year (last year’s winner isn’t there).
Judges cast a vote for one cultivar observed in their own region or in an AHS National Convention tour garden.
Teaching points:
This award really tests your mettle as a judge. The level of quality is very high. You have to distinguish the very best from the very good.
Do not be tempted to cast your vote for what you consider “the most important” daylily on the list of 36 nominees. Cast your vote for the best daylily.
For this award you are permitted to vote for a daylily you observe in a National Convention tour garden, which often means another climate from your own.
There is no requirement for regional distribution of votes. Winner takes all.
The cultivar with the most votes wins. Tie? Then multiple awards.

37. Stout Medal Portion of Ballot
This is an excerpt from the four-page ballot showing the Stout section for Voting instructions appear above the list of candidates.
No write-in votes.
Teaching Points
You might have a chance of being familiar with all the Stout nominees.
You might have discarded a few of them because they don’t perform well in your area.
You might have grown and admired several of them for many years.
You might begin with a twelve-way tie for first place and have to make a “case” for each one of the best before you can decide on your vote.

38. RECENT STOUT MEDAL WINNERS
‘Dorothy and Toto’ (2015)
‘Heavenly Angel Ice’ (2013)
Teaching points:
Since there is no requirement for a regional distribution of votes, a cultivar that is sensation in one geographic area but problematic in another may yet win.
The point spread between the winner and the four runners-up can be very tight. Every vote counts!
The Stout Medal doesn’t mean the winner is great everywhere, though some of the winners have sure proven so!
‘Rose F. Kennedy’ (2016)
‘Webster’s Pink Wonder’ ( 2014)
‘Heavenly United We Stand’ ( 20017) 38

39. Specialty Awards
These awards recognize cultivars that have excelled within certain categories.
Cultivars must be registered for a minimum of 5 years prior to balloting.
Garden judges may cast votes for cultivars observed in their own regions or in the AHS National Convention tour gardens, unless otherwise stated.
Write-in votes are allowed.
The cultivar receiving the most votes wins.
Evaluate the whole plant; vote for the best daylily of its type.
Teaching points:
Majority vote, with no regional balance required.
The more you can restrict your observations to what you see in your region, the more the vote tallies will be useful to gardeners in your region.
Even though the awards focus on blossom characteristics, your duty is to consistently evaluate the whole plant.
In a specialty award, you vote for the best overall daylily that meets the award criteria, in your observation.

40. Current Specialty Awards
Awards Related to Floral Dimension
Donn Fisher Memorial Award - miniature flowers less than 3” in diameter
Annie T. Giles Award - small flowers 3” or more but less than 4.5” in diameter
Extra-Large Diameter Award - 7” or more in diameter but not registered as spider or Unusual Form. Doubles are eligible for this award.
Teaching points:
Consistency is an important factor even in awards related to blossom size.
Plant proportion also figures largely, and this is a matter of your own judgment.
Some small-flowered daylilies make an effective presentation on very tall scapes; some don’t.
Some very large daylilies bloom consistently large; some don’t.
Your eye for beauty and your ability to see the unique merits of each plant are the chief assets of the award system.
Repeated observation helps you tell the difference between a winner and an also-ran.

41. Current Specialty Awards
Awards Related to Time of Bloom
Early Season Bloom Award, registered as E or EE.
Eugene S. Foster Award for cultivars registered as LATE or VERY LATE blooming on initial scapes and observed in the judge’s own region.
Awards Related to Color Patterns
Teaching Points:
The R.W. Munson award is relatively recent. The floral features that it recognizes make up an expanding frontier in hybridizing.
Judges may be tempted to reward the best pattern, but they should continue to consistently reward the best plant in the category.
If you continue to evaluate in a consistent way, you will be unlikely to cast a vote for an inferior plant with a superior pattern.
Don C. Stevens Award for eyed or banded flowers, Those registered by Don C. Stevens are ineligible.
R. W. Munson, Jr. Award for distinct patterns.

42. Current Specialty Awards
Awards Related to Blossom Form (Configuration)
Ida Munson Award for daylilies registered as double
Harris Olson Spider Award for cultivars meeting the petal length-to-width ratio requirement of 4:1
Lambert/Webster Award for daylilies registered as unusual form (UF)
Teaching points:
Doubles, spiders, and UF daylilies are currently under intensive development.
Climatic and geographic variation may affect how these varieties bloom in your region.
Consistency is a very important factor in judging varieties for these awards.

43. About the Harris Olson Spider Award
The hybridizer determines at the time of registration if a cultivar meets the AHS spider definition.
The length of the longest petal, when manually stretched out, must be at least 4 times the widest point of the same petal as naturally presented (no flattening).
Spiders may vary from one region to another, so the Garden Judge may decide to take measurements.
Teaching points:
Student judges often assume that the AHS Registrar or some AHS committee certifies the accuracy of registration data. That is not the case.
Registration data can be construed as correct only in the hybridizer’s local area.
But hybridizers sometimes reconsider the data they have submitted because the cultivar doesn’t bloom consistently as registered.

44. Measuring Spiders
In your own garden, or with permission from the garden owner, see if the longest petal of several typical blooms is 4 times the width.
Width: measure the petal at its widest point as naturally standing. Don’t uncurl, unfold, or flatten it.
Then stretch out the petal and measure from the tip to the V-shaped notch where adjacent sepals separate at the neck of the flower.
Taking measurements during a garden tour without permission is a breech of etiquette. Please use discretion.
Teaching points:
Garden judges are not required to base a vote on personal measurement with a ruler. But even a trained eye can be mistaken.
If you take measurements outside your own garden, the principles of etiquette prevail.
Measuring a spider entails manually extending the longest petal to determine length. No other form of flower measurement entails pulling on a floral segment, so do this only with the garden owner’s full consent and be very sensitive to the need of other garden visitors to enjoy the flowers.

45. Harris Olson Spider Award
Recent winners of the
Harris Olson Spider Award
For best spider cultivar
‘Licorice Twist’ (2015)
‘Wild Wookie’ 2013
Teaching points:
There is potential for class discussion about these cultivars. Some may have more upright scapes than others. Some may not bloom 4:1 in a particular garden.
‘Banana Pepper Spider’ (2017)
‘Green Inferno’ (2014)
‘Rolling Raven’ (2016) 45

46. Class Discussion:
Should seriously flawed cultivars with superb blossoms be considered for awards?
Teaching points:
Taking measurements during a garden visit is a point of etiquette. If you’re in the garden of a friend who doesn’t mind, or is curious about measuring, that’s one thing. But if you’re on a garden tour, even if you have permission to handle blossoms, think twice and use discretion.
Evaluate the whole plant, consistently, and vote for the one that you think best exemplifies the standard for spiders.

47. About the Lambert/Webster Unusual Form Award
Must display the required characteristics on at least 3 petals or 3 sepals.
A combination of characteristics on the same blossom is okay, but at least 3 petals or 3 sepals have to exhibit unusual form characteristics, not 2 petals + 1 sepal or vice versa.
As of 2008, a qualifying daylily may be registered as both a spider and an unusual form, and is eligible for both spider and unusual form awards.
Teaching notes:
There’s a lot of interest in UF breeding these days.
Don’t think of a UF as a “failed spider!” The UF form has its own distinguishing traits to enjoy and observe.

48. Crispate
Crispates pinch, flex, twist, curl, or display these characteristics in combination.
Teaching points:
When the folding back creates a tubular effect, it’s called “quilling.”
A UF may exhibit twisting and curling in combination with other characteristics.
Twisted/Curled Crispate, presenting a corkscrew or pinwheel effect
Quilled Crispate with floral segments turning in upon themselves along their lengths to make a tubular shape
Pinched Crispate with pinching on the outer third of the petals.

49. Cascade
Teaching Points:
The look of cascading may also be combined with other UF characteristics.
Pronounced curling or cascading (like a waterfall or wood shavings)

50. Spatulate
Spatulate (like a kitchen spatula), with segments markedly wider at the ends
Teaching points:
The spatulate form of the example on the left is obvious.
The example on the right is also obviously NOT meeting the UF standard. There is only one clearly spatulate petal. The lower petal doesn’t present that distinguishing trait, and you can’t see in this view if the petal on the upper right does.
The standard calls for 3 petals OR 3 sepals (but not 2 + 1).

51. Twisted cascade presentation
Unusual Forms often exhibit more than one of the characteristics and may vary from hour to hour and day to day.
Twisted cascade presentation
Reflexed spatulate with quilled sepals
Teaching points:
UF characteristics may vary on the same plant from day to day. It’s part of the fun of the UF world.
All 3 petals or all 3 sepals must exhibit an unusual form characteristic, though not necessarily the same characteristic. The UF definition recognizes variation in form.
The standard of consistency has a different meaning for the UF flower. The judge looks for consistent display of UF characteristics, but not necessarily the same characteristics every day.

52. ‘Sebastian the Crab’ (2017) ‘White Eyes Pink Dragon’ (2014)
Recent winners of the Lambert/Webster Award for best unusual form cultivar
‘Christmas In Oz’ (2013)
‘Star Over Oz’ (2015)
‘Sebastian the Crab’ (2017)
‘White Eyes Pink Dragon’ (2014)
‘Firefly Frenzy’ (2016)

53. About the R.W. Munson, Jr. Award
The award is for distinct patterns: a variation in hue, value, or saturation of the base, midrib, or throat color.
Includes daylilies with watermarks or concentric rings or feathering of color within the eyezone or elsewhere.
Excludes selfs, simple bitones, and bicolors.
Teaching points:
There is a lot of room for interpretation in this category, and a lot of temptation to vote only for the enticing pattern.
The next slides demonstrate the range of beauty that is currently on display in many seedling beds.
Remember that most seedlings are composted. You just can’t tell about plant merit by only looking at the blossom.

54. Recent Winners of the R. W. Munson, Jr
Recent Winners of the R.W. Munson, Jr. Award for best patterned cultivar
‘Rose F. Kennedy’ (2013)
‘Jessica Lynn Bell’ (2015)
‘Alien DNA’ (2017)
‘Magic of Oz’ ( 2014)
‘Get Jiggy’ (2016)

55. ‘Mayor of Munchkinland’ ( 2017) ‘Carnival in Caracas’ (2016)
Recent winners of the Don C. Stevens Award for best boldly eyed or banded cultivar
‘Gavin Petit’ (2013)
‘Sun Panda’ ( 2015)
‘Mayor of Munchkinland’ ( 2017)
‘Starman’s Quest’ (2014)
‘Carnival in Caracas’ (2016)

56. About the Ida Munson Doubles Award
Best candidate should bloom consistently double.
Double cultivars may assume other petal forms such as spider (4:1 ratio) or unusual form (quill, cascade, crispate) or even polymerous (more than three petals or sepals).
These characteristics do not disqualify the plant for the Ida Munson Award.
Teaching points:
Great advances in breeding doubles since the era of A.B. Stout.
There are many expressions of this doubling trait.
The trait of consistency is very important, but so is overall plant merit.

57. Variations in Double Daylilies
Peony style double
Hose-in-hose double
Teaching points:
You will see mini doubles and huge ones.
They come with all sorts of color variations and patterns now.
Unusual form Double

58. Recent winners of the Ida Munson Award best double cultivar
‘Wildman George’ ( 2015)
‘Amanda’s Little Red Shoes (2013)
‘Wysiwyg’ (2017)
‘Jelly Filled Donut’( 2014)
‘Sunglasses Needed’ (2016)

59. Junior Citation Award
For seedlings not-yet-registered; emphasis on outstanding qualities and distinction.
Not registered before September 1st of the voting year.
Garden judges may vote for seedlings evaluated in any region. Emphasis on exceptional merit.
10 votes needed.
Hybridizers may indicate seedlings for JC consideration.
JC Award is not part of “The Pyramid of Awards.”
Teaching Points:
Since the JC award most probably is a consequence of observations in the hybridizer’s garden, the award does not imply that the seedling will perform well in other regions or climates.

60. Other Cultivar Awards (Not Voted by Garden Judges)
Lenington All-American Award – voted by the AHS Board of Directors from a list of at least 12 candidates submitted by the Awards and Honors Committee.
Convention Awards (President’s Cup, Florida Sunshine Cup, Georgia Doubles Appreciation Award, and the Ned Roberts Spider/Unusual Form Award) – voted by National Convention attendees.
Regional and local cultivar awards are not part of the AHS Awards and Honors System.
Teaching points:
Good to know about these. They are not on the exam.

61. AHS Awards and Honors Committee
Oversees the awards system and makes recommendations to the AHS Board.
May add up to 10 overlooked cultivars to the Honorable Mention section of the ballot.
The Awards and Honors Chair compiles and mails the ballot to garden judges. Judges return completed ballots to a Tabulator who is named on the ballot. The AHS board then certifies the results
Teaching points:
The Awards and Honors Committee is a part of the AHS Board structure. Its work is subject to board approval.
Although the AHS President appoints the Chair of the committee, the Chair selects committee members from AHS membership.
The President may also appoint “Cultivar Awards Chair” and “Service Awards Chair.”
Question: Where should you mail your completed ballot and what is the deadline?

62. A Judge’s Responsibilities and Duties
Grow exemplary cultivars of all forms and types.
Grow a range of daylilies from various hybridizers.
Include some newer cultivars in your garden.
Judge the COMPLETE plant, not just the flower.
Teaching points:
A garden judge, like the chief judge of a national dog show, has to have an expert eye for all the categories.
Your garden is the place where you train your eye and your knowledge of the field of hybridizing.

63. Responsibilities and Duties
Visit gardens and evaluate daylilies.
Attend local, regional and national meetings.
Attend workshops.
Share skills with new judges and the public.
Decline requests to select someone’s seedlings for registration.
Teaching points:
The photo is the “pink and blue” garden at Darrell Apps’s Woodside Nursery during the 2000 National Convention in Philadelphia.
AHS judges are teachers. Our sense of great performance traits is what we share with novice growers. Through us, the general gardening public raises their expectations of daylilies. We want people to dare to throw out the inferior ones and make room for the great ones!
And do keep attending workshops. A judge’s training never ends.

64. Garden Judge Etiquette
Teaching points:
Remember, you are the “good will ambassador” of a national association!
Call ahead.
Let the garden owner know you have arrived.

65. Don’t carry large bags into the garden.
Teaching points:
Gardens have their awkward places. Don’t jeopardize your welcome with a lot of gear.
Don’t carry large bags into the garden.
Don’t carry a tripod.

66. Don’t steal pollen. Don’t step in beds. Don’t deadhead.
Pollen is property. If you’re a hybridizer-judge, always ask permission for another gardener’s pollen.
Don’t step in beds.
Don’t deadhead.

67. Thank you….a dying art. Keep it alive for the AHS, please.
Thank your gardbn host

68. Accreditation as a Garden Judge
Teaching points:
AHS created a training program to help all of us “get on the same page.”

69. Initial Appointment – 5 Years
Candidates must have held AHS membership for 24 consecutive months prior to applying. (Current dues paid!)
Training may begin after 12 months of membership.
Candidates must have attended at least one of their own regional meetings within the last 3 years or a national convention within the last 5 years that included garden tours.
Candidates must regularly see large numbers of award-eligible daylilies and grow a representative sample.
Teaching points:
Since training the eye is a lifelong matter, AHS wants to open the door to judging early in a member’s time in the organization.
The expectations are easy to meet.

70. Requirements for Initial Appointment
Know the contents of the AHS Garden Judges handbook .
Attend Garden Judges Workshop 1, pass the exam, and attend Garden Judges Workshop 2 (any order).
Immediately (!)…send your application to your RP so that your status can be validated in time to count your vote.
Once you complete your training, and meet all the other requirements, you are eligible to vote for awards in the current year.
Teaching points:
The two workshops cover the same principles in different ways.
You can take them in any order.
But….if you don’t actually fill out an application form and send it to your RVP, you won’t become a Garden Judge.
Mail your ballot by September 1
Judges may also vote online using an electronic ballot. Go to AHS Members Only site, Click on “Garden Judges Only”, then click on “E ballot” and vote!

71. Reappointment – 5 Years
You’ll be notified before your term expires. The AHS Garden Judges’ Records Chairman will let you know how to renew.
You send your 5-year log of garden visits.
You should have made at least 25 bloom-season visits to at least 10 different gardens.
Fifteen visits must be in your own region.
Teaching points:
Keep notes on the gardens you visit. The log you fill out merely states the name and general location of the garden and the year of your visit.

72. Mail your ballot each year by September 1st.
If you don’t:
Mail your ballot each year by September 1st.
Pay your AHS dues each year by January 1st.
You will be disqualified as a Garden Judge.
Teaching points:
A judge who doesn’t vote is a drag on the association. We need your eyes. We need your mind to be engaged in the task.
And we need your dues on time!

73. Need help? Regional Garden Judges’ Liaisons
Experienced garden judges who have any materials you might need as a judge or an instructor.
If you have questions or concerns about judging daylilies, talk to your liaison.
Who is your regional garden judges’ liaison?
Teaching points:
If you need to contact any AHS officials, either nationally or in your region, you can find the contact information in The Daylily Journal or on the AHS Web Site.

74. Review of Workshop 1 Timeline of Daylilies and Awards The Garden Judge
Plant Evaluation Criteria
Cultivar Awards
Awards and Honors Committee
Responsibilities of Garden Judges
Etiquette in the Garden
Accreditation
Next: The Written Exam
Teaching points:
The photo shows A.B. Stout struggling with one of the earlier exams for Garden Judges Workshop 1.
Not!

75. Workshop Papers Attendance Sheet – everyone here must sign it.
Combination Registration-Exam Answer Sheet-Workshop Evaluation
To receive credit, you and your instructor must sign the answer sheet.
Fill out the answer sheet completely and legibly.
Give the answer sheet to the Workshop Chair when you finish the exam.
Good luck!

76. Credits: The “Designers:” Photographs/images:
Scott Elliott-Judges’ Education Chair
Michael Bouman
Melanie Mason
Julie Covington
Photographs/images:
Tinker’s Garden
Sydney Eddison
Claude Carpenter
Debbie Monbeck
Tim Fehr
Scott Elliott
Farr Nursery Company