2018 Southern Peony Ribbons Won at Last Year's 2017 APS Convention

While I actually won more ribbons last year at the 2017 APS Convention, I'm pretty sure I didn't do as well as my first time showing 2 years prior, 2015 American Peony Society Southern Peony Winners. I actually received more ribbons total in 2017 (25 ribbons), but the peony flowers themselves just weren't as good as they were in 2015 (18 ribbons). The flowers were smaller and the petals on several of the varieties were krinkled. My garden had a rough year last year, weather wise. Plus the APS flower show was 2 weeks later in May in 2017 than it was in 2015. That's 2 more weeks for my flowers to sit in the refrigerator (which is not a professional flower cooler). Aside from all of that, I actually won a Court of Honor ribbon in 2015, 2015 APS Southern Peony Court of Honor Winner - 'Keiko'. However none of my show flowers from 2017 seemed to be of that caliber. I was basically trying to get as many varieties into the show as I could for the public to see.

Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' First Award	Peony 'Little Darlin'' Honorable Mention	Peony 'Julia Rose' First Award
Peony 'Yellow Emperor' First Award	Peony 'Cora Louise' First Award	Peony 'Cora Louise' Honorable Mention
Peony 'White Emperor' Honorable Mention	Peony 'Canary Brilliants' Second Award	Peony 'Canary Brilliants' Honorable Mention
Peony 'Bartzella' Third Award	Peony 'Takara' Second Award	Peony 'Keiko' Third Award
Peony 'Many Happy Returns' First Award	Peony 'Coral Charm' Honorable Mention	Peony 'Topeka Garnet' First Award
Peony 'Top Hat' First Award	Peony 'Angel Cheeks' First Award	Peony 'Topeka Garnet' Second Award
Peony 'Candy Stripe' Second Award	Peony 'Paul M. Wild' Honorable Mention	Peony 'Raspberry Clown' Third Award
Peony 'Raspberry Clown' Second Award	Peony 'Bowl of Cream' Third Award	Peony 'Festiva Maxima' Second Award

Also there are 24 flowers pictured here that were awarded some sort of ribbon. I won 25 ribbons, so apparently I missed photographing one more peony bloom entry. It was a 2nd place ribbon for another entry of Peony 'Many Happy Returns'. As for the counts on the ribbon types, in 2017 there were 8 First Place, 4 Second Place, 3 Third Place, and 6 Honorable Mentions. In 2015 I earned 4 First Place, 9 Second Place, 3 Third Place, and 2 Honorable Mentions. So they really gave out many more Honorable Mentions in 2017. I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to show flowers again. It looks like they may not have a convention within driving distance for me for several years...

Looking over the photos of all of the peonies I entered in 2017, Peony 'Yellow Emperor', Peony 'Canary Brilliants', Peony 'Many Happy Returns', Peony 'Top Hat', Peony 'Angel Cheeks', and Peony 'Bowl of Cream' are my favorites. There's just something about a nice, round, symmetrical peony you just can't beat. Which ones are your favorites?

2015 Vintage American Peony Society Award Ribbons

Vintage American Peony Society Award Ribbons on Ebay
I am so excited about this! I found some vintage American Peony Society ribbons on Ebay. These ribbons are from Wisconsin. The seller of the APS ribbons said they bought them at an estate sale in Milwaukee about 20 years ago. According to the auction description, the ribbons are from the 1953, 1954, 1963, 1978, 1981, and 1982. When I reviewed the American Peony Society's Best in Show Awards, there are only two people that have won the Best in Show Ribbon that are from Milwaukee, WI - A.J. Volz and M.C. Karrels. A.J. Volz only won the APS Best in Show Award once in 1946. M.C. Karrels won the APS Best in Show Award in 1946, 1951, 1956, 1988, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, and 1983. In fact Marvin Karrels is the winningest exhibitor in the history of American Peony Society exhibits for the number of Best in Show Awards.
Vintage American Peony Society Award Ribbons
I am thinking these ribbons may have belonged to Marvin Karrels. None of the dates match any of his Best in Show Awards, but the range of years for these ribbons and his Best in Show Awards overlap the same time period of activity in the American Peony Society. Judging by the photos of the ribbons in the auction, none of them appear to be a Best in Show ribbon. So perhaps these were some of his other winning ribbons. I see in the auction photos that several of the ribbons are APS Court of Honor ribbons. After doing a Google search, it appears that Marvin Karrels died in 1994. So since these ribbons were purchased at an estate sale, that would make the timing of the estate sale after his death right around 20 years ago. If these ribbons did belong to him, that would be quite a coincidence since I happened to find his American Peony Society Medal on Etsy a couple of years ago. How exciting! I will have to take more detailed photos of the ribbons when they arrive. :-)