ROOTS - Historic Iris Preservation Society

ROOTS
Journal of the
Historic Iris Preservation Society
Volume 23 Issue 1
Spring 2010
In
This Issue. . .
Cover: 'Painted Doll' (D. Boen 1964)
HIPS At Your Service!
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HIPS At Your Service
Rhizome Sale note
HIPS Bookstore
Dorothy Stiefel
From the President
Paul Gossett
Proposed Slate of officers
2010 Convention Meetings May 31-June 5
HIPsters -- officers & chairs listing
Iris Gems on the World Wide Web, including
AIS Bulletin #1-355 TOCs scanned! by Jack Finney
Farewell to E. Roy Epperson
Irises in a Graveyard
Nigel Service
Mr. Marshal’s Flower Book “The Florilegium” of Alexander Marshal
reviewed by
Jim Morris
“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity”
Keith Keppel
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
Janice Thompson
Rhizome Sale list
Photos of some Rhizome Sale iris Gesine Lohr
The Pickel Barrel House Historic Iris Garden~
How to develop a display/conservation-ofunknowns iris garden
Nancy McDonald
Cook-Williamson Memorial Iris Garden,
Part II
Jerry Oswalt
Reader Rock Garden
Call for Donations
Janet Jones
Commercial Sources Listing
Jeff Walters
HIPS Slide Sets! update
Robert and Linda Karr
HIPS Historic Iris Designation Survey
Jean Richter
Catalog corner
In Retrospect descriptions
From Your Editor
Gesine Lohr
In Retrospect
Hips Membership Rates:
Single annual $ 10.00 Single Triennial $ 24.00
Dual annual $ 12.00 Dual Triennial
$ 30.00
Separate youth $ 5.00 Youth in add.adult $ 2.00
Single Life
$150.00 Dual Life
$175.00
Overseas – add $5.00 for postage
TO JOIN, contact Judy Eckhoff, Membership 
EDITOR Gesine Lohr (510) 864-7962 1226 High
Street, Alameda CA 94501 gesine.lohr@gmail.com
Roots, Journal of the Historic Iris Preservation Society,
is published biannually in Spring and Fall. Fall
deadline is 15 September, Spring deadline is 15
March. Roots is paid for by a combination of HIPS
membership dues, and HIPS' yearly Rhizome Sale.
Any article appearing in Roots may be reprinted
unless specifically prohibited. Proper credit must
accompany the reprint; please send a courtesy copy
to Roots Editor Gesine Lohr.
Photo Credits: If not otherwise noted, graphics and
photos by Gesine Lohr. Mike Unser contributed six
photos on pages 18-19, Bonnie Petheram contributed
two on page 19.
How do I join HIPS and subscribe to Roots?
See below left for HIPS membership rates. You
can mail payment to Membership Judy Eckhoff 7911
South Yoder Road, Haven, KS 67543-8114
judy67543@gmail.com (620) 662-8083, or subscribe via
the internet at www.hips-roots.com/visitors/v-shoppe.html
What if I don’t receive an issue of Roots?
First, check with Judy Eckhoff to make sure your
membership is current and that your address is correct
on our mailing list. Then contact Editor Gesine Lohr
(510) 864-7962 1226 High Street, Alameda CA 94501
gesine.lohr@gmail.com What is the cutoff date for historics?
Iris introduced 30 or more years ago is the
definition used by HIPS. Some suggest calling pre1950 iris, "heirloom", "antique", "old", "vintage";
newer historics might be termed "classics". I'm leaning
towards "heirloom historics". What are your thoughts?
See Historic Iris Designation Survey, p. 32.
Where can I buy historic iris?
-- See Commercial Sources Listing in Roots
-- See HIPS Rhizome Sale list in Spring Roots,
& same list on HIPS website after Roots is mailed
-- Contact Jeff Walters, Sources Chair
Where do I find historic iris on the Internet?
www.hips-roots.com
If you don’t have internet access at home, it’s
worth a trip to the local library to see the photos on our
website! (Librarians are usually helpful about finding
such things).
Who can help me locate old irises?
Contact Carlos Ayento, DataBank
and Carlos Ayento's Master Historic Iris List
http://www.brightonparkiris.com/masterhistoriclist.xls
What reference material is there?
See list of HIPS Bookstore in Roots & website
See list of archives on website in reading room,
or write for paper copy to Gesine Lohr
See the many articles in reading room on website
Where can I see historic iris displays?
Display Gardens! see annual list on HIPS website
(can also order printed copy from HIPS Bookstore)
Who can help identify old irises?
Website ID forum, & Phil Edinger, ID Chair
Where can I rent slide sets of historic irises?
Contact HIPS Slide Chairs -- $12.00 rental fee
I live outside the U.S. How do I get iris information
and/or plants? Contact Darlene Cook, International

HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale Issue
2
2010 HIPS Rhizome Sale!
~ HIPS Bookstore ~
(note new prices)
Historical Chronicles: (photocopies):
1) History of Iris; 2) Caparne & Mitchell; 6) Goos &
Koenemann; 16) Violet Insole; 17) Charles Wing -$6.00 Each
3) Foster; 4) Millet; 5) Vilmorin & Andrieux; 7) Barr
& Sons; 8) W.R. & K. Dykes; 9) Cayeux Iris Varieties;
14) Fryer; 21) Florentina; 22) Albicans; 23) Iris in
Medicine; 29) Poems & Songs; -- $8.00 Each
11) E. B. Williamson; 13) Farr; 15) Orpington Iris; 19)
Louisa Pesel; 20) B. Y. Morrison; 28) Jean Stevens; -$10.00 Each
10) Lémon Irises; 12) Sturtevant; 18) Perry; 24) Hort;
30) The Sasses -- $12.00 Each
26. Dwarfs; 33) Simonet Doc. Thesis I; 34) Simonet
Doc. Thesis II -- $14.00 Each
25) Hall -- $16.00 Each
27) Bliss -- $20.00 Each
AIS Bulletins:
#1 -- 27: photocopies $5.00 Each
Reprint AIS 50th Anniversary Bulletin, January
1970 $10.00 Each
Catalog Reprints:
1922 R. Wallace & Co. Iris Catalog $6.00
1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens Catalog & Hybridizer’s
Handbook $5.00
ROOTS back issues:
Fall 1988 through Spring 2001
$4.00 each
Fall 2001 on (color)
$7.00 each
(some issues sold out)
HIPS Display Garden Directory, 2010 $10.00
Reference Material:
Cornell Bulletin 112 by Austin W. W. Sand;
“The best old iris reference in existence” $12.00
A Study of Pogoniris Varieties by Austin W. W.
Sand (Cornell University Memoir #100, July 1926)
$12.00
Garden Irises, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
Farmers Bulletin 1406 $8.00
Rev. C. S. Harrison Omnibus $25.00
Louisville Hybridizers of the Past –
Robert Strohman $6.00
Comprehensive Checklist of Aril and Arilbred
Iris. Softcover, 200+ pages $20.00
Descriptions of Historic Aril and Arilbred
Cultivars: Supplement to above $5.00
Note that prices for overseas orders are different -- see
them at www.hips-roots.com/members/shoppe2.html
See page 13 for how to order! pages 14-17
for the huge list of cultivars offered this year!
and pages 18-19 for photos of SOME of the
offerings. Thank you, donors, for really coming
forward! and thanks to the Rhizome Sale team
for doing this huge project!
Ordering deadline is June 15, 2010
As always, Mike Unser will have the Rhizome
Sale list up on HIPS' website shortly after this
issue of Roots is mailed out. He'll have links to
photos of many of the iris offered.
www.hips-roots.com
As I've said many times, if you don't have
a computer and internet access at home, it
is WELL worth a trip to the library, to see
the extensive photos and information on the
website! Most librarians are quite happy to help
you find www.hips-roots.com, even if you've
never sat in front of a computer; and once you're
at the site, it's very easy to get around and look
at everything.
The list on the website will also be updated
with any last-minute additions -- the list here is
current as of April 1st.
The photos of 98 of the iris offered, on pages
18-19, are a first time endeavor for me. There
is NO correlation between an iris being pictured
there, and how many rhizomes are available!
Also, given my penchant for the earlier historics,
my photos are slanted towards older iris (send
me photos of more recent ones for next year!).
We're working on having a list of
descriptions up on the website, as was done the
other year. -- Gesine
HIPS Bookstore
If you can only spend
$24, get Cornell Bulletin
112 & A Study of
Pogoniris Varieties, both
by A. W. W. Sand
All items include postage
HIPS Publications
Dorothy A. Stiefel
260 Michigan Hollow Rd.
Spencer, NY 14883
See note page 4, new edition Cornell Bulletin112!
You can also order from the HIPS website, using Paypal,
www.hips-roots.com
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From the President ~
Proposed Slate of Officers
WOW! Spring is here and we are in another
Iris bloom season. This last year sure went by very
quickly. I hope everyone will have an excellent 2010
bloom season.
I have been contacted by several people asking
for assistance with locating historic irises for home
gardens as well as public gardens, and identifying
historic irises found. The latest request has come from
the Reader Rock Garden in Calgary, Alberta Canada.
You will find more information about the garden and
the irises they are looking for in this issue of Roots.
Hopefully you are planning on attending
the AIS Convention in Madison, WI from May 31,
2010 through June 5, 2010. To help the Society For
Siberian Irises celebrate their 50th Anniversary as a
society, Anne and Mike Lowe will be presenting a
program on Historic Siberians at the HIPS General
Membership Meeting/Program. I hope to see you
there. CONGRATULATIONS to the Society For
Siberian Irises as they celebrate 50 years.
I hope you will consider participating in the
2010 Rhizome Sale by either donating rhizomes or
purchasing rhizomes. The list is in this issue; you can
also go to the HIPS Web Site at www.hips-roots.com
for the list of irises or contact Janice Thompson at
ciris03@yahoo.com or Barbara Jackson at jacksonb@
mts.net for more information.
On behalf of the HIPS Board of Directors and
the HIPS Membership, I would like to extend our
condolences and sympathy to the family of E. Roy
Epperson and to the American Iris Society in the loss
of Dr. E. Roy Epperson, President of the American Iris
Society.
It would be interesting to hear from you about
how historic irises are doing in your area whether it be
in the garden or in a show. So, please write to me or
Gesine Lohr, Roots Editor.
Please support the commercial gardens listed
in Roots and on the HIPS Web Site, under Sources, by
ordering a catalog and buying some historic irises to
add to your garden.
As always, keep growing those Historic Irises.
If you have any questions about HIPS, please
feel free to contact me at pwgossett@juno.com.
Paul
The slate of officers proposed by the Nominating
Committee is:
Treasurer
Rita Gormley (2nd Term)
Northwest Director Robert Karr (2nd Term)
Southwest Director Susan Boyce (2nd Term)
Nominating Committee:
Judy Hunt, Chair judyhunt1@bellsouth.net
Laetitia Munro
Robert Strohman
As always, a vote will be taken at the HIPS General
Meeting at the 2010 Convention.
New reprint of Cornell Bulletin #112
Again available! Cornell Extension Bulletin
#112, 'Bearded Iris, A Perennial Suited to All
Gardens' by Austin W.W. Sand, first published
in 1925. This high-quality reprint is archival
paper, with a protective plastic cover. Spiral
bound for easy opening and use in the garden!
Our #1 seller in the quest for learning to see
and recognize the details that help identify old
irises. Price $12.00 postpaid in North America;
$15.00 postpaid elsewhere. -- Dorothy A. Stiefel
"Mad About Iris!"
AIS 2010 Convention May 31-June 5
Madison, Wisconsin
www.irises.org/conventions.htm
www.madisoniris.org/Convention/Welcome.htm
I love the slogan, “Mad about iris”!
HIPS BOARD MEETING
Tuesday June 1, 2010
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
HIPS GENERAL MEETING & PROGRAM
Looks like their website is calling the section
meetings “programs”
Friday June 4, 2010
5:30pm - 6:30pm HIPS Program (immediately
before the Geek Dinner & Auction)
Anne and Mike Lowe will be presenting a program
on Historic Siberians
(Rooms not yet listed)
4
President
(918) 853-6204 (new #)
pwgossett@juno.com Vice President (402) 421-6394 in2iris@yahoo.com Paul Gossett
129 E 33rd Place
Tulsa, OK 74105-2542
Gary White
701 Old Cheney Rd.
Lincoln, NE 68512
Secretary Linda Sercus
(973) 783-5974
474 Upper Mountain Ave.
ls1124@aol.com
Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
Treasurer Rita Gormley
Phone & fax (386) 277-2057 205 Catalonia Avenue
cell 314-606-9709 P. O. Box 177
gormleygreenery@aol.com DeLeon Springs, FL 32130
Imm. Past President Donna James (see NE Dir.)
Archive Gesine Lohr (see Editor)
Commercial Sources Jeff Walters
(864) 594-6736
1175 Woodburn Rd
iriscomsource@yahoo.com Spartansburg, SC 29302-3440
Rhizome Sale Chair
ciris03@yahoo.com
(903) 893-9195
Rhizome Sale Co-chair
jacksonb@mts.net
(204) 725-4696 Rhizome Sale Co-chair
Janice Thompson
2970 Luella Road
Sherman, TX 75090
Barb Jackson
2421 McDonald Avenue
Brandon, MB R7B 0A6 CANADA (Manitoba)
Judy Eckhoff (see Membership)
Slides Co-chair
Slides Co-chair
(509) 671-1539 (Robert)
(509) 671-1540 (Linda)
iris@sprucecorner.com
Variety ID (707) 894-3225
oldflag@sonic.net Webmaster (360) 432-8900
garden.of.mu@gmail.com
Robert Karr
Linda Karr
205 N. Craig Avenue
Newport, WA 99156
Philip Edinger
P.O. Box 637
Cloverdale, CA 95425
Mike Unser www.hips-roots.com
PO Box 6308
Olympia, WA 98507
Directors:
Cultivar Preservation
(510) 864-7962
richter@eecs.berkeley.edu DataBank Jean Richter
1226 High Street
Alameda CA 94501
Carlos Ayento
6108 S. Natchez Avenue
brightonparkiris@yahoo.com Chicago, IL 60638
Display Gardens Laetitia Munro
(973) 208-8490 49 Hilltop Rd.
sugarbean1@optonline.net Newfoundland, NJ 07435
Editor Gesine Lohr
(510) 864-7962
1226 High Street
gesine.lohr@gmail.com Alameda, CA 94501
International Darlene Cook
0649-827-7386
20 Tane Street
threesisters@woosh.co.nz New Lynn, Auckland 0600 NZ
Honoraries & Awards Anne Lowe
(804) 265-8198
12219 Zilles Road
anne@worldiris.com
Blackstone, VA 23824-9394
Membership Judy Eckhoff
(620) 662-8083
7911 South Yoder Road
judy67543@gmail.com
Haven, KS 67543-8114
Publications Sales Dorothy Stiefel
(607) 589-7465
260 Michigan Hollow Rd.
Irisacher@aol.com
Spencer NY 1488
5
Northeast
(315) 598-3346
ron2don@twcny.rr.com
North Central
Donna James (R. 1, 2, 3, 19)
887 County Rte. 3
Hannibal, NY 13074
Barbara Jackson (see R. Sale)
(R. 6, 8,9,11,16, 21)
Northwest
Robert Karr (see Slides)
(Reg. 13, 14)
Southeast
(502) 267-5074 judyhunt1@bellsouth.net South Central
(940) 464-3680
irises@argyleacres.com Southwest
(801) 985-0255
irisgal@hotmail.com Judy Hunt (Reg. 4, 5, 7, 24)
6701 Echo Trail
Louisville, KY 40299
Joe Spears (R. 10, 17, 18, 22)
910 Pioneer Circle
Argyle, TX 76226
Susan Boyce (R. 12, 15, 20, 23)
5123 S. 3500 W.
Roy, Utah 84067
Searchable PDFs of scans of
AIS Bulletin Table of Contents
for Bulletins #1-355 (!)
How To Say It!
www.finegardening.com/pguide/pronunciationguide-to-botanical-latin.aspx
has a neat "how to pronounce botanical names"
From first bulletin, June, 1920 thru October 2009 section -- scroll down thru the alphabet to Iris.....
Jack Finney has done a labor of love -it'll show you phonetic pronunciation, and will
Dear Friends,
speak the names you click on!
I have just completed a project that has
www.botanicgardens.ie/educ/names3.pdf
literally been years in the making. I scanned the ta- discusses nomenclature. Thanks to Patty Del
bles of contents (TOCs) of all the American Iris So- Negro for finding this and mentioning it in the
ciety Bulletins with Optical Character Recognition forum at HIPS website.
software so that you can use the Search function in
Microsoft Word to look for articles on a particular
Iris Gems on the World Wide Web
subject. The software wasn't very good, so some of
A very helpful list of cultivars by vendor, is compiled
the formats got weird, and I had to almost retype a
each year by Carlos Ayento (thank you Carlos!) -lot of the first 80 or so TOCs because the paper had
MASTER HISTORIC IRIS LIST 2010
deteriorated so badly. It was a chore, and the rewww.brightonparkiris.com/masterhistoriclist.xls
sult is not pretty, but it is serviceable. The scholar
AIS Check List database -- Iris Register
in me just couldn't stand for all the wisdom in the
$10/year, well worth it! You can search by name,
Bulletins not to be readily accessible to those who
hybridizer. www.irises.org/irischecklist.htm
wanted to use it. Of course, the AIS's official indexMike Lowe's site, the original HIPS website
ing project continues, and someday it will offer
www.worldiris.com/public_html/Frame_pages/
much more than my work provides.
QFix.html Thank you, Mike, for keeping this
John R. "Jack" Finney, PhD
available! I've spent many many happy hours here!
www.hips-roots.com/articles/ref-aisb-toc-downHIPS' website www.hips-roots.com
loads.html
This is a huge amount of work, thank you
so much, Jack! I've already had a lot of fun search- It's easy to read PDFs -- PDFs are
ing for various articles; quite easy to use.
"portable document format" files, just a way to
put files that were made in many different proRoyal Horticultural Society Color Charts grams, into a basket so anyone can read them
an approximation on the internet!
using the free Adobe Reader. For example, I
www.azaleas.org/index.pl/rhsmacfan1.html
make my slideshow in PowerPoint, but send it
www.azaleas.org/index.pl/azcolorsystems.html
out as a PDF document, which makes it accessihas information about a number of formal color
ble to anyone whether they have the PowerPoint
description systems
program or not. This is neat! If your computer
www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHSdoesn't have Adobe Reader, get it free at http://
colour-charts "The RHS Colour Chart is the stan- get.adobe.com/reader/
dard reference for plant colour identification. Used
by the RHS, the chart is indispensable to gardeners Free copy of combined "How to
who value accuracy in the identification of plant
look at historic iris" slideshow
colours....It is because the chart has been specially If anyone would like a free copy of my combined
developed to match nature's own colours that it
"How to look at historic iris" slideshow, please
has become such a useful tool. 76 new colours
let me know, I could mail you one on a CD if you
have been added to the existing 808. These fill
send me postage. If you have an email account
gaps in the dark purple-black, green, grey, orange- that can accept 15 MB size attachments (the free
red and bright orange ranges providing colour
gmail does, sign up at www.google.com, see
references for previously difficult to match plants http://mail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/about.
including dahlias, chrysanthemums and irises.
html), I can email it to you very easily. -- Gesine
6
Farewell to E. Roy Epperson
We were sad to hear that our AIS President,
E. Roy Epperson, had died. Below, he
is smiling at ‘The Red Douglas’ ( J. Sass
1937) at the HIPS planting at 2009 AIS
Convention. He told me this iris was the
first one he’d ever bought, ordering it from
Sears & Roebuck about 60 years ago.
above & below: 'Elmohr' (Loomis-Long 1942)
7
Irises In A Graveyard
that a dead person could have no finer
memorial than that the rediscovery of a lost
by Nigel Service (France)
Iris should be linked, in memory and in the
records, with the name on their tombstone.
The unsophisticated magnificence of
I am thinking of one occasion in
an iris I saw last spring, widespread across
particular but there is no reason why it
northeast Greece in Muslim cemeteries, put
should be unique, as numerous small towns
me in mind of other graveyards seen. The
must have been founded and abandoned
tradition of Irises planted on tombs has been in the earlier days of the American west. It
widespread, a mourning flower not confined
was in Colorado where I was looking for I.
to the white Iris albicans; forms of Iris
missouriensis and, as happens when you are
germanica are quite often used in European
looking for a wild iris, you tend to inquire
graveyards for planting.
of anybody around if they have seen such
What about the graveyards of the
flowers anywhere. “Have you been to the
USA? I cannot recall, though I could easily
cemeteries of the dead towns above Central
enough be wrong, mention of such places in City? Turn left in the town, there are plenty
Roots.
of Irises up there,” advised a friend.
But I have had one small experience
Not quite the sort of irises I was
myself which convinced me that interesting
thinking of perhaps, but a visit to Central
things might easily be found and anyone
City became a previously unplanned part of
who does not like the idea of lifting bits
the expedition. The cemeteries were not that
of Irises from graves would bear in mind
easy to find; left turns seemed rare. No, not
easy unless you were lucky, and we were
lucky.
It was more a complex of graveyards,
covering a large area and mostly quite
sparsely furnished with tombs which were
often highly imaginative. The sections were
separated, each faith having its own space.
Certainly the Roman Catholic burials were
clearly distinct and a notice announced the
fenced off space as this.
All sign of the town, which must have
been sizable to justify such a complex, had
gone. Or was it a collective burial ground?
he had said “dead towns” in the plural -- a
burial center for several now abandoned
townships? In that case, the sparseness of
tombs is even more remarkable. Perhaps
it did not work out well right from the
beginning. Anyway, we are thinking of
irises, not of settlements and their failure.
And there were irises, or their foliage,
on a good number
left: Tall bearded
of the graves. The
Iris in a Muslim
cemetery at Organi, altitude was about
9,000 feet and
northeast Greece,
there was no sign of
May 2009
flowering, but foliage
8
So, as the place dates from the late 19th
century, it would not be unreasonable
to suggest that the plants would be
from that sort of period also. But I am
afraid I noted no other dates; I was not then
thinking of historic hybrids. I am glad to
say, though, that I did find one patch of the
species I was looking for, growing wild, not
associated with a tomb but well within the
boundaries of the cemetery.
above: Cemetery above Central City, Colorado,
June 2006; the grave of Elizabeth A., died 1877, is
in the middle with Iris leaves clearly evident
in plenty was on and around numerous
tombs. One of the first graves was that of
the Jeffery family dying at the end of the 19th
century -- here was Fred’s grave and that of
M.J. with iris plants growing around them.
Not far away was the collective tomb area
of the Martin family where a different iris
grew, and more irises were further over at
the grave of Elizabeth A., who had died, aged
just over one year, in 1877.
[Editor’s note: Did you dig up a little piece of
any of the bearded iris you saw?]
9
Mr. Marshal’s Flower Book “The Florilegium” of Alexander Marshal
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2008
Book Review by Jim Morris
When you pick up
a book copyrighted
by the Queen of
England (HM
Queen Elizabeth
II, 2008) one
rather expects it to
be something of
substance. This book
is that and more.
The modern title
of “Mr. Marshal’s
Flower Book”
means the same
as “The Florilegium” of Alexander Marshal (c. 16201682). It is the only compilation of flower watercolors
from seventeenth-century England. Marshal was a
horticulturist and entomologist who was highly skilled
as an artist, but he painted for his own pleasure – not for
publication or to document scientific discoveries such as
presented by Pierre Vallet, Jardin du Roy (Paris 1608) or
Basil Besler, Hortus Eystettenis (Eichstatt 1613). Most
florilegia of the age were part of the scientific desire
to identify, classify and record the plants pouring into
England, France, Germany and the Netherlands from
all over the world. Marshal was different, he just liked
flowers and the bugs and birds associated with them, and
he painted them to his own exacting standards.
Marshal’s masterpiece of watercolors took him
thirty years to complete. This modern compilation
of 140 illustrations is stunning in its beauty. House &
Garden said, “Exquisitely beautiful, the flower paintings
of Alexander Marshal have a timeless resonance that
makes them look as fresh today as they did when they
were first created more than 350 years ago.” What
appears to be a totally distaff production, the abridged
text is by Henrietta McBurney and Prudence Sutcliffe
with Marshal’s illustrations gleaned from the Royal
10
left: Picture of German Flag iris germanica
(two forms)
above: I. susiana L. Mourning Iris
Alexander Marshal, c.1650
markings and in some species, the beard.”
It goes on to report that the English Royal
Society was so impressed by Marshal’s
work that they asked him how he
obtained the vivid colors in his paintings.
His response was read to the members
of the Royal Society on December 19,
1667. He derived pigments from flowers,
berries, gums and roots as well as verdigris
and arsenic. His paint formulas give his
paintings a unique vibrancy of color. This is a marvelous
book for amateur and professional alike.
above: I. pumila L Alexander Marshal, 1650
left: Siberian Flag Iris Alexander Marshal,
The Florilegium, c. 1670
below: English Iris Alexander Marshal
c.1650
Collection (since King George IV).
Marshal painted everything he grew and more,
from snowdrops, squill, hyacinths and daffodils in the
English “winter” to star anemones, tulips and irises in
the spring. With sufficient means he acquired and grew
exciting plants from the Near East, Virginia, Canada and
all the British colonies. He grew them in all seasons out
of doors and under glass, and painted them as well as
any man or woman.
Among the various genera depicted are irises
such as I. susiana L. the mourning iris, I. pumila L.,
I. persica L., the common German flags (two forms),
English irises, Spanish irises and Siberian flag iris. The
text reports, “The forms of irises in particular seem to
have fascinated Marshal – the way the flower rises from
its stem, the papery calyx, the contrast between the
shapes of the drooping and upright petals, the flower’s
11
"Vanity, vanity, all is vanity..." ~ Historical Vanity
by Keith Keppel
The AIS Registrations system
is noteworthy for its extent, both in
numbers of cultivars recorded and
the appropriate information per each.
However, sleuthing can sometimes
disclose inaccuracies or omissions. We
might cite an example, The Case of the
Missing Vanities.
In 1928 B. Y. Morrison registered ‘Vanity’ which is shown in the
1939 Check List as having been introduced in 1930. It is also shown in
1939 as superseded ($) and obsolete
(*)! Earl Sheets, in his Treholme Gardens “Iris lover’s guide and descriptive
catalogue” gives more information:
“M.S. to L., 38” S. Lilac; F.
Bishop’s purple to Madder purple. All
habits good. A striking color resembling Leverrier but a flower of better form on stronger, low and widely
branched stalks.”
He gave ‘Vanity’ his personal
quality ratings of Exhibition 87 (= fine)
and Garden 90 (= extra fine).
In 1945 Frances Horton introduced fourteen dwarf irises in her
Elkhart, Indiana, Irisdale Gardens catalogue. “Parentage mixed in moving”,
she noted. Twelve of the fourteen are
shown as registered in the 1949 Check
List, the exceptions being ‘Princeling’
and ‘Vanity’. She described the latter as being an 11”
clean light yellow self, falls slightly veined olive at the
haft, with matching beards and semi-horizontal falls.
Now back to a tall bearded. A few months later,
in a Stevens Brothers catalogue issued in New Zealand,
we find ‘Vanity’ to be:
“A gay, rosy lilac blend, large and of good form.
In the standards the lilac is shot with light bronze. Falls
are a lovely blending of lilac and gold with a flash of
heliotrope below the yellow beard. Flowers several times
a year when established. Early. 3 ft.”
From information in Jean Stevens’ notebooks we
find it first bloomed in 1943 and was saved as seedling
6/P80. Its parentage is ‘Miss California’ X ((‘Rewa’ x
‘New Dawn’) x (‘New Dawn’ x ‘Radiant Morn’)). We
also know that it reached southern California, for plants
were shipped to C. S. Milliken in December, 1947, and
Tom Craig the following month. Did it receive further
distribution in this country?
Finally, in 1974 Ben Hager registered ‘Vanity’,
which was introduced by Melrose Gardens in 1975
and was awarded the Dykes Medal in 1982. It was the
fourth ‘Vanity’….or were there more?
{Editor's note -- One of these 'Vanities' is available in
this year's HIPS Rhizome Sale}
12
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
The Annual HIPS Rhizome Sale is the main fundraising event for our Society. Rhizomes are donated by
our generous members and growers; the sale is open to both members and the public. HIPS is grateful for the
generosity of our members and donors and the support of all who place orders.
Sale conditions:
-- The Iris listed below are on a first come, first served basis. Demand is such that we must set a limit of no
more than one of each cultivar per order.
-- Rhizomes are $5.50 each, with a minimum order of five.
-- Postage charges are included in the price.
-- Cut off date for orders is June 15, 2010. Shipment will begin the last week of July.
-- Due to import restrictions shipping is limited to the US and Canada.
-- Orders from Canada must come thru Paypal or Money Order in US funds.
-- While we will do our best to see that you get the correct cultivar, HIPS cannot guarantee identity of
sale rhizomes.
Please note: Include in your order acceptable substitutions or a note indicating if you'd prefer a refund if one
you want is not available; also any acceptable bonuses if wanted with your order.
How to order: There are two ways to get your order in.
1) The customary way -- mail a check/Money Order and your list with all shipping information to:
Janice Thompson
2970 Luella Road
Sherman,Tx. 75090-5151
2) Or order online using your Paypal account (you must be registered with Paypal to use this option). Go to
Paypal at www.paypal.com and then follow these instructions
-- Click on ’Send money’.
-- In the ‘To' field use: hipsshop@gmail.com
-- Enter the full amount of your order (Postage is included in the price).
-- Select ‘Goods’, then click Continue
-- On the next page in the subject line type: rhizome sale-member order (you MUST indicate MEMBER to get
preference over non-member orders)
-- Add your list of varieties you'd like in the message box and your mailing address as well.
-- When complete simply click Send Money and your order is on its way!
Please send questions about the sale or your order to Janice Thompson at: ciris03@yahoo.com. Please send
questions about using Paypal or online ordering to Mike Unser at: garden.of.mu@gmail.com.
Thank you for supporting HIPS!
What a splendid bunch of possibilities for this year's Rhizome Sale! This is the largest list to date.
Thank you, all, for donating! Those of you ordering by mail, if you're ordering a number of cultivars, might
want to photocopy the list pages and circle or highlight your choices, rather than writing them all out. -- Editor
Photo credits: The photos on pages 18-19 of 'Golden Majesty', 'Gypsy', 'Harvest Splendor', 'Klamath',
'Marquita', and 'Rebellion' were taken by Mike Unser; the photos of 'Rhythm' and 'Sacramento" are by Bonnie
Petheram; all other photos are by Gesine Lohr.
13
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
Abelard (Sass, H.P. 1933)
Accent (Buss 1953)
Acolyte (Taylor, JD 1963)
Alcazar (Vilmorin 1910)
Allegiance (Cook 1958)
Alpine Glow (Kleinsorge 1944)
Alta California (Mohr-Mitchell
1931)
Amas (Foster 1885)
Amethyst Flame (Schreiners 1958)
Amigo (Williamson 1934)
Angels Robe (Williamson, B.
1979)
Apache Warrior (Brown, A. 1972)
Aphrodite (Dykes 1922)
Appleblossom Pink (Boushay
1974)
Arctic Night (Brown, A. 1966)
Argus Pheasant (DeForest 1947)
Arrangement (Goett 1963)
Autumn Sunset (Lapham 1939)
Avalon Bay (Hamner 1975)
Az Ap (Ensminger 1980)
Babbling Brook (Keppel 1965)
Baby Blessed (Zurbrigg 1979)
Baby Snowflake (Peterson 1963)
Bali Rose (Sass, H. 1955)
Banberry Ruffles (Schreiners
1970)
Barbara Walther (Casselman
1959)
Barrister (Meek 1980)
Bashful Bride (Roderick 1980)
Bayberry Candle (DeForest 1966)
Beauty Mark (Schreiners 1979)
Beaux Arts (Plough 1969)
Beckon (Daling 1974)
Bel Canto (Hager 1981)
Belize (unregistered )
Bella Mohr (Ohl 1955)
Bengal Tiger (Maryott 1980)
Beowulf (Schreiners 1936)
Beverly Sills (Hager 1978)
Big Brother (Tolman 1976)
Black And Gold (Kleinsorge
1943)
Black Baby (Sass, H. 1955)
Black Bart (Schmelzer 1969)
Black Hope (Austin 1963)
Black Market (Plough 1974)
Black Swan (Fay 1960)
Black Taffeta (Songer 1954)
Black Watch (Rosenfels 1972)
Blackberry Wine (Bledsoe 1976)
Blanc De Chine (Moldovan 1978)
Blazing Bonnet (Galer 1972)
Blazing Fury (Smith, E. 1968)
Blazing Saddles (Dyer 1978)
Blessed Again (Jones, F. 1978)
Blond Goddess (Shoop 1974)
Bloodstone (Schreiners 1980)
Blue Ace (Rosenfels 1964)
Blue Denim (Warburton 1959)
Blue Doll (Warburton 1958)
Blue Luster (Brown, O. 1973)
Blue Rhythm (Whiting 1945)
Blue Ruffles (Barton by Maxwell
1954)
Blue Sapphire (Schreiners 1953)
Blue Sparks (Welch 1964)
Blue Staccato (Gibson 1977)
Blue Theme (Palmer 1977)
Blue Whiskers (Welch 1960)
Blushing Pink (Rudolph 1977)
Bold Accent (Brown, O. 1978)
Bold Chase (Jones, B. 1971)
Bonanza (Sass, J. 1939)
Brahms' Lullaby (Spahn 1978)
Brandy (McWhirter 1981)
Breaking Dawn (Schreiners 1971)
Bridal Wreath (Weiler 1979)
Bride (Caparne 1901)
Brides Halo (Mohr 1971)
Brigantine (Tompkins 1966)
Bright Reflection (Brown, O.
1979)
Brimmed Red Amo (Morgan
1981)
Bristol Gem (Leavitt 1965)
British Blue (Willott 1979)
Broadmeadow (Brown, O. 1962)
Broadway Star (Schreiners 1957)
Brook Flower (Schreiners 1973)
Brown Heart (Dyer 1975)
Brown Lasso (Buckles 1972)
Bryce Canyon (Kleinsorge 1944)
Bubbling Springs (Brown, O.
1971)
Buddha Song (Dunbar 1970)
Buffy (Brown, O. 1968)
Burgundy Splash (Craig 1948)
Burnt Toffee (Schreiners 1977)
Buto (Sass, H.P. 1926)
Butterscotch Trim (Buckles by
Niswonger 1972)
Caldron (Schreiners 1957)
Calendar Girl (Smith, E. 1973)
California Blue (Essig 1929)
California Gold (Mohr-Mitchell
1933)
Camelot Rose (Tompkins 1965)
Can Can Red (Gibson 1978)
Candy Apple (Hamblen 1972)
Candy Shop (Corlew 1970)
Canton Jewel (Galer 1973)
Caprice (Vilmorin 1898)
Caramba (Keppel 1975)
Cardinal (Bliss 1922)
Carnival Time (Schreiners 1976)
Carolina Gold (Powell 1970)
Carved Pink (Rudolph 1975)
Cascade Splendor (Kleinsorge
1944)
Catalyst (Keppel 1980)
Cathedral Bells (Wallace 1953)
Celestial Snow (Bro. Charles
1957)
Chalk Talk (Thomkins 1970)
Charcoal (Plough 1969)
Chatterbox (Schreiners 1978)
Cheerio (Ayres 1934)
Cheers (Habge 1975)
Cherie (Hall 1945)
Cherished (Corlew 1973)
Cherry Garden (Jones, B. 1966)
Cherry Jubilee (Wood 1969)
Cherry Smoke (Meek 1978)
Cherub Tears (Boushay 1976)
China Dragon (Shoop 1979)
China Maid (Milliken 1936)
Chinese Coral (Fay, R. 1962)
Chivary (Wills 1943)
Chocoleto (Deru 1959)
Christmas Angel (DeForest 1960)
Christmas Rubies (Hamblen 1978)
Christmas Time (Schreiners 1965)
Cindy Ellen (Brown, O. 1972)
Cindy Mitchell (Palmer 1979)
Cinnabar (Williamson 1928)
Circus Stripes (Plough 1976)
City of David (Boushay 1977)
Clair de Lune (Wareham 1934)
Clancy (Roach 1972)
Clara Noyes (Sass, H.P. 1930)
Cliffs Of Dover (Fay, R. 1953)
Cloverdale (Brown, O. 1969)
Colonel Candelot (Millet 1907)
Color Carnival (DeForest 1949)
Colorado Sunshine (Magee 1978)
Columbia Blue (Schreiners 1978)
Columbine (Murrell 1930)
Condottiere (Cayeux 1978)
Congo Magic (Hooker 1973)
Copper Classic (Roderick 1977)
Copy Cat (Ghio 1974)
Coral Magic (Schreiners 1979)
Coral Ribbon (Berndt 1974)
Coralie (Ayres 1932)
Corn Harvest (Wyatt 1977)
Coronation (Moore 1927)
Corsage (Watkins 1955)
Cosmic Lady (Keppel 1980)
Cotton Blossom (Jones, B. 1970)
Country Manor (Kegerise 1973)
Cozy Calico (Schreiners 1980)
Cracken (Schreiners 1974)
Cranberry Ice (Schreiners 1973)
Crimson King (Barr 1893)
Crinkled Lilac (Schreiners 1957)
Crinoline (Schreiners 1965)
Crown Point (Tompkins 1958)
Crystal Dawn (Rudolph 1976)
Cuban Cutie (Dyer 1977)
14
Curtain Call (Schreiners 1967)
Daisy (Palmer 1977)
Dappled Dragon (Payne 1969)
Dark Chocolate (Murray 1954)
Dark Fairy (Brown, A. 1960)
Dasher (Brown, O. 1977)
Dauntless (Connell 1929)
Dawn (Yeld 1911)
Dazzelier (Hall by Bloese 1952)
Dazzling Gold (Anderson 1977)
Debby Rairdon (Kintz 1964)
Decolletage (Hager 1970)
Deep Pacific (Burger 1975)
Demi-Deuil (Denis 1912)
Dera (Craig 1962)
Desert Echo (Meek 1980)
Desert Song (Fay, O. 1946)
Dignitary (Ghio 1976)
Diligence (Brown, A. by Boushay
1976)
Disco Music (Williamson, B.
1977)
Discovery Bay (Brown, O. 1970)
Distant Light (Plough 1976)
Dogrose (Insole 1930)
Doll Dear (Blodgett 1980)
Dolly Madison (Williamson 1926)
Dominion (Bliss 1917)
Dorothy K. Williamson (Williamson 1918)
Dot And Dash (Hall 1960)
Double Dip (Rawlins 1978)
Double Rose Amo (Morgan 1979)
Dove Wings (Roberts 1968)
Dover Beach (Nearpass 1972)
Dragonfly (Dykes 1923)
Dream Affair (Gatty 1978)
Dream Lover (Tams 1971)
Dream Maiden (Smith, E. 1963)
Dreamcastle (Cook 1943)
Dualtone (Brown, O. 1977)
Dusky Dancer (Luihn 1967)
Dusky Evening (Schreiners 1971)
Dutch Chocolate (Schreiners
1970)
Dutch Doll (Sass by Graham
1957)
Early Snowbird (Gibson 1971)
Easter Bonnet (Maxwell-Norton
1943)
Eastertime (Schreiners 1980)
Easy Grace (Tompkins 1976)
Ecstatic Night (Cook 1963)
Edenite (Plough 1959)
El Capitan (Mohr-Mitchell 1926)
Eleanor Roosevelt (Sass-McDade
1933)
Eleanor's Pride (Watkins 1956)
Embroidery (Keppel 1971)
Emerald Fountain (Brown, O.
1961)
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
Emma Louisa (Buckles 1969)
Enchanted World (Schreiners
1979)
End Play (Spence 1976)
English Cottage (Zurbrigg 1976)
Erleen Richeson (Roderick 1979)
Ermine Robe (Schreiners 1969)
Eros (Mead-Reidel 1934)
Esther, The Queen (Hunt 1967)
Etched Apricot (Gibson 1967)
Everlasting Love (Dyer 1979)
Exotic Blue (Randolph 1957)
Exotic Star (Plough 1975)
Eyebright (Taylor 1979)
Fairy Ballet (Sarro 1973)
Fairy Carillon (Payne 1969)
Fairy Magic (Schreiners 1969)
Falbala (Cayeux 1977)
Fancy Tales (Shoop 1980)
Fantastic Blue (Palmer 1975)
Far Corners (Moldovan 1978)
Far Hills (Wills 1947)
Fascination (Cayeux 1927)
Fashion Fling (Hall 1965)
Fashionable Pink (Schreiners
1976)
Faustine (Lemon 1859)
Feminine Charm (Kegerise 1974)
Festive Aire (Brown, O. 1976)
Festoon (Hall 1958)
Fiesta Sun (Schmelzer 1970)
Fiji Dancer (Zurbrigg 1978)
Fine Precedent (Blyth 1977/78)
Fine Taste (Nicholls 1977)
Fire Chief (Gaylon 1959)
Fire Dance (Fay, O. 1947)
Fire Power (Plough 1977)
Firenze (Brown, O. 1958)
Firewater (Keppel 1977)
Firey Furnace (Niswonger 1971)
First Edition (Lorenz 1970)
First Violet (DeForest 1952)
Five Star Admiral (Marsh 1974)
Flamboyant Dream (Boushay
1978)
Flamenco (Flamenco 1977)
Flaming Dragon (Fay 1966)
Flaming Light (Brown, R. 1973)
Flaming Star (Plough 1967)
Flash Fire (Plough 1978)
Flavescens (collected, DeCandolle
1813)
Flirty Mary (Rawdon 1977)
Florentina (collected 1500)
Flounced Premiere (Austin 1961)
Flower Power (Plough 1969)
Fluted Lime (Noyd 1966)
Flutter-by (Sturtevant 1924)
Focus (Keppel 1976)
Footnote (Keppel 1969)
Fragrant Too (Schmelzer by Baldwin 1979)
Frank Adams (Lapham 1937)
Fresno Calypso (Weiler 1978)
Frivolity (Schreiners 1970)
Frost And Flame (Hall 1957)
Frosted Glass (Becherer 1943)
Frosted Starlight (Ghio 1963)
Frosted Sunbeam (Bakke-Messer
1974)
Full House (Meek 1976)
Full Tide (Brown, O. 1972)
Funtastic (Plough 1978)
G. P. Baker (Perry 1930)
Gala Madrid (Peterson 1967)
Galatea Marx (Marx 1961)
Galleon Gold (Schreiners 1977)
Garden Magic (Griner 1936)
Gay Geisha (Olson 1961)
Gay Hussar (Williamson 1929)
Gay Parasol (Schreiners 1973)
Gay Paree (Plough 1956)
Geisha Gown (Maddox 1963)
Gemini (Knopf 1966)
Gene Buckles (Buckles by Niswonger 1975)
Generosity (Keppel 1979)
Gentle Grace (Boushay 1979)
Gentle Rain (Keppel 1977)
Gerald Darby (Darby by Coe
1967)
Giant Rose (Schreiners 1959)
Gigglepot (Blyth 1980/81)
Gingerbread Castle (Tompkins
1967)
Gingersnap (Schreiners 1965)
Gizmo (Hager 1976)
Glacier Magic (Plough 1977)
Glazed Orange (Schreiners 1969)
Glory Bound (Nelson 1978)
Glowing Embers (Sturtevant
1923)
Going My Way (Gibson 1972)
Gold Cadillac (Gaulter 1979)
Gold Fever (Nichols 1979)
Gold Galore (Schreiners 1978)
Gold Smoke (Clarke 1952)
Gold Soverign (Whiting 1949)
Golden Delight (Smith, E. 1959)
Golden Filigree (Gibson 1965)
Golden Frost (Brown, A. 1972)
Golden Garnet (Gibson 1980)
Golden Knight (Pond 1974)
Golden Lady (Combs 1956)
Golden Majesty (Salbach 1938)
Golden Spectator (Haney 1968)
Golden Streaker (Bledsoe 1978)
Golden Years (Hall 1957)
Goldfish (Wareham 1925)
Gracchus (Ware 1884)
Gracie Pfost (Smith, E. 1961)
Grand Canyon (Kleinsorge 1941)
Grandma's Hat (Mahood 1957)
Graphic Arts (Hager 1978)
Great Lakes (Cousins 1938)
Green Smoke (Smith, E. 1959)
Green Spot (Cook 1951)
Greenan Castle (Beattie 1971)
Grenadine (Gersdorff 1946)
Guardian Gate (Moldovan 1979)
Gypsy (Kleinsorge 1944)
Gypsy Baron (Schreiners 1942)
Gypsy Caravan (Moldovan 1978)
Gypsy Fire (Smith, E. 1967)
Gypsy Melody (Smith, E. 1966)
Gypsy Prince (Hamblen 1974)
Hagar's Helmet (Nichols 1977)
Hammered Copper (Roberts 1974)
Hanky (Magee 1988)
Happy Mood (Brown, A. 1968)
Harland K Riley (MacMillan
1974)
Harriet Thoreau (Cook 1944)
Harvest Splendor (Kleinsorge
1956)
Hawaiian Holiday (Brown, T.
1965)
Hazel's Pink (Schmelzer by Baldwin 1978)
Heather Blush (Hamner 1977)
Heaven's Best (Smith, E. 1972)
Hee Haw (Innerst 1980)
Helen Boehm (Schreiners 1977)
Helen Collingwood (Smith, K.
1949)
Helen McGregor (Graves 1946)
Helios (Cayeux 1928)
Hell's Fire (Roberts 1976)
Henna Stitches (Gibson 1961)
Henri Riviere (Millet 1927)
Henry Shaw (Benson 1959)
Hey Looky (Brown, W. 1970)
High Jinks (Williams 1970)
High Life (Schreiners 1964)
High Sierra (Gaulter 1967)
Highland Chief (Gibson 1972)
Hold That Tiger (Lauck 1957)
Holy Smoke (Smith, E. 1958)
Honest Pleasure (Plough 1979)
Honey Chile (Salbach 1940)
Horned Amethyst (Austin 1959)
Horned Dragonfly (Austin 1965)
Horned Flamingo (Austin 1963)
Horned Royalty (Austin 1958)
Horned Skylark (Austin 1957)
Horned Sunshine (Noyd 1968)
Howdy Folks (Nelson, J. 1979)
Hula Doll (Brown, A. 1964)
Humoresque (Keppel 1962)
I Do (Zurbrigg 1974)
I. albicans (Lange 1860)
I. kochii (Kerner 1887)
I. ochroleuca (Linnaeus 1771)
I. pallida (Lamarck 1789)
I. pallida argentea / Zebra (G&K
1906)
15
I. pallida aurea variegata (Krelage
& sons 1930)
Ice Fairy (Witt 1966)
Image Maker (Williamson 1983)
Imperial Blush (Sass, H.P. 1932)
Indian Chief (Ayres 1929)
Indian Hills (Grant 1935)
Indigo Rim (Gibson 1974)
Inferno (Schreiners 1975)
Inner Circle (Ghio 1977)
Inscription (Boushay 1978)
Instant Charm (Brown, O. 1974)
Instant Love (Hamblen 1977)
Intensity (Ferguson 1968)
Interpol (Plough 1972)
Irish Doll (Brown, A. 1963)
Ishmael (Boushay 1977)
Island Fiesta (Plough 1979)
Ivory Plumes (Plough 1980)
Ivy League (Nearpass 1969)
Jacaranda (Gaulter 1980)
Japanesque (Farr 1922)
Java Charm (Plough 1975)
Jean Cayeux (Cayeux 1931)
Jean Sibelius (Benson 1959)
Jeanne Price (Jones, B. 1977)
Jesse's Song (Williamson, B.
1979)
Jet Fire (Tompkins 1964)
Jewel (Whiting 1952)
Jewel Tone (Schreiners 1966)
Jeweled Starlight (Burch 1980)
Joyance (Dykes, K. 1929)
Joyce Terry (Muhlestein 1974)
July Sunshine (Brown 1965)
Junaluska (Kirkland 1934)
June Prom (Brown, A. 1967)
June Sunset (Niswonger 1980)
Jungle Shadows (Sass by Graham
1959)
Kalahari (Plough 1972)
Kaleidoscope (Katkamier 1929)
Kayo (Niswonger 1980)
Kentucky Bluegrass (Jones, B.
1970)
Kentucky Derby (Mohr, D. 1976)
Kermesina (collected 1901)
Key Lime (Zurbrigg 1977)
Kharput (Barr 1895)
Kilt Lilt (Gibson 1970)
Kimberly (Schreiners 1960)
King's Jester (Stevens 1945)
Klamath (Kleinsorge 1929)
Knick-Knack (Greenlee 1961)
Knotty Pine (Goett, 1961)
Koala (Mohr 1975)
Kona Coast (Plough 1973)
Kontiki (Plough 1966)
L.Merton Gage (Lapham 1942)
La Bohemienne (Millet et Fils
1926)
Laced Cotton (Schreiners 1978)
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
Laced Lemonade (Warburton
1970)
Lacy Snowflake (Schreiners 1976)
Lady Boscawen (Graves 1942)
Lady Friend (Ghio 1980)
Lady In Red (Willott 1973)
Lady Marie (Muhlstein 1975)
Lady Serena (Soults 1972)
Ladyslippers (Suiter 1958)
Land Of Oz (Brown, O. 1979)
Last Dance (McWhirter 1979)
Late Returns (Wright 1967)
Late, Late Display (Nelson, J.
1974)
Latin Lover (Shoop 1969)
Laurel Park (Gaulter 1978)
Laurie (Gaulter 1976)
Lavender Blue Lace (Schortman
1978)
Lavender Petticoat (Osbourne
1975)
Lavender Sparkle (Schreiners
1965)
Leda's Lover (Hager 1980)
Lemon Brocade (Rudolph 1974)
Lemon Duet (Smith, R.G. 1978)
Lemon Lark (Seedon by Hanson
1980)
Lemon Mist (Rudolph 1972)
Lemon Parfait (Soults 1972)
Lent A. Williamson (Williamson
1918)
Licorice Stick (Schreiners 1961)
Liebestraum (Spahn 1978)
Light Fantastic (Brown, O. 1968)
Lighted Within (Blodgett 1980)
Lightning Ridge (Brown, O.
1966)
Lilac Mist (Luihn 1969)
Lilac Thrill (Niswonger 1979)
Lilac Treat (Niswonger 1970)
Limelight (Hall 1952)
Limerick (Keppel 1973)
Little Champ (Brown, A. 1961)
Little Chestnut (Brizendine 1971)
Little Dandy (Riley 1976)
Little Mark (Quadros 1966)
Little Sunbeam (Brown, A. 1968)
Little Susie (Quadros 1970)
London Fog (Plough 1976)
Loop The Loop (Schreiners 1975)
Lord Baltimore (Nearpass 1969)
Loreley (G&K 1909)
Lothario (Schreiners 1942)
Louvois (Cayeux 1936)
Love Child (Knocke 1979)
Love Note (Brown, A. 1972)
Love With Lace (Plough 1971)
Lustre (Dykes 1925)
Lynn With Love (Boushay 1973)
Madame Louis Aureau (Cayeux
1934)
Madison Cooper (Fryer 1919)
Maestro Puccini (Benson 1972)
Magenta Rose (Gibson 1977)
Magic Man (Blyth 1979/80)
Magic Memories (Clark by Nichols 1973)
Magnifique (Ghio 1978)
Malaysia (Ghio 1974)
Mandolin (Ghio 1977)
Maraschino (Keppel 1979)
Margarita (Schreiners 1968)
Mark (Love 1973/74)
Marquita (Cayeux 1931)
Mary Frances (Gaulter 1971)
Mary Geddes (Stahlman/Washington 1931)
Mary Randall (Fay 1951)
Master Charles (Williamson 1943)
Master Touch (Schreiners 1980)
Matinata (Schreiners 1968)
Matterhorn (Sass, J. 1938)
Maumelle (Butler 1976)
Melanie (Hill 1941)
Melted Chocolate (Daling 1977)
Mercedes (Reuthe 1938)
Meredith Hues (Powell 1969)
Metallic Blue (Niswonger 1980)
Mexicali Rose (Spahn 1979)
Mexicana (Salter 1859)
Michael Paul (Jones, W. 1979)
Michigan Pride (Berndt 1975)
Mildred Presby (Farr 1923)
Mini Dynamo (Brown, A. 1978)
Mischief (Reinhardt 1955)
Miss California (Salbach 1936)
Miss Indiana (Cook 1961)
Mission Ridge (Plough 1973)
Missouri (Grinter 1933)
Misty Watercolors (Niswonger
1976)
Mme. Chereau (Lemon 1844)
Mme. De Sevigne (Denis 1916)
Mohr Pretender (Rich 1977)
Monsignor (Vilmorin 1907)
Moon Madness (Smith, E. 1970)
Moonlight (Dykes, W. R. 1923)
Moonlit Sea (Sass, J. 1942)
Moonstruck (Schreiners 1979)
Morocco Rose (Loomis 1937)
Mount Spokane (Smith, E. 1971)
Mrs. Nate Rudolph (Rudolph
1975)
Mulberry Rose (Schreiners 1941)
Mussolini (Dykes, K. 1932)
Mystic Eye (Denny 1978)
Mystique (Ghio 1975)
Nassak (Sass, H.P. 1933)
Navajo Blanket (Schreiners 1978)
Navy Doll (Brown, A. 1968)
Navy Strut (Schreiners 1972)
Neglecta (collected, Horne 1813)
Neon Magic (Brown, O. 1974)
Neptune's Pool (Moldovan 1972)
New Covenant (Boushay 1974)
New Era (Sass Bros. 1949)
New Moon (Sexton 1968)
New Rochelle (Hamblen 1974)
New Snow (Fay 1945)
Nifty (Palmer 1975)
Night Blizzard (Payne 1964)
Night Deposit (Steinhauer 1974)
Night Owl (Schreiners 1970)
Night Time (Cook, P. by Cook, E.
1969)
Now And Later (Zurbrigg 1972)
Odyssey (Babson 1971)
Oklahoma Bandit (Nichols, H.
1979)
Ola Kala (Sass, J. 1942)
Old Gold (Sass, H.P. 1929)
Old Master (Ghio 1980)
On Line (Schreiners 1980)
On The Go (Plough 1974)
One Desire (Shoop 1960)
Opening Night (Gibson 1970)
Orange Caper (Warburton 1964)
Orange Empire (Hamner 1974)
Orchid Cloud (Applegate 1974)
Orchid Mist (Sass 1950)
Orelio (DeForest 1947)
Othello (Lemon 1848)
Ovation (Tompkins 1969)
P. T. Barnham (Meek 1979)
Pacific Mist (Schreiners 1979)
Pacific Panorama (Sexton 1960)
Painted Desert (Milliken 1942)
Paradise (Gatty 1980)
Paradise Pink (Lapham 1949)
Parthenon (Connell 1934)
Patches (Gaulter 1979)
Patina (Keppel 1978)
Peach Bavarian (Willott 1978)
Peach Frost (Schreiners 1972)
Peach Sundae (Hamner 1978)
Pearl Chiffon (Varner 1972)
Peek A Boo (Brown, O. 1968)
Penny A Pinch (Steinhauer 1977)
Pepper Blend (Moores 1977)
Perfume Counter (Zurbrigg 1972)
Perique (Beattie 1960)
Persian Berry (Gaulter 1976)
Petite Posy (Schreiners 1975)
Pharaoh's Gold (Brown, O. 1980)
Picadilly (Bunyard 1939)
Pinafore Pink (Persian Berry
1977)
Pink Bubbles (Hager 1980)
Pink Cameo (Fay 1946)
Pink Challenge (Brown, O. 1975)
Pink Champagne (Lauer 2001)
Pink Cheer (Plough 1969)
16
Pink Confetti (Gibson 1976)
Pink Formal (Muhlstein 1949)
Pink Fringe (Rudolph 1967)
Pink Horizon (Schreiners 1968)
Pink Kitten (Wood 1977)
Pink Magnolia (Brown, O. 1970)
Pink Marble (Austin 1955)
Pink Opal (Sass, J. 1934)
Pink Pussycat (Tompkins 1969)
Pink Sleigh (Rudolph 1970)
Pink Swirl (Wedow 1974)
Pink Taffeta (Rudolph 1968)
Pink Tiger (El Dorado Gardens
1965)
Pink Unicorn (Austin 1960)
Pinwheel (Schreiners 1962)
Piute Pass (Daling 1975)
Pixie (Sass, H.P. 1928)
Playgirl (Gatty 1977)
Pleasure Faire (Gatty 1974)
Pleated Gown (Roderick 1981)
Plicutie (Brown, A. 1967)
Popcorn (Hager 1977)
Porta Villa (Gibson 1973)
Portrait Of Larrie (Gaulter 1979)
Post Time (Schreiners 1971)
Potpourri (Hamblen 1976)
Powder Peach (Kegerise 1974)
Prairie Sunset (Sass, H.P. 1936)
Praise The Lord (Boushay 1972)
President Pilkington (Cayeux
1931)
Pretender (Cook 1951)
Pretty Pansy (Sass Bros. 1946)
Priceless Pearl (Schreiners 1972)
Pride Of Ireland (Noyd 1970)
Prospector (Kleinsorge 1950)
Prosper Laugier (Verdier 1914)
Puppy Love (Hager 1980)
Purissima (Mohr-Mitchell 1927)
Purple Haven (Reynolds 1957)
Pussycat (Schmelzer 1967)
Quaker Lady (Farr 1909)
Queen In Calico (Gibson 1980)
Queen Of May (Salter bef. 1859)
Quiet Isle (Plough 1972)
Quiet Kingdom (Boushay 1977)
Quietude (Keppel 1972)
Quilting Party (Kavan by Ennenga
1977)
Quivering Flame (Zurbrigg 1960)
Radiant Apogee (Gibson 1966)
Radiant Smile (Danielson 1968)
Rain Dance (Jones, B. 1979)
Rain Shadow (Plough 1971)
Rainbow Bridge (Moldovan 1970)
Rainbow Room (Sass, J. 1946)
Rainy Pass (Plough 1978)
Rameses (Sass, H.P. 1928)
Ramona S (Smith, E. 1971)
Rare Edition (Gatty 1980)
HIPS 2010 Rhizome Sale!
Raspberry Blush (Hamblen 1975)
Raziza (Plough 1975)
Rebellion (Kleinsorge 1937)
Red Cloud (Farr 1913)
Red Heart (Brown, A. 1966)
Red Polish (Craig 1967)
Red Ruler (Craig 1969)
Regents' Row (Denney 1979)
Returning Glory (Smith, R.G.
1972)
Reva (Plough 1974)
Rhages (Mead-Reidel 1934)
Rhea (Williamson 1928)
Rheinfels (G&K 1928)
Rheingauperle (G&K 1924)
Rhythm (Ballard 1950)
Right On (Nelson, J. 1974)
Ringo (Shoop 1979)
Rippling Waters (Fay 1961)
Ritz (Schreiners 1968)
Rival (Shoop 1976)
River Hawk (Plough 1979)
Rocket Thruster (Plough 1978)
Ron (Hamblen 1981)
Rondo (Schreiners 1973)
Rose Unique (Farr 1910)
Rosy Veil (Sass, H. E. 1953)
Rosy Wings (Gage 1935)
Roustabout (Brown, A. 1976)
Royal Ballet (Mohr, K. 1978)
Royal Cape (Mayberry 1973)
Royal Contrast (Brown, A. 1962)
Royal Touch (Schreiners 1967)
Ruffled Ballet (Roderick 1973)
Russet Wings (Wills 1945)
Sable (Cook 1938)
Sable Night (Cook 1952)
Sacramento (Mohr-Mitchell 1929)
Saddle Shoes (Plough 1971)
Saint Teresa (Nichols 1977)
San Francisco (Mohr-Mitchell
1927)
Sans Souci (Van Houtte 1854)
Santa Cruz (Mitchell 1945)
Santana (Keppel 1978)
Sapphire Gem (Schmelzer 1975)
Sapphire Hills (Schreiners 1971)
Saramohr (Loomis by Gates 1961)
Saturday Night Fever (Nichols
1979)
Saucy Sue (Gibson 1968)
Sayonara (Spahn 1980)
Scandal (Beattie 1962)
Séance (Ghio 1969)
Seaside (Brown, O. 1967)
Sentry (Noyd 1970)
Seventh Heaven (Lapham 1955)
Shaft Of Gold (Sexton 197)
Shaman (DuBose 1980)
Shasta (Mohr-Mitchell 1927)
Shawano (Williamson, M. 1939)
Sheriffa (White, C.G. 1941)
Shipshape (Babson 1969)
Show Biz (Gatty 1980)
Showcase (Schreiners 1975)
Sierra Blue (Essig 1932)
Silent Majesty (Hamblen 1977)
Silkie (Hager 1969)
Silver Heather (Niswonger 1978)
Silver Peak (DeForest 1962)
Silver Skies (Corlew 1966)
Silver Years (Hager 1980)
Sindjkha (Sturtevant 1918)
Sing Again (Plough 1966)
Singing Rain (Daling 1973)
Skip Stitch (Rawdon 1977)
Sky Gem (Leavitt 1973)
Sky Hooks (Osborne 1980)
Skyfire (Schreiners 1980)
Skylab (Sexton 1974)
Skywatch (Benson 1964)
Sleepytime Gal (Spahn 1978)
Smoke Rings (Gibson 1971)
Smoky Mountain (Smith, E. 1964)
Sneak Preview (Nelson, J. 1980)
Snow Cloud (Schreiners 1970)
Snow Flurry (Rees 1939)
Snow Goddess (Becherer 1955)
Snowy Wonderland (Brown, O.
1979)
So Rare (Shoop 1980)
Social Butterfly (Denney 1980)
Soft Air (Warburton 1973)
Solid Gold (Kleinsorge 1951)
Solid Mahogany (Sass, J. 1944)
Son Of Star (Plough 1969)
Song Of Erin (Roach 1971)
Song Of Norway (Luihn 1979)
Songster (Corlew 1975)
Sophisticated Lady (Spahn 1979)
Sostenique (Blyth 1975/76)
Soul Music (Meek 1978)
Sound Of Music (Brown, O. 1966)
Southland Grape (Burch 1978)
Space Dream (Smith, E. 1970)
Spanish Peaks (Loomis 1946)
Sparkling Sunrise (Schreiners
1970)
Spartan (Schreiners 1972)
Spinning Wheel (Nearpass 1976)
Spirit Of Memphis (Zurbrigg
1977)
Spring Bride (Brown, O. 1976)
Spring Butterfly (Hobbs by
Hanson 1978)
Spun Gold (Glutzbeck 1939)
Square Dance (Mohr, K. 1979)
Stage Door (Corlew 1979)
Stained Glass (Wilhelm 1939)
Star At Midnight (Rich 1964)
Starring Role (Palmer 1973)
Staten Island (Smith, K. 1947)
Steppin Hi (Neubert 1972)
Stepping Out (Schreiners 1964)
Storm Center (Schreiners 1979)
Storm Warning (Schreiners 1953)
Storybook (Corlew 1980)
Strange Child (Brown, A. 1974)
Study In Black (Plough 1967)
Sultans Palace (Schreiners 1977)
Summer Olympics (Smith, R.G.
1976)
Summer Storm (Marx 1955)
Summer Sunshine (Gibson 1972)
Sun Fire (Hamblen 1977)
Sun Worshiper (Hager 1972)
Sunday Brunch (S. Stevens 1981)
Sunday Chimes (Hamblen 1978)
Sunday Punch (Crandall 1977)
Sunlit Charm (Rosenfels 1964)
Sunol (Mohr-Mitchell 1933)
Sunrise (Cook, F. 1939)
Sunset Blaze (Kleinsorge 1948)
Sunset Sky (Roe 1969)
Sunset Sonata (Hamblen 1980)
Super Frill (Austin 1964)
Super Indiglow (Shortman 1974)
Superstition (Schreiners 1977)
Susan Bliss (Bliss 1922)
Suzette (Knowlton 1943)
Swahili (Plough 1965)
Swan Ballet (Muhlestein 1955)
Swazi Princess (Schreiners 1978)
Sweetwater (Woodside 1974)
Swerti (collected 1612)
Swift River (Niswonger 1974)
Symphonette (Noyd 1969)
Tahiti Sunrise (Ernst 1963)
Tangerine Sky (Schreiners 1976)
Tarn Hows (Randall 1955)
Taste The Wine (Plough 1979)
Tea Apron (El Dorado Gard. 1961)
Temple Gold (Luihn 1978)
Tenino (Plough 1978)
Tequila Sunrise (McWhirter 1978)
Thai Silk (Smith, C & K 1970)
The Black Douglas (Sass, J. 1934)
The Mad Hatter (Lyon 1951)
The Red Douglas (Sass, J. 1937)
Thick And Creamy (Weiler 1978)
Think Pink (Hamner 1972)
This I Love (Chowning 1976)
Tiburon (Gaulter 1971)
Tickled Pink (Tomkins 1958)
Timmie Too (Wolff 1962)
Tinkerbell (Douglas 1954)
Tinted Porcelain (Brown, G. P.
1952)
Toast An' Honey (Kleinsorge
1953)
Toll Gate (Cook 1959)
Torch Parade (Bledsoe 1979)
Touch Of Coral (Daling 1975)
17
Touch Of Sky (Schreiners 1980)
Touch Of Spice (Plough 1973)
Treasure Island (Kleinsorge 1937)
Tres Elegante (Michel 1979)
Tropical Butterfly (Carstensen
1963)
Trudy (Tompkins 1964)
True Delight (Sturtevant 1924)
Truly Yours (Fay 1949)
Trump Card (Palmer 1977)
Tulip Tree (Morgan 1972)
Turkish Topaz (Austin 1962)
Tut's Gold (Schreiners 1979)
Ultra Shadow (Craig 1966)
Unicorn (Austin 1954)
Valvouche (Hamblen 1977)
Vanity (Hager 1974)
Vaudeville (Keppel 1969)
Victor Herbert (Benson 1977)
Victoria Falls (Schreiners 1977)
Victorine (Lemon 1840)
Villa Shimmer (Gibson 1969)
Violet Harmony (Lowry 1952)
Virginia Moore (Shull 1920)
Vitafire (Schreiners 1968)
Voodoo (Kleinsorge 1948)
W. R. Dykes (Dykes-Orpington
1926)
Wabash (Williamson, M. 1936)
Warbler (Williamson 1935)
Warm Embrace (Dyer 1980)
Well Endowed (Ghio 1979)
West Coast (Knopf 1968)
Western Spring (Luihn 1978)
White City (Murrell 1939)
White Goddess (Nesmith 1936)
White Lightning (Gatty 1974)
White Smoke (Rees 1949)
White Unicorn (Austin 1962)
Whole Cloth (Cook 1958)
Whoop Em' Up (Brady 1974)
Wild Apache (Gibson 1965)
Wild Berry (Hamner 1978)
William A. Setchell (Brehm 1938)
William Mohr (Mohr 1925)
Wine And Roses (Hall 1963)
Winter Olympics (Brown, O.
1963)
Woodland Rose (Brown, O. 1970)
Words Of Love (Williamson, B.
1971)
Wyomissing (Farr 1909)
Youth Dew (Zurbrigg 1980)
Yo-Yo (Schreiners 1978)
Yves Lassailly (Cayeux 1928)
Zantha (Fay 1947)
Zipper (Sindt 1979)
Zowie (Boushay 1980)
Zwanenburg (Denis 1912)
Alcazar
Camelot Rose Caprice
Dawn
Helen Collingwood
Dominion
Flutter-by
Golden Majesty Goldfish
Black Hope
China Maid Circus Stripes
Dogrose
Flounced Premiere
Indian Chief
Aphrodite
Alta California
Easter Bonnet
Blue Rhythm
Crimson King
Crinkled Lilac Dauntless
Eleanor Roosevelt
Frank Adams Frosted Starlight Full House
Grand Canyon Great Lakes
Bryce Canyon Burnt Toffee
Gypsy Baron
Eros
Faustine
Gay Geisha
Gingerbread Castle
Gypsy
Harvest Splendor
Henna Stitches Holy Smoke Horned Dragonfly Horned Skylark Horned Sunshine
I. kochii
Indian Hills
Loreley
Jean Cayeux
King's Jester
18
Klamath
Lent A. Williamson
Madison Cooper
Mulberry Rose
Marquita
Master Charles Mildred Presby Miss California Missouri
Mussolini
Neglecta
Rameses
Quaker Lady Queen of May
Rose Unique
Sierra Blue
Sindjkha
Snow Flurry
The Black Douglas The Red Douglas
W.R. Dykes
Wabash
Rebellion
Rosy Wings
Rosy Veil
Pink Unicorn Prairie Sunset
Orelio
Red Cloud
Sable
Sacramento
Staten Island
Super Frill
Tinted Porcelain
Toll Gate
Rheingauperle
San Francisco
Tropical Butterfly
White Unicorn Whoop 'Em Up William A. Setchell
19
Susan Bliss
True Delight
Wyomissing
Monsignor
Pretty Pansy
Rhythm
Sheriffa
Swerti
Victorine
Yves Lassailly
The Pickle Barrel House Historic Iris Garden
How to develop a display/conservation-of-unknowns iris garden
by Nancy McDonald
photos by Nancy McDonald unless otherwise noted
Old bearded irises gone wild in Cathy’s field
Unidentified iris – study name Austin Healey, named
after the owner’s dog, who was named after the car
Our town sits at the end of a 25-mile
driveway, in the middle of blessed nowhere on
the shore of Lake Superior. Built for the lumber
industry in the 1880s, it was a boomtown for a
couple of decades. When timber played out in the
early 1900s, pretty well everyone upped and left.
The last train went south, and railroad workers
pulled up the tracks behind them.
When the white settlers had come – and
especially, I imagine, the women – they brought
their favorite flowers with them. I suppose that
when they left, they took some away. But you
don’t dig a whole clump of irises when you’re
packing your trunk, you just tuck in a toe or two,
so they left a lot of irises behind. We find them
now in fields, at old home sites, in the woods, in
forgotten corners, and in gardens.
Trudy, my mother-in-law, always wanted
to plant a garden full of these beautiful old
bearded irises. She thought it would be fun to
collect them and their stories; she always did like
a good story. We never got around to it, and now
she is gone. But last summer, when the chance
came to plant such a garden, I did.
The Pickle Barrel House, in Grand Marais,
Michigan, is a fascinating little building that’s
on the National Register of Historic Places. (You
can find out more about its history at http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickle_Barrel_House.)
Now owned and operated as a museum by the
Grand Marais Historical Society (http://historicalsociety.grandmaraismichigan.com), the Pickle
Barrel House sits on a 1/8-acre corner lot, surrounded by a wooden rail fence, right downtown. A small garden of Michigan native plants
grows behind the building.
This summer I volunteered to work on the
little garden there with my friend Cathy, who is
a member of the Historical Society. One day, as
we weeded, I told her of Trudy’s dream, and how
the Old House Gardens catalog (www.oldhousegardens.com), which has just begun carrying old
irises, had reminded me of the project. Cathy
said, “Why not plant them here?” Why not, indeed? We quickly obtained permission from
20
Delay followed delay in the construction of the garden, but in the end
we got the space prepared. The new
garden sits on the former site of the
warehouse for Hill’s Store, torn down
in 1975. The soil is essentially glorified
beach sand, plentifully larded with
broken glass, old nails, and odd bits
and pieces of junk. A friend came with
his excavator and removed the sod,
such as it was. Another kind person
donated a dump truck load of topsoil.
My neighbor owns a former sawmill,
with a mountain of 30-year-old, partially decomposed sawdust out back.
We shoveled one trailer load after
another of this brown gold onto the
garden. Two wonderful men with tillers ground it all in for us.
The Pickle Barrel House (photo: Cathy Egerer)
the members of the Historical Society, and plans
began.
When the bearded irises bloomed around
town, I put a small article in the Grand Marais
Gazette requesting pups of any older irises people might have – and did people ever respond!
Over the next few weeks, I photographed dozens of irises and took measurements and notes,
securing promises for plants later on. I asked the
international Historic Iris Preservation Society
(HIPS) for help in identifying the old treasures
we found. From them I learned how to photograph the flowers for identification, and what
plant parts to measure. The history of the irises,
their provenance, is vital information, too, and
this I carefully recorded for every iris photographed.
left: The
garden
site,
with
Grand
Marais
Harbor
in the
background
above: The garden under construction
below: The garden ready to plant
21
Meanwhile, the friendly folks at HIPS had
a proposal for us. Would we like to become an
official HIPS Display Garden? All we’d need is a
minimum of 15 positively identified, labeled, historic irises, in addition to however many as-yet
unidentified irises we cared to grow. (Unidentified irises have no ID; therefore they are called
“noids.”)[or "unknowns" -- Editor]. The garden
must also be open to the public; this one certainly
is, all the time, and it’s free. Incredibly generous
donations from HIPS members allowed us to
far exceed the 15-named-variety minimum. We
bought a few others from the Tennessee nursery
Iris City Gardens (www.iriscitygardens.com/
frame2.html). We’re well on our way to officialdom.
above: The grid system
above: Irises for Pickle Barrel garden
In a display garden, people should be able
to get an intimate view of the flowers. Therefore the large corner bed is divided by two Lshaped paths, each wide enough for a walker or
a stroller. The planting beds are only 3 feet wide,
so no iris is too far off the path to see and smell.
Because of these narrow beds, the space allotted
each variety is only 15″x15″, so we’ll have to stay
right on top of dividing the irises as they grow.
Pups, carefully labeled, will be sold at fund-raising events for the Historical Society.
Mapping and labeling are vital in a
display garden. With string and tent pegs we
marked out a grid, so each plant could be accurately placed and mapped. At planting time,
we buried a label northwest of every iris. Large
display labels set out in the spring will be taken
in for the winter. For noids, we’ll show the study
name (that is, the name we’re using until we can
identify the iris; e.g., Linnamaki Purple) and
where the plant was found. For identified irises,
we’ll give the cultivar name, the breeder, and the
date of introduction.
We’re keeping careful computer records of
every plant, with its history, measurements, and
digital photos. A print-out of this ever-expanding
Reference Book will be available for use by Pickle
Barrel House visitors. We plan a tri-fold brochure
about the garden that visitors may have for free,
and a larger, more detailed brochure costing a
nominal buck or two.
Many people around town are finding
that “that old thing” is actually an exciting bit of
living history, and perhaps of some value after
all. Here we have Argie’s iris, that she found
22
below: Linnamaki Purple – study name of an iris from
the old Linnamaki farm
above: Planted at last!
more than 50 years ago down by the railroad
tracks.
below: Argie's iris
We have the Baker Grade iris, found at the site
of the switchman’s cabin, at the foot of the Baker
Grade on the old railroad line (below) [looks like
possibly 'Monsignor' (Vilmorin 1907)? -- Editor]
23
We have Judy’s grandpa John Krempa’s little
gold iris (below)
We have pale yellow irises, probably ‘Flavescens’
(De Candolle 1813, from the old Webb farm.
We have Sal’s irises, and Dick & John’s, and
Eva Mae’s.
below: Dick & John’s soft gold iris
Is that little variegata-type from the old Linnamaki place ‘Sans Souci’ (Van Houtte 1854)
or ‘Honorabile’ (Lemon 1840) or something else
again? How about the one from Abrahamson’s
old house? Are all the tall, small-flowered, superfragrant lavender irises the same variety of Iris
pallida, or are they each a little different?
The first round of irises has been planted; a few
await transplanting after next summer’s bloom.
We planned space for about 130 irises, so there’s
room for more as we find them.
Other plants in the garden include a
young Preston hybrid lilac ‘Minuet’, Rosa glauca,
peonies ‘Mikado’ and ‘Chestine Goudy’, and
my favorite historic Siberian iris, ‘Summer Sky’
(Mrs. Frances Cleveland 1935). A generous donor
bought us many spring bulbs from Old House
Gardens, and Scott Kunst, owner of that wonderful bulb company, very kindly donated some
extras for us.
Spring bulbs will give us early bloom,
beginning with snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis),
tiny Iris reticulata ‘Cantab’, and white Anemone
24
below: Siberian iris ‘Summer Sky’ (Cleveland 1935)
A note on starting your own
display/conservation iris garden
Nancy's article describes very excellent
rigorous methods of starting a conservation iris
garden. But please don't think you must gather
the same level of resources in order to conserve
unknown iris! After my Da died in 1992 and I
couldn't save the 1848 house, I dug up some of
my late Ma's iris. The only place I had to put
them was in 12" and 14" plastic pots on the second floor walkway outside my little apartment,
so that's where they went. Since I didn't know
anything, no one told me "bearded iris don't grow
well in pots", and apparently the iris hadn't heard
this either, as they did very well (you must use a
planting mix like Supersoil, not regular garden
dirt, which is far too heavy for use in pots unless
you amend it with a lot of stuff)(and I had to use
Supersoil because I had no garden dirt).
Mapping and labeling ARE things that anyone can do, no matter how tiny their iris empire
is. I numbered the plastic pots with Sharpie pens,
and buried a copper garden tag with that pot
number in each pot. I kept lists of who was in
blanda, followed by a troupe of glorious dafeach pot, in a notebook. When I started to colfodils. Then the bearded irises will bloom, with
lect unknown iris from other people, I recorded
the peonies and lilac. And will the garden then
everything they could tell me about them, which
be a restful green for the rest of the year? No,
that won’t do at all. Even now we pore over seed was often nothing! but I'd record where I got them
from, and info such as "from backyard of a house
catalogs, seeking annuals popular in the Pickle
Barrel Era, the 1920s and 1930s. We’ve discovered where a little old lady lived, in X town".
So far, my favorite adventure of finding
a curious thing: although there are many lists of
unknowns
is finding 'Sindjkha' (Sturtevant 1918)
antique annual species, it’s remarkably difficult
in the compost pile of a friend's backyard. She'd
to find introduction dates for cultivars of those
species. Our best resources so far have been seed bought the house from an older couple, who'd
catalogs from those decades, and great fun we’ve bought from an elderly woman. She'd dug up the
had collecting them. The next challenge will be to existing old iris and put them in the big city compost bin, planting all 'Indian Chief' (Ayres 1929),
find modern sources. Many catalogs claiming to
carry seeds of heirloom plants offer mostly mod- who I'd given her and who had gloriously multiplied, there; she told me this after the fact. Oy
ern cultivars of old favorites. Finding the older
cultivars is a pleasant winter game, a fine pursuit vey, I cried! wait, there were some neat looking
oldies in the photos we took. Nope, too late, gone,
for snowy days.
she said. Well, I couldn't stand it, I took the bus
there and upended her compost bin, and dragged
[This piece originally appeared at
home a bunch of rhizomes who were a bit the
www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=10949; thanks
worse for wear after over a week in a closed comto Joe Spears (former HIPS president) for sugpost bin. (No one would sit near me on the bus).
gesting we print it in Roots. I look forward to
And one was 'Sindjkha'! And I would've loved
seeing more bloom photos from Nancy later!]
her even if we never found out she had a human25 given name. -- Gesine
Cook-Williamson Memorial Iris Garden,
Part II
How I got started researching Bluffton iris
history
by Jerry Oswalt, Bluffton, Indiana
In 1958, I was a boy of 16 years of age and had
a small flower garden behind our house in town. Just
around the corner from our house was a large iris field.
I saw an ad in the paper where the iris garden was going
out of business and that you could dig your own iris for
$1.00 a bag. I walked around the corner to the iris field
and through a small grove of trees at the entrance to
what years later I learned was Longfield Iris Farm.
Standing in the shade was a beautiful lady with
blonde hair and beautiful sparkling light blue eyes, and a
warm smile. She handed me a large paper sack and said
‘dig all you want. There are some real expensive ones, but
they all have to go.’ I remember she had such a gentle
and warm personality, I felt as if I were in the presence of
an angel. I took the bag and headed into the field, and,
needless to say, had the bag full in the first two rows.
I’ve always wondered, had I ventured into this vast sea of
color, what I might have found.
Years later, I saw Mary, and informed her I’d
lost most of the iris due to neglect; then twice later, she
called me when she was dividing her iris in her garden,
and both times gave me about 20 sacks of iris. The last
time I was there we walked around her yard talking
about flowers, trees, shrubs, etc. She showed me how
to hybridize an iris. In her conversation, she mentioned
her dad had hybridized an iris so unique, he wanted to
patent it, but never did. She mentioned it was black.
Her dad died in 1933 and she still had this iris in her
garden.
In 1987, I heard Mary’s health was failing and I
went to see her. At 78, she was still a beautiful lady. A
week later, Mary passed away. Mary never married, so
two nieces came and took things pertaining to family
from the home.
Mary and I both volunteered at the local
Historical Museum, and every once in a while we’d
talk iris. Knowing the museum kept history of local
businesses, I wanted to put something into the museum
about the iris field and preserve its history. Still
knowing nothing of the history of the iris field, or
Mary’s father E.B. Williamson, or of Paul and Emma
Cook, I went to Mary’s estate sale hoping to retrieve
anything that would preserve the history of the iris
field. There wasn’t very much as far as personal material,
mostly household, books, and records. I purchased
2 copper watering cans of Mary’s and an iron trivet
made of two letters “M and W “ and a box of gardening
books, one of which was her 1929 iris check list. I
didn’t know what it was at the time. Feeling let down
that I hadn’t found anything related to the iris field, I
made one last bid on two cardboard boxes of table trash
-- papers, junk mail and a few magazines, looking like
stuff that should have been burned. I paid 50¢ each for
these boxes and came home. I let the boxes set for 2 or 3
days, then decided to go through them. Under the junk
mail and magazines at the bottom of the box, I found 4
small pages of the family genealogy Mary had worked on
Below it, I found Mary’s typed history of the Longfield
Iris Farm, history of Edward Bruce Williamson, and
history of Paul Cook.
I’m not a religious person by any means, but of
all the people at that sale, I was the only one looking
to preserve the iris field history, and it came home with
me in two boxes of trash paper. I felt Mary had to be
looking down on me that day and guided me to those
two boxes that normally I wouldn’t have bought. I
contacted Mary’s niece and sister about the genealogy .
They had looked for it and couldn’t find it so I sent it to
them and asked if they could send me family pictures or
anything of the iris fields. Soon, I received two boxes
of family history and clippings relating to Bruce and
Mary, and the iris field, plus pictures and a few of the
awards they had won with their iris. Reading this and
Mary’s history, I learned this wasn’t just a flower garden,
it was one of the first large scale iris businesses in the
country; prominent iris people came from all over the
country each year to help evaluate and select seedlings
to be registered. As many as 70,000 iris seedlings were
planted one year. Iris were sent all over the world from
Longfield Iris Farm.
Eighteen years after receiving the Williamson
history, I heard a niece of Emma Cook was living here
in Bluffton Indiana. I showed her what I’d collected on
Longfield and the Williamsons. I asked if they would
share any history of Paul and Emma Cook. They gave
a beautiful frame of 8 or 10 of Paul’s medals, Emma’s
scrapbook, and a few other items. This rounded out the
Cook-Williamson history.
Thinking this was all being forgotten, I began
copying [as the voice in the wilderness], and sending
this information to the AIS and HIPS and anyone else
26
I thought would be interested. I soon received a big
surprise -- the world knew about the Williamsons and
the Cooks. There was collected history on them, as I
found Clarence Mahan was writing a book on early
hybridizers, and was including them. My worries were
over, the world knew them and they weren’t going to be
forgotten.
Since I had a few of the iris from Mary’s yard,
I decided to search for more and create a Memorial Iris
Garden to keep the history alive here in Bluffton where
it originated. Many of the older people here remember
the iris field but almost no one remembered the history
that took place here. Now people are excited about the
iris returning to Bluffton, and the story behind them and
their hybridizers.
The Memorial Garden is a work in progress, and
hopefully in two or three years will be a beautiful little
garden to visit. //
You can contact him via email at Jerry Oswalt
<jeroswalt@adamswells.com>, or by mail at
Jerry Oswalt
PO Box 131
Bluffton, Indiana 46714
'Decennial' (Williamson R. 1929) TB-MLa-Y9M.
From the Royal Iris Gardens, 1933: A striking variegata
of a new type of rounded and finished flower of firm
substance. S. bright picric yellow; F. dahlia carmine with
a narrow yellow margin. At the center of the falls, is an
overdash of brilliant electric blue, a feature which makes
this a very unusual iris. Longfield Iris farm 1930. Named
for the 10 th anniversary of AIS.
www.worldiris.com/public_html/Frame_pages/QFix.
html , scroll down to see 'Decennial' photo.
Part I was previously printed in American Iris Society Region 6 Newsletter, Spring 2009.
Part II was previously printed in American Iris Society Region 6 Newsletter, Summer 2009.
Jerry Oswalt sends this update in March 2010 -
Larry McFarren, who had worked for Mary as
a teenager, was fighting lung cancer, the day we planted
iris at the Memorial Garden in August 2008. He’d
just gotten out of the hospital. I’d wanted Longfield
workers, and family, to plant the first iris in the bed, and
he wanted to be there for the planting. When I received
the Roots edition of the article on the garden, I went out
to have it copied to give him the copy, but he had passed
away that day, February 10, 2010.
Emma Cook’s niece planted Paul’s ‘Allegiance’
(Cook 1958), the first iris planted in the bed. Then
another worker, Jerry Christianson, planted Mary’s
‘Wabash’ (M. Williamson 1936). E.B.’s grandson
and great grandson planted ‘Lent A. Williamson’
(Williamson 1918) and ‘Wabash’. The grandson, David
Wilkins, Sr., son of Jane (Williamson) Wilkins, Mary’s
sister, planted ‘Lent A. Williamson’ which was named
after his great grandfather, L.A.W. (E.B.’s dad).
Jerry is particularly looking for four cultivars:
‘E. B. Williamson’ (P. Cook, R. 1937)
‘Progenitor’ (P. Cook, R. 1951)
‘Decennial’ (E. B. Williamson 1930)
‘Ethel Peckham’ ( E. B. Williamson 1932)
27
above: 'Sunol' (Mohr-Mitchell 1933)
below: 'Zingara' (Williamson 1928)
Call for donations -- Iris Wish List for the Reader Rock Garden,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
The Reader Rock Garden is one of Calgary's most unique built cultural landscapes. This Provincial Historic Resource is one of a very few remaining historic gardens in western Canada.
The garden is a tribute to one man's passion for plants and beauty. William Roland Reader was the Superintendent for Calgary Parks from 1913 - 1942. He actively collected plants and seeds both locally and from distant countries,
trialing over 4000 different plant species over the years. He transformed a bare hillside into an internationally-acclaimed
garden as he demonstrated the horticultural potential of the chinook region of Alberta to Calgary’s citizens.
Since the re-opening of the garden in 2006, Calgary gardeners have been working to reintroduce Reader’s many
plant collections. They are seeking the iris listed below; they have a budget of $500.00, and are also seeking donations of
iris. If you can help, please contact Janet Jones, Gardener, City of Calgary Parks, Reader Rock Garden, at
403.221.3578 or Janet.Jones@calgary.ca .
Jean Richter vetted D-Z of the list, Carlos Ayento vetted A-C, and Phil Edinger and Joe Spears contributed helpful comments. Synonyms of names are shown in [brackets] after the listing.
Iris germanica:
Afterglow (Sturtevant 1917) TB
Aika (Lemon 1848)
Albert Victor (Barr 1885)
Alcazar (Vilmorin 1910)
Amas (coll. Foster 1855)
Ambassadeur (Vilmorin 1920)
Amber (W.R. Dykes 1924)
Anne Leslie (Sturtevant 1918)
Aphrodite (W.R. Dykes 1922)
Archeveque (Vilmorin 1911)
Argynnis (E. Williamson 1925)
Arnols (Barr 1874)
Asia (Yeld 1920)
Askabadensis (coll. Van Tubergen-Dykes 1914)
[Askabad]
Assuerus (Lemon bef. 1859)
Aurea (Jacques 1830)
Autumn King (H.P. Sass 1924)
Azure (Bliss 1918)
Ballerine (Vilmorin 1920)
Benbow (Bliss 1917)
Berchta (Goos & Koenemann bef. 1909)
Black Prince (Perry 1900)
Blue Boy (Foster 1913)
Bluejay (Farr 1913)
Boismilon (Lemon 1840)
Britannicus (Van Houtte 1864)
Bronze Beauty (Barr 1884)
Bruno (Bliss 1922)
Buriensis (De Bure 1820)
Canary (Caparne 1901)
Canary Bird (Perry 1903)
Candelabre (Vilmorin 1909)
Caprice (Vilmorin 1898)
Cardinal (Bliss 1919)
Carthusian (J.W. Marshall abt. 1906)
Castor (George Bunyard & Co. 1923)
Caterina (Foster 1909)
Cecil Minturn (Farr 1922)
Celia (Yeld 1902)
Charmant (Caparne 1901)
Chester J. Hunt (Farr 1913)
Citrea (Goos & Koenemann 1899)
Citronella (Bliss 1922)
Clarence Wedge (Willis E. Fryer 1919)
Clarissa (Van Houtte 1867)[ Clarissima]
Cluny (Vilmorin 1920)
Colias (E.B. Williamson 1925)
Corrida (Millet & Fils 1914)
Cynthia (R.E. Allen 1944)
Dalmarius (Goos & Koenemann 1907)
Dalmatica (coll. bef. 1600)
Darby (Dropmore 1940)
Darius (Brown 1873)
Dawn (Yeld 1911)
Donna Maria (Lemon 1840)
Dorothea (Caparne 1901)
Drake (Bliss 1919)
Dr. Bernice (Hooper 1867)
Dream (Sturtevant 1918)
Eburna (Goos & Koenemann 1899)
Eden Philpotts (Perry 1921)
Edouard Michel (Eugene Verdier 1904)
Etta (Caparne 1901)
Fairy (Kennicott 1905)
Flavescens (De Candolle 1813)
Florence Barr (Barr 1876)
Florentina (coll. abt. 1500)
Frederick (R. Wallace & Co. 1896)
Fritjof (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Fro (Goos & Koenemann 1909)
George Yeld (Perry 1923)
Gloire de Hillegom (Krelage & Son bef. 1907)
Glow (Sturtevant 1919)
Gold Crest (W.R. Dykes 1914)
Gold Imperial (Sturtevant 1924)
Gypsy Queen (Salter bef. 1859)
Halfdan (Goos & Koenemann 1908)
Harmony (W.R. Dykes 1923)
Harriet Presby (Presby 1922)
Her Majesty (Perry 1903)
Hiawatha (Farr 1913)
Hochelaga (Morgan 1931)
Honorabile (Lemon 1840)
Hugo (Farr 1913)
Ignacite (Salter 1859)
Imperator (Cayeux et LeClerc 1922)
Ingeborg (Goos & Koenemann 1908)
28
Innocenza (Lemon 1854)
I. germanica (Linnaeus 1753)
I. kochii (Kerner 1887)
I. pallida (Lamarck 1789)
Iris King (Goos & Koenemann 1907)
Iroquois (Farr 1909)
Isoline (Vilmorin 1904)
Ivorine (Caparne 1901)
Jacquesiana (Lemon 1948)[Concience]
James Boyd (Farr 1915)
Jeanne d’Arc (Eugene Verdier 1907)
Jenny Lind (Van Houtte 1854)
Jungfrau (Phipps bef. 1920)
Juniata (Farr 1909)
Justinian (Salter 1878)
Kastor (Goos & Koenemann 1914)
Kathleen (Barr 1910)
Kharput (coll. Barr 1895)
Lady Seymour (Van Houtte 1854)
La Neige (Eugene Verdier 1912)
Lavandulacea (Van Houtte 1854)
[Agnes Sorrel]
Lent A. Williamson (E.B. Williamson 1918)
Le Pactole (Lemon 1848)
Lohengrin (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Lord of June (Yeld 1911)
Loreley (Goose & Koenemann abt. 1909)
Loute (Vilmorin 1897)
Macrantha (M. Van Waveren & Sons 1907)
Madam X (Tharp 1932)
Magnifica (Vilmorin 1919)
Majestic (Bliss 1923)
Ma Mie (Cayeux et LeClerc 1906)
Mandraliscae (Todaro 1861)
Maori King (Reuthe 1890)
Marion Cran (Perry 1921)
Marsh Marigold (Bliss 1919)
Mary Garden (Farr 1913)
Mary Gibson (Perry 1922)
Massasoit (Farr 1916)
Medrano (Vilmorin 1920)
Mercedes (Eugene Verdier 1905)
Mildred Presby (Farr 1923)
Miranda (Hort 1919)
Mithras (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Mlle. Schwartz (Denis 1916)
Mme. Chereau (Lemon 1844)
Mme. Cheri (Sturtevant 1918)
Mme. Chobaut (Denis 1916)
Moa (Bliss 1919)
Moliere (Vilmorin 1920)
Monsignor (Vilmorin 1907)
Moonstone (Cleveland 1920)
Morning Splendor (Shull 1923)
Mount Penn (Farr 1909)
Mount Royal (Morgan 1929)
Mozart (Van Houtte 1854)
Mrs. Alan Gray (Foster 1909)
Mrs. Horace Darwin (Foster 1888)
Mrs. Marion Cran (Perry 1923)
Mrs. Neubronner (Reuthe bef. 1898)
Mrs. Reuthe (Ware 1899)
Mrs. Smith (Willis E. Fryer 1917)
Nancy Lea (Simpson 1925)
Nibelungen (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Opera (Vilmorin 1916)
Oriflamme (Vilmorin 1904)
Othello (Lemon 1848)
Pacquita (Lemon 1848)
Pallida dalmatica (1600)
Pallida Perfecta (Farr 1912)
Parc de Neuilly (Eugene Verdier 1910)
Perfection (Barr 1880)
Pioneer (Bliss 1924)
Prairie Gold (H.P. Sass 1926)
Princess Beatrice (Barr 1898)
Prinzess Viktoria Luise (Goos & Koenemann
1910)
Prosper Laugier (Eugene Verdier 1914)
Purple King (Wallich 1830)
Quaker Lady (Farr 1909)
Queen Alexandra (Barr 1910)
Queen Caterina (Sturtevant 1918)
Queen of May (Salter bef. 1859)
Red Cloud (Farr 1913)
Regina (Barr 1876)
Rhein Nixe (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Rose Unique (Farr 1910)
Ruberrima (Barr 1875)
Sapho (Lemon 1840)
Seminole (Farr 1920)
Shekinah (Sturtevant 1918)
Shelford Chieftan (Foster 1909)
Sherwin-Wright (Kohankie 1915)
Sirius (Bunyard 1923)
Souv. De Mme. Gaudichau (Millet & Fils
1914)
St. Clair (Lemon 1854)[Compte de St. Claire]
Standard Bearer (Ware 1904)
Sunset (Bliss)
Susan Bliss (Bliss 1922)
Sweet Lavender (Bliss 1919)
Taj Mahal (Sturtevant 1921)
Tamerlan (Vilmorin 1904)
Tecumseh (Farr 1910)
Titan (Bliss 1919)
Tom Tit (Bliss 1919)
Trautleib (Goos & Koenemann 1899)
Victorine (Lemon 1840)
Violacea Grandiflora (coll. DeBarry abt. 1856)
Virginia Moore (Shull 1920)
Walhalla (Goos & Koenemann 1908)
Walneriana (Lemon 1840)
Wedgwood (W.R. Dykes 1923)
White Knight (Arthur Percy Sanders 1916)
White Nymph (McKinney 1920)
Wyomissing (Farr 1909)
Zouave (Vilmorin 1922)
Zua (Crawford 1914)
Iris pumila:
Bride (Caparne 1901)
Eburna (Goos & Koenemann 1899)
Floribunda (Goos & Koenemann 1910)
Pumila Atroviolacea (Todaro 1856)
Iris latifolia:
Almona (Krelage 1892)
Duke of Clarence (Van Tubergen 1914)
Duke of York (Tegelaar Bros. Ltd. 1927)
Grand Lilas (Perry 1910)
King of the Blues (Barr 1898)
Montblanc (Van Tubergen 1883)
Prince Albert (Floricultural Cabinet and Florists Magazine (1842))
Sunset (Backhouse 1902)
above: 'Pink Tiger' (El Dorado 1964)
below: 'Swan Ballet' (Muhlestein 1955)
Iris latifolia hispanica: (I. xiphium)
Blue King (Hubert 1904)
Bronze King (Krelage 1898)
Cajanus (General Bulb Co. 1896)
Golden King (Barr 1898)
King of the Whites (Krelage 1906)
La Nuit (Barr 1908)
L’Unique (Krelage 1906)
Queen Wilhelmina (Van Tubergen 1909)
Snowball (Kelway & Sons 1906)
Iris sibirica:
Emperor (coll. Barr 1916)
Madawaska (Preston 1932)
Sibirica Alba (Van Houtte 1879)
Snow Queen (coll. Barr 1900)
below: 'Flounced Marvel' (Austin 1961)
29
2010 Commercial Sources Listing
The Commercial Source Listing is in each
issue of ROOTS and on the HIPS web site and is
updated annually. The information is from the sources
themselves; please contact them directly for more
info. While HIPS will not offer listing privileges to
any nursery known to give poor service, we cannot
guarantee your satisfaction.
We have a three-part process for finding
historic iris -1) Ask the Commercial Source Chair
2) If not found that way, refer to Databank Chair
3) If not found that way, send request to ROOTS for
insertion in the Locator.
Anyone desiring commercial sources of a
particular iris for the current year should contact the
Source Chairman by July 1, as many growers have
a limited supply of rhizomes and may not fill orders
received late in the season. E-mail inquiries are gladly
accepted. If writing please include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope and address your request to:
Jeff Walters, HIPS Commercial Sources Chair
1175 Woodburn Rd.
Spartanburg, SC 29302-3440
iriscomsource@yahoo.com
Argyle Acres Iris Gardens
Joe & Donna Spears
910 Pioneer Circle East, Argyle, TX 76226
(940) 464-3680
FAX: (866) 320-IRIS (toll-free)
E-mail: irises@argyleacres.com
Website: www.argyleacres.com
On-line catalog. No Export. Specializing in Texashardy, heat & drought tolerant irises.
Bluebird Haven Iris Garden
Mary Hess
6940 Fairplay Rd., Somerset, CA 95684
(530) 620-5017
E-mail: mhess1863@innercite.com
Website: www.bluebirdhavenirisgarden.com
On-line catalog now includes all; click on a letter
to see list (some not available for sale yet); printed
catalog extensive but less complete. Printed catalog:
$1.00. No Export. Extensive historic iris. Large
selection of Tall-Bearded, 1930’s-1970’s; we
specialize in Lloyd Austin introductions.
Historics & Rarities
Bruce Filardi
P.O. Box 18124
Portland, OR 97218-0124
[no phone # provided by source]
E-mail: bfilardi@comcast.net
Website: www.internationaliris.com/contact.html
List available as e-mail attachment or with stamped,
self-addressed large envelope; No export at present.
Many extremely rare varieties. Guaranteed true-toname.
Chuck Chapman Iris
Chuck Chapman
R.R. #1, 8790 WR124, Guelph, ON
CANADA N1H6H7
(519) 856-0956
E-mail: chuck@chapmaniris.com
Website: www.chapmaniris.com On-line catalog.
Catalog: US$3.00 (refundable with order). Export to
All. Canadian Historics, including good selection of
Preston Siberians; large Median list.
Dowis Ranch
Janell & Eric Denham
P.O. Box 124, Marseilles, IL 61341
(815) 795-5681
E-mail: pollen@mtco.com
Catalog upon Request. No Export.
Historic Tall Bearded irises; Modern, Reblooming,
and Space Age TBs
Iris City Gardens
Macey & Greg McCullough
7675 Younger Creek Rd., Primm Springs, TN 38476
(615) 799-2179
E-mail: info@iriscitygardens.com
Website: www.iriscitygardens.com On-line catalog.
Catalog $3.00 (refundable with order). No Export.
Primarily Beardless and antique & modern Bearded .
Lakeside Gardens
Winona Stevenson
8280 Entrada Blvd., Lake Isabella, CA 93240
(760) 378-3841
E-mail: lakesideiris@aol.com
List: $3.00 (refundable with order). No Export.
Historic Tall Bearded irises, including all American
Dykes Medal winners.
30
Newport Naturals At Spruce Corner
Robert and Linda Karr ~ Iris and Alpaca Farm
205 N. Craig Avenue
Newport, WA 99156
(509) 671-1539 (Robert)
(509) 671-1540 (Linda)
www.sprucecorner.com
Newburn’s Iris Gardens
Gene Newburn
1415 Meadow Dale Dr., Lincoln, NE 68505
(402) 464-7232
E-mail: EUGMARN@aol.com
Catalog upon request. No export.
Beautiful Tall-bearded and Median irises, 1940 -1970.
Ozark Iris Gardens
Tammy & Tom Skahan
25 Wembly Dr., Bella Vista, AR 72715
(479) 685-5004 or (479) 685-4323
E-mail: ozarkirisgardens@cox.net
Website: Available this Fall with on-line catalog.
Historic Median, Tall Bearded, and Louisiana Irises.
Superstition Iris Gardens
Rick Tasco & Roger Duncan
2536 Old Highway, Dept. H9, Cathey’s Valley,
CA 95306
(209) 966-6277
E-mail: randrcv@sierratel.com
Internet Photo Album: http://community.webshots.
com/user/rickt103
Catalog $1.50 ($1.00 to HIPS members)
Export to all, except New Zealand, Ukraine, & EU
countries. A unique assortment featuring selections
for both the beginner and advanced collector.
Ever Seen A Historic Iris You Didn’t
Love/Want/Need?
HIPS Slide Shows now available as
CDs!
-- Robert and Linda Karr, HIPS Slide
Co-Chairs
The HIPS Slide Co-Chairs now have
Slide Show Sets 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 available in
CD format. Each picture includes the name
of the iris, the hybridizer, and date, thereby
reducing reliance on the written script.
Slide Set 2 is also available on CD, but the
quality of the pictures is poor. If anyone
has good photographs of the iris in Set 2
(see list in the Fall 2009 Roots) that could
be scanned or has slides to loan to remake
this show, please contact the HIPS Slide CoChairs.
CDs may be rented for $12.00 and will
include a written script. CDs may be purchased for $15.00 and will include a written
script. All HIPS Slide Show sets are being
converted to DVD as well.
Robert and Linda Karr,
205 N. Craig Avenue, Newport, WA 99156;
509.671.1540; iris@sprucecorner.com
below: 'Truly Yours' (Fay 1949)
Wildwood Gardens
Will Plotner
P.O. Box 250, Molalla, OR 97038
(503) 829-3102
E-mail: gardens@molalla.net
Website: http://wildwoodgardens.net On-line catalog.
Printed Catalog: $5.00 (refundable with order).
Export: contact owner. Featuring Historic bearded &
beardless irises & species.
31
2010 HIPS Historic Iris Designation
Survey
Background
At the request of a HIPS member (and AIS
board member), the HIPS board was asked to consider
a revision of the current designation of historic iris
as iris which were introduced 30 years ago or longer.
It is a matter of concern to some AIS board members
(and some HIPS members) that many recent historic
iris are quite similar in appearance to modern iris, and
that this may cause confusion among the public at iris
exhibitions. There was also concern expressed at the
fact that the HIPS 30-year designation is out of step
with the Department of Interior historic designation
of 50 years. After considerable discussion, and the
formation of a separate committee to study the issue,
the board has decided to poll the membership of HIPS
to get their opinions on this issue. This is an important
decision - there has been no change to the historic iris
designation in the 20+ year existence of HIPS. We
value your opinion as a HIPS member, and request
that you complete the following survey on this topic.
Procedure
You can respond to the survey in one of three ways.
1. You can respond in writing to Historic Iris
Designation Committee chair Jean Richter, 1226 High
Street, Alameda, CA 94501.
2. You can respond via email to
hist.designate@gmail.com
3. You can respond to the survey on the HIPS
web site: www.hips-roots.com
Whichever way you choose to respond, please
indicate your name in your response, so we can verify
your membership in HIPS. This will also allow us to
prevent any member from voting more than once.
Question I: What is your opinion on changing the
30-year rolling designation of historic iris (i.e. designating iris which have been introduced 30 years
ago as historic):
_____ Option 1: Do nothing - leave the 30-year rolling designation as is.
_____ Option 2: Change the rolling designation to:
_____ a. 50 years _____ b. 40 years
Note - the effect of changing the rolling designation to,
say, 50 years would be as follows: no new iris would
be designated as historic until the year 2031 (the point
at which iris introduced in 1981 would be 50 years
from introduction). If the designation were changed
to 40 years, a similar “freeze” in historic designation
would occur until 2021.
_____ Option 3: Remove the rolling designation - no
iris introduced beyond a certain date would be considered historic. This date will be:
_____ a. 1959 _____ b. 1969 _____ c. 1979
This would mean there would be no more iris (newer
than the given introduction date) designated as historic.
If you prefer this option, do you want iris introduced
beyond this date but introduced more than 30 years
ago to be:
_____ a. Classified in a separate class
(say, "Collectible"), or
_____ b. Just be considered modern iris?
Question II. Do you support using fixed introduction years to separate various eras of historic iris?
This would enable iris of similar appearance to be
shown as a group in iris exhibitions. Please choose as
many or as few classifications (including none) as you
feel are appropriate, but choose only one date for each
classification.
_____ Antique iris: iris introduced before
_____ a. 1900 _____ b. 1910 _____ c. 1920
_____ Heirloom iris: iris newer than antique iris, but
introduced before
_____ a. 1950 _____ b. 1960
_____ Contemporary historic iris: iris introduced after
_____ a. 1949 _____ b. 1959 _____ c. 1969
_____ d. 1979
Thank you very much for giving us your opinion on
this important issue! Jean Richter
32
Catalog Corner
season. 36-inch. [1937 Iris - Carl Salbach]
‘Fire Dance’ (O. Fay 1947) M. ((Elsa Sass
x Orloff) x (sister sdlg.)). Lovely, heavily marked,
red plicata. Would like to see seedlings from this
and Rare Marble. H.M. ’47. [1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens]
‘Harriet Thoreau’ (P. Cook 1944) M.
(Sister to Dreamcastle.) Clean orchid-pink. Fine
parent. H.M. ’45. [1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens]
‘Indian Chief’ (Ayres 1929) M. 38”. Still
one of the most outstanding irises in any list. S.
pinkish red; F. velvety red; the huge flower is of
exceptionally heavy substance and holds its color
well. A rampant grower and prolific bloomer.
Should be in every collection. [1936 Quality Gardens]
Well named, for while classed as one of
our superior reds, it carries a bronzy overcast,
being regarded by some as a red blend. At any
rate, Indian Chief is one of the most popular of
the newer things, and a credit to Dr. Ayres, its
introducer. The velvety falls are deep bloodred, blended with bronze, and the standards are
considerably lighter in tone. A large flower, quite
tall, and very well branched. [1937 Cooley’s]
‘Jean Cayeux’ (Cayeux 1931) Beautiful
blending of Havana or coffee brown, with golden
glint. Considered one of the finest iris ever imported from France, including among its many
laurels the W. R. Dykes medal. Mid-season. 34inch. [1937 Iris - Carl Salbach]
'Klamath' (Kleinsorge 1929). 40 in.
EXQUISITE LILAC FRAGRANCE. THIS MAGNIFICENT VARIETY SOLD A FEW YEARS AGO
‘Clara Noyes’ (H.P. Sass 1930) An unusual new variety with colors blended much as
in a Talisman rose. Low growing, but so distinct
that it is entirely different from any other iris.
Standards tan, flushed heliotrope; falls reddish
bronze, lined deeper bronze. yellow beard and
haft undertone of the same color.
Decidedly popular. Should be ordered
early, as the demand is heavy. A.M., AIS, 1932.
Rhizomes naturally small. Mid-season. 22-inch.
[1937 Iris - Carl Salbach]
‘Dauntless’ (Connell 1929) The Dykes
Medal Iris of America for 1929. A Cardinal x
Rose Madder seedling. A plant imported in August 1931, produced a spike three feet six inches
tall of great sturdiness and well branched. The
flowers are beautifully carried and are of excellent form with almost horizontally-held falls.
The colour effect is red bronze. At the time of the
award I can well understand that this Iris marked
a very great advance in regard to both colour and
all-round excellence, but in the light of newer
American “reds", I would suggest that the falls
might be more velvety in appearance, which
would considerably brighten up the flower. Still
we can’t “have it all ways,” and I have not yet
seen a “red” touch it for real aristocratic bearing.
[The Iris Year Book, 1932, The (British) Iris Society]
‘El Capitan’ (Mohr-Mitchell 1926) One of
the largest iris grown, supreme in its color class,
graceful and well proportioned, this magnificent
giant is an iris of dignity and grandeur. Striking
for garden effect, and each of the candelabrum
type stalks carry a large number of the immense
blooms, giving it signal value as a cut flower. No
garden should be without this most outstanding
long-blooming, light violet blue iris. A sell-out
for the past two seasons, so early ordering is
advisable this season. H.M., AIS, 1929. Early.
Mid-season. 38-inch. [1937 Iris - Carl Salbach]
‘Eros’ (Mead-Reidel 1934) Considered
the “pinkest” iris. A fine flower characterized by
iridescent shades of near-pink with warm yellow
haft and beard, giving a definite garden effect of
salmon pink. Silky texture, and reported with as
many as 12 flowers on a 42-inch stem. Color by
Ridgway -- “Vinaceous.” A.M., AIS, 1936. Mid33
http://www.argyleacres.com
RGYLE
CRES
Joe & Donna Spears
910 Pioneer Cir. • Argyle TX 76226
940/464-3680
Toll-Free Fax • 866/320-IRIS
Historic and Modern Bearded Irises
For Catalog: send two first class stamps and your address
Catalog Corner, continued...
Dauntless or Desert Gold, its parents. Produced
from a cross definitely planned for pinks, Miss
FOR $50.00 FOR A SINGLE PLANT. In fact I
California was easily the choice from among a
paid that price for my original stock. It is just as
number of pink-toned seedlings, and coming
fine to-day as it was then and is one of the largest from two hardy parents, its own hardiness is asand finest Irises we have. The flowers are of huge sured. Growth vigorous, flowers very large, and
size, perfect form, and heavy substance, with loof perfect form and excellent substance. Midbelia violet standards and rich velvety mulberry
season. 48-inch. [1937 Iris - Carl Salbach]
falls, with a border the color of the standards. A
‘Paradise Pink’ (Lapham 1950) L. 33
gift at the present low price. [1940 Rare Irises and in. This is the deepest colored of all the famous
Peonies -- Robert Wayman]
flamingo-pinks. A clear flamingo-pink, nicely
‘Lady Boscawen’ (Graves 1946). E.formed flowers and a vigorous grower. A plant
M. (Purissima x Cloud Castle.) Large white of
soon makes a clump, so thrifty is its growth and
quality. Sister of Helen McGregor. Can’t miss
profusion of bloom. Nor does it pale out and it
as a parent for blues and whites. A.M. ’48. [1951 withstands wind and rain. A most meritorious
Tell’s Iris Gardens]
development. H.M., 1950. [1958 Gilbert H. Wild
‘Marquita’ (Cayeux 1931) One of the
and Son Peonies-Iris-Daylilies]
finest French iris ever produced -- a remarkable
‘Prospector’ (Kleinsorge 1950). M. Lovevariety which should eventually find its way into ly flaring yellow with light area in falls which
the gardens of all iris lovers.
surely harks back to its progenitor Treasure
Overlooked in the awarding of the French Island. [1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens]
Dykes Medal because it was so late of bloom that ‘Rainbow Room’ (J. Sass 1946) M. 34”.
most of the judges missed it. perhaps the largStandards and bordering of the falls are rich,
est of all variegatas, but so distinctly different in
creamy, mellow yellow, which blends into lilac
coloring from the average variegata that it hardly on the falls, punctuated by a blaze of metallic
seems to belong under the same classification.
blue below the yellow beard. [1958 Edenwald GarSimply huge blooms, standards of clear creamy
dens Iris and Daylilies]
yellow, frostily lustrous, and with falls of cream,
‘Rosy Veil’ (H. E. Sass 1953) M. 38”. One
but so heavily lined rose pink that it seems more
of the loveliest of iris, a cleanly marked plicata of
like a suffusion than a lining at the end of the
glistening white with delicately applied stitching
petals. Late. 42-inch. A.M., AIS, 1936. [1937 Iris of rosy heliotrope. Fairly large flowers of grace- Carl Salbach]
ful form on a well-branched stalk; this is a quality
A Spanish dance in a flower. Something
iris of first rank. [1958 Edenwald Gardens Iris and
entirely different that is so striking that it immeDaylilies]
diately attracts your attention. The standards are ‘Sable’ (Cook 1938) E.M. 37 in. Almost
a very clear ivory flushed with yellow and the
black, a uniform shade of deepest blue-blackfalls are the same color, evenly veined with brilviolet with blue beard. Has every attribute that
liant ruby lines. The petals are stiff and round,
a fine Iris should possess -- large size, tall stalks,
giving a very trim appearance to the flower. If
thick substance; a wonderfully lustrous sheen.
you wish to light up a spot in your garden with
[1964 Gilbert H. Wild and Son Peonies-Iris-Daylilies]
gay colors, try a clump of Marquita. over 3 feet
"Suzette' (Knowlton 1945). M. (Seductall and a strong grower. [1939 Milliken Iris
tion x Tiffany.) Delicately marked light yellow
Gardens]
plicata. H.M. '45. [1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens]
‘Miss California’ (Salbach 1937). At last, 'White Smoke' (C. Rees 1950). M.-L.
a beautiful and entirely distinct tone of pink in a
(Snow Flurry x "Big Dipper".) Very large, beautifine, upstanding iris. The color, lilac pink (Tyrfully formed white with blue-smoke cast. One
ian pink to amaranth pink by Ridgway) was most of the last to fade at the end of the tall bearded
popular and certainly marvelled at by our garden season. We think it has promise as a white and
visitors this season. The flowers were of Dauntblue parent. [1951 Tell’s Iris Gardens]
less form, but larger, and it is taller than either
34
In Retrospect . . .
From your Editor
{note -- these cultivars are available in our
Thank you to the people who have
2010 Rhizome Sale}
'Santa Cruz' (Mitchell 1945) sent me articles for Roots! and to the people
who have articles in process. It feels to me
A striking new type variegata that always catches as if we're starting to wake up the garden
the visitor’s eye as it is so spirits.
I hope you will all take a few moments
different from ordinary
to respond to the HIPS Historic Iris DesignaIris. Standards clear yeltion Survey on page 32 -- the HIPS board has
low; falls yellow, gaily
decorated with heavy red been asked to consider revising the current
definition of historic iris as "iris which were
veining. Colorful and
intriguing, as may be seen introduced 30 years ago or longer". This of
course speaks to the heart of HIPS, and our
from my new true-to-life
definition of "what is a historic iris" affects
photo. EM 38”. [1950
many aspects, including conservation and
Rainbow Offerings, Lloyd
availability. Let us hear from you!
Austin]
'Sable Night' (P. Cook 1950) A rich black
Thank you's go as always to Jean Richviolet with a claret undertone. The uniformity of
coloring, coupled with a harmonious dark brown ter, Bonnie Petheram, and Phil Edinger.
"Imperative necessity"! Gesine Lohr
beard, makes this one of the most sensational of
all new dark Iris. The flowers are large and full
petaled and with heavy substance and a smooth
finish.
(Captain Wells x Indiana Night) x ((Modoc
x Black Wings) x Sable), HM 1952, AM 1954,
Dykes Medal 1955. [1952 Marble Iris Gardens]
'Demi-Deuil' (Denis 1912) We are told
this French name means 'half-mourning' so you
must not expect this Iris to contain bright colors.
S. pansy-violet shaded copper; F. red-violet with
white markings; yellow beard stippled brown.
[1926 Descriptive List, Irises, Bonnewitz]
'Mexicana' (Salter pre-1859) Color effect
a brilliant light yellow, maroon veined bicolor. S.
pinard yellow, brown dotted and reticulated on
claw. F. velvety Hay's maroon, veined the same
on the lavender-white outer haft, which bronzes
toward the center.
The edge of the narrow fall is brightly
tinted and bronzed yellow. The plant is of moderate growth, and has stiff, slender, deep glaucousgreen foliage. The flowers are rather flat in carriage, with spread segments. The unusual color
contrasts are interesting in mass. Gold Bound is
very close to this if not identical with it. [Bearded
iris - A Perennial Suited to All Gardens, by Austin W.
above: 'Malibran' (Cayeux 1938)
W. Sand, Cornell Extension Bulletin 112, June, 1925]
with mountain
35
In Retrospect . . .
above: 'Santa Cruz' (Mitchell 1945)
below: 'Demi-Deuil' (Denis 1912)
above: 'Sable Night' (P. Cook 1950)
below: 'Mexicana' (Salter pre-1859)
36