See NO reason not to say what you think Dani.. your not alone in your ratinale. Often the clubs are run by those with the most to sell &/or allegiances to their favorite sellers. NOT saying their not good people... and this is not a bad thing in itself.. yet.. finding hard facts per "intros" & plants of interest often is very difficult. The "face game" rules.. plant habit & flower characters are glossed over.. one finds the most are junk when viewed objectively under garden culture.... if your a lucky an "intro" is a faint shadow of their internet picture representation.

In the regional environment one does that the opportunity to network with others and compare notes. You might well find like minded people.. make some friends.. might be worth a looksee.

In reality the ahs is just a marketing entity dominated by southern interests. And like the daylily weeds the many market... an individual's personal perception of value of said club is up to them.

I joined AHS and my local club in May 2008 so I'm really new to the whole club thing. My local club you pay $5.00 a year dues, don't have to be an AHS member to join and they have several club meetings (no payment) during the year along with a plant sale and garden tour. They have a little newletter update on who,what, where is coming up. Annual banquet (not sure why a banquet and you have to pay to attend) and a guest speaker for that banquet (this year it was Karol Emmerich). Already saw her presentation online and she does participate in two of the garden forums I'm on.
AHS -$25.00 annual dues- well I guess the benefit is a very nice magazine they call the Journal. Very good information in it as well as a Regional newletter 3 times per year, Regional meeting/tour which you pay to attend, National meeting/tour which you pay to attend so I guess in a nut shell, any meetings you attend for the AHS membership has you paying for everything.I don't think at any of the meetings daylilies are given away for free unless its for the bus tour but then you have to stay on the bus to get the daylily)
The website for AHS is open to all to view so that is for free but then you can get that now.
Oh, if you join AHS, you can get a gift certificate for $25.00 off your order from a "certain" list of sellers and then some of those sellers require you to spend more than your $25.00 but you can find some who will not require it.

Putting it all in perspective, I don't think there is a hybridizer (nor a seller)out there who would turn you away from their garden because you weren't a member of AHS.You can plan your own private garden tours at your pace during bloom season so no loss.

Now why was it I joined these clubs? ;-). I may not renew my membership with AHS next year but definitely will continue with my local club. Nice group of people and someone to talk with when my hubby thinks I've gone over the edge about daylilies. LOL.

Julia

Forgot to add Dani, check to see if you can join your local Daylily Society (if you not a member already) without being a member of AHS. Most people start with the local clubs and then decide to move on and join AHS. Just a thought....

Julia

Our Local Club here on Long Island makes you join AHS. Club dues are $5.00 but if you had not planned to join AHS means that the reality is your going to pay more.

The AHS journel is really nice but I could live without it. To me the greatest benefit of joining AHS is the e-mail robin that you have to be a member of AHS to join. I have learned alot from reading the robin and mostly enjoy the discussions that go on there.

For our local club the big draw to me are the members only garden tours. Absolutely fabulous.

Why do you think you'll get beat up?? Puzzling.

Questions are good. I don't know about your particular club, but clubs in general are run by volunteers. It helps to remember that. If your club is particularly active and has a lot going on, then there are folks who are working hard to support it.

I belong to three clubs because there isn't one particularly near me. For me, I enjoy the company of others who are just as into daylilies as I am. I appreciate the opportunities to hear and learn from speakers. By 'free', most club meetings are free and that includes speakers.

However, depending on the speaker, he/she may have traveled some distance and someone needs to pay for that. Generally, clubs have something to offset the expenses or have sales or auctions to raise money...just so members can enjoy more of these things. It all goes back to the club, but, really, what's free? Someone somewhere is paying....one way or another...

Many speakers ask only for expenses and often donate plants (to be auctioned) to offset those expenses. It benefits everyone and often enables members to purchase very expensive plants at bargain plants. (This for some of those who see pricey plants and think they can't afford them...also, some clubs have programs where members can earn credits to be used toward buying plants....which is a very good reason to join a club....pool resources, work a bit for the club and come away with some fine plants...)

But, the bottom line is you get out of it what you put into it. I suppose there are some who get benefits others have provided, but for the most part....like anything, a lot depends on your attitude.

Banquets are usually a fun activity. Members share a nice meal and hear a good speaker. People usually like these type of things. And, again, most speakers bring really nice plants along. This is generally appealing to daylily lovers. (Most hotels don't provide free food...grin...so, expect to pay for your meal...)

I'm sure there are a few bad apples around, but really, most folks have good hearts and do a lot to promote their favorite flower.

The AHS doesn't promote businesses. Many daylily people reach a point where they would like to recoup a bit of their investment and eventually sell some...so, there are all types of businesses (daylily-wise). Being a member of the AHS means...as far as I know...that you love daylilies, have a desire to learn as much as you can about them and enjoy the company of others who feel the same.

As to costs for events, I find they are quite moderate for what is provided. Often, this is because of the hard work of club volunteers who help keep the club's finances in good order.

There can be bad experiences in anything you involve yourself in...but, on the whole, my positive experiences far outweigh the bad ones.

As to plants, some plants are better than others. Some people are better growers than others. Like anything, you need to learn where the best suppliers are for you. There are many fine growers who provide wonderful plants. That's probably why you hang out here...to find some of those...and that's fine.

As to that, the recommendation is always to try to see a daylily in person. If you have growers within driving distance, jump on the opportunity to see the flowers in bloom. Go to the AHS website and find a display garden in your area.

Oh...and clubs are for everyone...wherever you are on the daylily circuit.

I think I recall seeing, by the way, the info for the regional in Wisconsin this past year. It sounded wonderful and if I lived nearer, I would have loved to have participated.

Lilyhemmer is coming up here and the price is very fair for the number of speakers, a dinner (banquet)...and, of course, an auction. Hotel expense is only is you don't live close enough to drive. Our region is large and wherever a meeting is held, some folks will have a long drive.

I don't know that I've ever paid for a tour...only as part of an event...and I don't begrudge that. It's an enormous undertaking to put on these tours and have the gardens look superb. Mostly, the fees are to pay for buses to ride on...which is so nice. Often, gardens that are on tour are not open to the public and so it is a rare to chance to see them.

If you intent is to get free plants...well, there are, I suppose, plenty of opportunities for that. I'm overwhelmed with plants, so I relish just choosing certain ones, at this point.

In sum, for me...the benefits are great and I recommend joining a local club and the AHS.

I joined the AHS in 2008 and my local club shortly after. It was harder to find the info on the local club than it was to find how to join AHS :)

Many of the benefits I would list are in gonegardenings post.

A few more- my local club and a couple other clubs in my state have annual daylily shows that members can enter as well as annual member's garden tours.

With my first show, last year, I didn't have a clue how to go about judging a daylily or groom it for presentation. The other members were wonderful at helping me learn to groom. Then I learned about the categories of daylilies by volunteering to help set up the tables. Then about what makes a good daylily by clerking for the judges. That was invaluable because I heard the judges comments as they critiqued each flower in each class. I learned a tremendous amount about what to look for in the daylilies that I choose for my garden. If you are hybridizing you can enter your seedlings in the show to hear experienced judge's comments about your plants and potentially win awards which give your seedling recognition.

As an AHS member you can take both the show and the garden judges training to learn about what makes a daylily superior. These trainings are usually held at regional meetings and the cost is minimal (I think it was $3 for me to audit one of the garden judge classes this summer). If you want to become a judge for your region and can meet the requirements to visit gardens and/or shows each year, grow newer award eligible daylilies, and evaluate regional hybridizer's work, you can do that too. That opens the door for you to regularly visit private gardens and to vote annually on the daylilies to receive awards.

Finally, if you are hybridizing even as a backyard enthusiast, you must be an AHS member to register & name a plant.

I really enjoy the friends I'm making in my the local club, my region, and the AHS.

It was because of the relationship I developed with a local club member that I was able to purchase the plants from his display garden to rescue it after he passed away last year.

Like all non-profits there are always volunteer duties that need someone to step up so it is a give & take. I received a few free plants in my first year and now I'm giving lots away since I now own the largest collection in northern CO. My club hosted our regional this year and I donated the majority of bus plants for that and donated to new display gardens sponsored by my club. I will probably be looked to for large donations to the club's sales. That's OK by me. What comes around goes around. Kindness and friendship are a circle that always come back when you give them away.

My club doesn't require AHS membership but I will probably always remain a member. I have learned so much not only from regional AHS members but also from the various AHS robins that I am a part of.

I do enjoy reading the journals and even have been enjoying reading a collection of older journals that were given to me. There are always more things to learn and new friendships to forge.

When you upgrade your membership you also receive one of those $25 vouchers and I may upgrade next year just for that. I had a very good experience with the plants received using the first voucher. I was able to buy some that would have been outside of my price range otherwise.

Thanks gonegardening and berryteatime for the recommendations on joining the AHS. One quick comment : you do NOT have to be an AHS member in order to register a daylily!

Having paid membership dues in a lot of groups over the years, I think the $25 AHS annual membership fee is a great deal. Personally I enjoy the four full color issues of the Journal plus the two Regional newsletters we receive each year. If you're joining for the first time, the vouchers make it possible for you to get a daylily worth the cost of the membership fee. Also ( as has been mentioned) you can join the e-mail robin, exhibit in accredited shows and take classes to become either an Exhibition or Garden judge.

As far as local clubs, it's mostly good! I've made many good friend over the years - four of us are driving to Lilyhemmer together on Friday and we will have a super time, as we always do. We have local club tours every year ( no cost); give door prizes at every meeting (I took a pot of STRING BIKINI for a door prize and won a beautiful houseplant - a begonia, which I'll try not to kill!) last weekend! As with any group, when you have events which require work such as shows or a plants for members program ( where members can grow new and expensive plants that they might not be able to get otherwise) there are always some who don't want to work and/or contribute as much as others, but isn't this true of any group?

For me - I've been an AHS member and a member of our local club since 1997, the people I've met, both locally, regionally and nationally, make it well worth the effort. Working on the "inside" of the AHS, I do NOT find the organization to be a "political group driven by Southern interests." Huh? Instead, I see a lot of very dedicated hard working individuals who volunteer a lot of their own time ( for free) to help promote this flower which we all love!

Thank you everyone SO MUCH for your replies! It really does help to know what happens there before I join. You don't have to go to every meeting, right? I work full-time and have 2 little ones. PLus, I don't get off of work until 6, so most meetings will be already in progress when I get there.

I like to learn how to judge form and what-not in my own garden. That'd be cool. And I would like to plan a couple of the garden tours. I saw they had one in July to Solaris and Korth farms. I would have totally spent money and a day off for that!

Dani

dani, you don't have to go to ANY meeting if you don't want to! I belong to two clubs, and I've made a conscious effort to get much more involved with one of them. The other, unfortunately, holds most of its events just a tad too far for me to attend regularly. But I still get the newsletter, and I can attend as many open gardens as I have time for.

In an Internet age, one might argue that much of the information to be gained by belonging to AHS and to a club can very easily be found online, and for free. Quite true, and I won't argue with that assertion.

But I think the relatively low membership fees are WELL worth the chance to make friends with like-minded people, locally, in your region, and even all across the country. Human nature being what it is, you're likely to see the same group of people over & over at many events (of course, with new people as well, depending on the event).

Like floota, I'm going to Lilyhemmer with a daylily friend. The drive will be lots of fun because of that company. And, once I'm there, I'll get to see other people I know well or less well -- fellow club members, members of other clubs in other parts of the region whom I've run into from time to time (Hi, floota, she says, waving LOL), and hybridizers, some of whom I've met, some of whom I've only ever spoken on the phone.

But instead of going on & on, let me just say that, for the price of some second-rate food or perhaps one evening in a bar, you can have a year's worth of reading, wonderful garden visits, new friends....what a deal!