September 2025 CVIDS Newsletter
Lyle Moen and Nancy Rash are just amazing for the number of spectacular editions of the CVIDS Newsletter that they've created for us over the years. On this first day of September, I'm delighted to announce that they have the September edition ready for you! How is that for punctuality? Enjoy! Thank you so much, Nancy and Lyle!

Saying Farewell to a Great Daylily and Iris Enthusiast
It is with great sadness that we have learned that our longtime CVIDS member and friend Diann Pavelka passed away at UIHC on August 14th at the age of 68. We extend our condolences to her husband Dan and other family members. Diann's obituary may be accessed here.

A Celebration of Life for Diann was held on Saturday, August 30th, at 1:00 - 4:00 PM at the Avacenter in Anamosa. Photos courtesy of Lyle Moen and Heather Harroun.

The Busiest Day in our Club Calendar - A Recap
On August 23rd at the Jones County Fairgrounds in Monticello, not only did we have the daylily club plant returns but also the public fall plant sale, our noon potluck, a short business meeting (agenda), and the live auction of daylilies and iris. Minutes will be posted here when they become available. Thank you to members who signed up for the Fall Plant Sale committee, including Tom and Linda Jones, Sue and Dave Kramer, Heather Harroun and Scott Feddern. Our thanks go also to Ellen Jones for creating the colorful flyer. We are very grateful to those members returning daylily club plants this year who submitted their information to Diane Derganz by August 3rd, allowing compilation of their evaluations in the field as well as corresponding photos.

This fall, we had a very special first-time event celebrating the 35th year of CVIDS, namely an Iris Club Plant drawing for members who were eligible this year for a daylily club plant. Diann Pavelka and Jackie Westhoff had purchased over 50 varieties of iris from Mid-America Gardens (Salem, OR) for this event. Here is the Powerpoint of the  Iris Club Plants, along with a list of those members eligible to receive one at no cost. These plants are theirs to keep and will not have to be brought back in two years. Those irises not selected in the drawing, together with club daylilies not previously chosen in the silent auction, were then auctioned off for any member to purchase.

Many thanks to Lyle Moen for providing great photos!

Here is a recap of the day's events from our club president Diane Derganz:

"We had a beautiful day for our annual outing to Monticello on August 23th where we hosted a public plant sale as well as our silent and live auctions, business meeting and potluck.

I usually include some other facts from that day that are interesting. We had 40 members in attendance all or part of the event. Plenty of help was evident as the majority pitched in wherever needed. This year the shelter had plenty of tables which Tom and Linda Jones covered with tablecloths of daylily colors.

Some comments regarding the club plant silent auction: Initially I was expecting 58 varieties to be returned. However, after contacting each member grower, only 28 cultivars returned after growing two or more years. Holdovers, those plants not sufficiently increased, totaled 25 and there were four that did not survive and two from a person no longer a member.

I have some concerns regarding the returning club plants. Particularly, I'd emphasize the importance of taking special care of these expensive daylilies regarding planting, spacing, watering, etc. to assure that your plant is getting the utmost attention.

Diann's husband, Dan, contacted Jackie Westhoff following Diann's passing, and asked if our members would take the dozens of iris that she had also purchased for herself. They had been stored in a refrigerator for a few weeks when Jackie picked them up.

Jackie sorted them into classifications, labeled them and brought them on Saturday and all present had the opportunity to pick an iris or two of their choice. We should all thank Dan Pavelka for this gift as it is his and our feeling Diann would have wanted to share these iris with her CVIDS friends.

I want to thank all who helped that day which is basically everyone who came! We welcomed four new members who were introduced at the meeting. Our potluck was bountiful so no one should have gone home on an empty stomach. After all the auctions were finished, everyone received a free iris thanks to the Pavelkas.

What more can I say, a great time was had by all!"

Special Edition of the CVIDS Newsletter covering Region 1's Fargo ND 2025 Regional Meeting
Again, our thanks should go to Nancy Rash and Lyle Moen for creating another July 2025 Special Edition Newsletter, this time covering the recent Region 1 Regional in Fargo, ND.

Annual CVIDS Garden Tour
Our annual CVIDS Garden Tour took place on Saturday, July 12, when 48 guests toured the gardens of Lyn Hoversten Hafner (Iowa City), Gina Snyder (Riverside), and Nancy Rash and Lyle Moen (Washington). To get a first glimpse of what happened on that beautifully sunny day, check out the Special Edition Newsletter that Nancy and Lyle put together!

CVIDS Newsletters June 2025 and July 2025
Please drop Nancy Rash and Lyle Moen an email to thank them for the June 2025 and July 2025 editions of the CVIDS Newsletter! They must invest lots of time and energy to create a newsletter each month. Nancy Rash mentions: "I just love all the Meet the Member articles written by members!  Thank you all for submitting when asked".

2025 Club Plant Distribution & Live Auction
These much anticipated events took place on Saturday, May 17th, at the Floral Hall of the Muscatine County Fairgrounds in West Liberty and, judging by what I've heard so far, were a great success. Our Hospitality Chair Nancy Rash asked that I post this message from her: "Thank you for your participation at the May 17, 2025 Club Plant Distribution.  I appreciate all the members that attended and helped with the set-up, clean-up and implementation of the daylily distribution and auction.  A huge thank you to all the contributed to the “breakfast” with food and drink for the morning.  We had great refreshments!  Thanks!" 

I'd like to thank Lyle Moen for providing the above photos. A big shout-out should go to Sue Kramer for selecting and ordering this year's daylily club plants. Thank you very much, Sue! There were several additional introductions from Judy Davisson and Sandy Holmes that brought our total number to 45 cultivars. To access the entire list of plants, please click here.  Many thanks go to Colleen Hansen for her hard work on our behalf. Click here for a PowerPoint that she created that shows the beauty of these cultivars and lists their key features. And last but certainly not least, our club president Diane Derganz has kindly provided a list of the destinations to which the Club Plants and auction plants traveled at the end of the fun day.

Muscatine Plant Sale
Partnering with the Muscatine Master Gardeners and Muscatine Garden Club, CVIDS co-hosted a Plant Sale on Saturday, May 10th, at the Muscatine County Environmental Learning Center Discovery Park in Muscatine. This was an ideal opportunity to purchase established perennials, registered iris and daylilies, houseplants and beautiful annuals on a beautiful sunny morning. Many thanks to Sherry and Lynn Moffit for the following photos.

May 2025 CVIDS Newsletter
Here is our May Newsletter from Nancy and Lyle with several very interesting articles and pictures from our members for you to enjoy. Thank you to all who contributed to this excellent newsletter!

"Photographing Daylilies - Tips for Amateurs"
I am delighted to announce that Sherry Moffit has kindly offered to share with us both her recent PowerPoint and personal notes from her presentation on April 12th. (Webmaster's note: The PowerPoint file is large and may take 15-30 seconds to open up! It's very much worth the wait!). Thank you very much, Sherry! Members who were unable to attend the Wilton meeting, and those who did, will now have the opportunity to better prepare themselves to submit photos to the 2025 Betty Miller Photo Contest in November.

CVIDS' April 2025 Meeting
Our April 2025 meeting took place on Saturday, April 12th, in the Wilton Community Room in Wilton, IA. Sherry Moffit presented on "Photographing Daylilies - Tips for Amateurs". Subsequently, Sue Kramer and Colleen Hansen gave an overview of the 2025 Daylily Club Plants. Here is the final list (April 7th) for the 2025 daylily club plants to be distributed at our May 17th meeting in West Liberty. Members qualifying for the daylily and iris club plants are listed here. The afternoon concluded with a business meeting, during which a second vote was passed, allowing the Bylaws to be amended to read "Article VI, Section 2. To conduct Society business at a meeting, the majority of those in attendance, including those attending meetings via Zoom, will constitute a quorum". Click here for the agenda. The minutes, less the total amount in our club treasury, can be accessed here. Please consult an August 20th email from Diane Derganz for complete minutes. Thank you, Cari, for recording the minutes!

We're Still Looking for Volunteers
As the saying goes: "Many hands make light work". Club President Diane Derganz has kindly provided an updated list of committees with members who have signed up or continue to participate.  There are still openings on several committees, and we encourage all members to be on a committee.   So, if you don't see your name on this sheet, please contact her or any officer to get you signed up.  Many times, being on a committee might only result in having a one-time commitment for a particular event.  Please support our club by joining a committee!

April 2025 CVIDS Newsletter
Can you believe it? We've reached the end of the first quarter of 2025 already! Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes the April 2025 CVIDS Newsletter, thanks to co-editors Lyle Moen and Nancy Rash. Grab yourself a cup of your favorite beverage and enjoy the many interesting articles in this month's edition!

March 2025 CVIDS Club Meeting
Our March meeting took place on March 8 at the Coralville Public Library. Nineteen members were present in-person, and eight members attended via Zoom. Following the social time and potluck, Diane Derganz & Nancy Carlisle gave presentations on the “Stout Silver Medal Award for Daylilies & Dykes Award for Iris – History and How They're Chosen". Jackie Westhoff then talked about “Iris pests and prevention”, focusing on how to recognize and deal with the iris borer. The afternoon concluded with a business meeting (for agenda, click here) including a roll call in which members shared the number of Stout Award winners growing in their gardens. Having 38 in their garden, Sue and Dave Kramer were declared the Stout contest winners. As a prize, they will get their choice of a 2nd club plant after all are distributed and before the auction begins. They will not have to bring it back. Meeting minutes can be accessed here. Thank you, Cari! The minutes will require approval at the April meeting. Many thanks to Diane, Nancy Carlisle and Jackie for their presentations! Heather will be presenting at the Muscatine Art of Gardening event on March 15. She could also use some volunteers to help man the table. If interested, please contact her.

A big Thank You to Barb and Heather for making their presentations available here for all to see and to Cari for taking the minutes!

The First CVIDS Newsletter of the Year!
Many thanks to Lyle Moen and Nancy Rash for creating the January 2025 CVIDS Newsletter.

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