Greater Columbus Dahlia Society President Dick Westfall looks at some of the flowers he’s grown in his garden. Westfall said the group is trying to train the next generation of dahlia growers in Central Ohio.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Will Channell)
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As a local dahlia show enters its 53rd year, the group behind it looks to the future generation of growers.
The Greater Columbus Dahlia Society’s (GCDS) annual dahlia show is this weekend. Residents will be able to see some beautiful flowers at the Union County YMCA on Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
The local dahlia group is looking to get some new blood in the mix.
“A lot of our members and exhibitors are getting older,” said show organizer Dick Westfall. “So we’re trying to train some new people.”
Earlier this summer, the GCDS put together a class to train new judges. Westfall said it’s a long process to become a judge certified by Westfall using guidelines from the American Dahlia Society. About 15 people are participating in the class.
“Some will drop out, we’ll add a few new ones along the way, probably,” Westfall said. “That’s the future of the group, hopefully.”
Westfall said there’s a concern younger people in the country aren’t interested in dahlia growing. He said for him, the problem could stem from the distractions of modern life.
“There is a struggle going on to maintain members,” Westfall said. “And I think it’s just a result of what’s going on in society today. There are just so many things going on.”
Westfall said getting younger people into the hobby is “pretty tough.” He said by “young,” he means people in their 50s or so. He said dahlia groups are growing older without replenishing their memberships.
“There are so many things to occupy their time,” Westfall said. “It’s just tough to recruit new people into something that requires a significant commitment.”
It also doesn’t help how dahlia growing is an involved process.
“It takes a special kind of person to dedicate themselves to something like this,” Westfall said.
Despite that, Westfall is hopeful. He said the GCDS has done a better job than other groups recruiting new members. The judge class has a few students Westfall would consider younger.
“And that’s encouraging,” he said. “I know that doesn’t sound like many, but we have a core in this group, a core of dedicated workers of about six or seven people.”
That core group is getting older, Westfall said, and those few new people could be the future of the organization.
Westfall stressed the show is completely free and open to the public. There will be about 20 exhibitors showing off their flowers.
“It’s pretty much the same that it’s been,” Westfall said. “We will have two or three new exhibitors.”
Westfall said though they don’t have a lot of exhibitors, he said the quality of the entries is top-notch.
“They’ll be coming from all over the state,” Westfall said.