2010 Hosta Convention

[H.Addicted]

Hello!
This will be the first time that a friend and I will be attending the AHS convention this June, and I am so....... excited!
I am looking for some hints and helps that I'm sure those of you who have attended previously could share with us 'convention virgins'! As with anything, I'm sure there is some 'inside information' that can only be gained from experience. One question is-are we taken to the gardens by motor coach? What must we bring for the garden tours? By looking at the photos of the 2009 convention vending area, I can all ready tell I need to bring lots and lots of cash! Do you bring boxes, plastic tubs, etc. for your purchases? Does the hotel mind all this green and dirt being in the rooms?
Any help will be greatly appreciated! I did do a search for 'convention', and it came up with 35 pages, so if this thread has been posted before, maybe someone would be kind enough to direct me to it.
Thanks,
H.Addicted

[jgh]

Yes - motorcoaches to the tour gardens.

Hints...
get a lot of storage media for your camera... if you take pictures, you will take A LOT of pictures.

Take a picture of the plant label before you shoot the plant - don't rely on memory... you will see thousands of plants.

One good picture is better than 100 poor ones... so if there is something you really like, take your time to capture it right.

If you can remember, take a picture of the sign at the beginning of each garden tour - or shoot the page in the directory... anything to divide your photos up into chapters by garden. Sure helps when you are scanning through long lists of thumbnails.

pack a journal and take notes as you go along... again, the input is so overwhelming that even when you tell yourself you will remember - stuff just gets away from you.

The convention bag is nice... and a lot of people will carry it on the tours. But since they all look alike, you might want to bring your favorite bag for carry stuff around that looks different from everybody else's...

You probably don't have to worry about carrying water - should be plenty available. If you are hooked on Mountain Dew or tend to sip a little gin in the morning, carry your own - no open bar on the bus.

hats umbrella, sunscreen, good shoes, headache medication... prepare for a long day!

Coming from southern Minnesota, you'll probably have a car available. What we discovered at the convention here back in 2000 was that we actually felt more "at home" touring the "informal" gardens - the ones you drive to on your own on the days off. We had a friend who wasn't registered for the convention but nobody cared if she went along on to the informal gardens. It was much more relaxed than the masses of tour bus visitors and we met some neat gardeners. We are never going to have the time and money to have a "perfect" garden - ours' is always a garden-in-progress. But we love showing people around... so ten years ago we decided to be on the informal tours.

In the vending area you will not only get to see some plants that are new and different... you can also meet some of the folks who run the places. Rob Mortko from Olathe, Ks (Stitch in Time) will probably be vending his own plants... Gary (of Gary and Jack, the Naylor Boyz) will probably be running the Naylor booth. Bob and Nancy Solberg will have the Green Hill vending - Bob is unmistakeable, with his long beard. Prices are not necessarily great, but it is a great place to see stuff you might want to get in the next several years. We wrote down favorites and then watched for them in wholesale this year. I bought a Marilyn Monroe at the convention last June, then got 5 more at less than half the price in wholesale this year.

Meet people. I remember back in 2000 getting on my first tour bus and listening to the conversations around me, learning tons in a short time. After a short time, I found that the people in the next seat were Mark Zilis and Bob Solberg... and their discussions were fascinating. A hosta is so much more fun when you know the person who developed it. I still treasure the Little Red Joy I brought back after meeting Danny Van Eechaute in Belgium. A lot of you are growing plants from Don Dean - you'll see a lot of him at the convention. You'll probably get a chance to meet Hideko Gowen - she is the kind-of adopted daughter of the Benedicts and has stuff from them nobody else has... plus she continues to bring interesting things back from her visits "home" to Japan. I grow Sunlight Child... a translation of her Japanese name. I had a grand time sharing dinner conversations with the witty past-editor of the AHS Journal,

Enough... got to get out to the garden. We're seeing the sun for the first time in days... got to work on getting the gardens ready for your visit in June!

[Tigger]

Thanks for the informative post, Jim.

I only have the experience from the 2006 convention, where I heavily involved: placement chair for the Hosta Show, and tour bus captain for two days of tours.

Because of the Hosta Show, there should be some "backstage" area where people can deal with plants. The international tourists, and many others, will prefer to take their plants home bare-root, so will need somewhere to dump the soil and clean the plants. Please don't do it in your hotel room! If you're taking leaves for the show, you can probably safely deal with grooming them in your room, but again there should be a backstage area specifically set up for this.

I definitely agree with Jim on meeting interesting people on the bus tour. I don't know how they're arranging things up north, but you might be able to sleuth around and see if any bus captains might be "choice" (either by their own personalities or by who they might attract to their buses). Or listen for foreign accents: these people have made an extraordinary effort to come, which means that other hosta biggies will be hanging with them. (e.g. Danny E was on my bus one day with Bob Solberg and Hans Hansen.) If you can stomach it, take the earliest bus departure, which will get you back to the convention earlier to enjoy the sales floor and the Hosta Show. (or, stay up late and party in the Hostatality Suite!)

Take leaves for the Hosta Show! And if there's some fun event like the crazy Hosta Hat competition, participate!

And take a Judge's Clinic, to get you on the path to being a judge. The process takes a couple of years, so get started early even if you feel you're not "ready" yet.

Have fun. I hope to be at the 2011 Convention.

[kaylyred]

I'll be at the convention, too! Unfortunately only for the free vendor exhibits, though. My husband is going up to MN on business and we decided to make a weekend of it. Thanks for all the great information, jgh!

[renaldo75]

Good information, Jim & Tigger. I was trying to think of anything else to add, but I think they covered most of it.
It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but it's a lot of fun too.

The one thing that I should add is to make sure you actually have your camera with you when you get on the bus.
I discovered that I did NOT after I was already on the bus the 2nd day in MI. Fortunately I happened to be sitting
across from Jim/jgh & Sheila, and Jim was kind enough to let me borrow his camera for the day. And then send me
a dvd with the pics I took that day along with all that he'd taken at the convention. Hosta folk are pretty nice!!

The cool thing that I discovered after a convention or 2 is that [for the most part] the big names in hosta are just
ordinary people who share the same passion for hostas that you and I have. They just have had it for a lot longer
and with a lot more intensity. You'll meet a lot of nice people at the convention. And it's always good to be with a
group who share the same addiction. As my daughter put it once, 'you're among your own kind.' And that's so true!!
Nobody's eyes are going to glaze over or roll back in their heads when you start talking hostas. And that's a very good thing.

So enjoy!! And I hope you get a chance to meet some of the rest of the Hallson's gang who will be attending.

[H.Addicted]

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions! I'll start my list of what to bring now, so I don't forget anything!

jgh--you stated: "Coming from southern Minnesota, you'll probably have a car available. (yep!) What we discovered at the convention here back in 2000 was that we actually felt more "at home" touring the "informal" gardens - the ones you drive to on your own on the days off."
Will there be a list of the informal gardens available to us? Maps and driving directions? Or is this information just spread word of mouth?

Anything else anyone can think of?
Again, thanks for taking the time out of your busy days to help me!
H.Addicted

[largosmom]

I am having fun just reading about the convention!

[renaldo75]

There is usually a list of the optional gardens in the convention booklet you receive.
With addresses and driving directions from the convention hotel.

[Linda P]

OH...I can't wait. This will be my first national convention, though I've been to several regionals.
I'm planning on following Reldon around, since he's already attended a national.
There's a group of Hallsonites who usually manage to find one another, and I hope you can find us an introduce yourself.
A hint: look for the group in the hostality suite that is laughing the loudest.
I can tell you from my own experience at regional conventions that what jgh, Tigger and Reldon said about meeting the movers and shakers of the hosta world is true.
My first time on a convention bus, I was sitting across the aisle from Don Dean and Bob Olson. What a great day that was.
I know Josh Spece is vending and always look forward to talking with him.
Now, this post has reminded me that I need to get a new camera and figure out how to work it BEFORE the convention.
My grandson told me that my old digital camera is a dinosaur. Well, it is 9 years old.
See you in June!
Linda P

[jgh]

yup.,.. should be a list available, with directions and descriptions of the "open" gardens... Kaylyred - no reason you couldn't hit some of the open gardens on Sunday... and at least last time, the hosta leaf show and displays were open to the public...

schedule at http://www.starsofthenorth.net/schedule.shtml

[JoshS]

Lots of good tips in this thread!

I can't wait to see everyone!

[renaldo75]

And another 'timely' tip of a practical nature.
Which I didn't remember until I talked on the phone with Marlys yesterday.
The early registration deadline is May 16th. Sunday. Day after today!!
Or add another $50.

Since I'm already planning to do the early trip on Wed to SE MN for $50, I'd better get my butt in gear and get my
registration sent in today!! It's gonna be FUN!!!

[kaylyred]

yup.,.. should be a list available, with directions and descriptions of the "open" gardens... Kaylyred - no reason you couldn't hit some of the open gardens on Sunday... and at least last time, the hosta leaf show and displays were open to the public...

schedule at http://www.starsofthenorth.net/schedule.shtml

Thanks for the tip on the "open" gardens! Yes, I did see that the competition and vendors are open to the public. That's why I decided to go even though I'm not registered for the rest of the convention. Should be fun.