RE: Moores' irises, Shore Patrol (was Scorpio Star)

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Bill and I have discussed this amongst ourselves on several occasions but at this point I really feel that someone should take up for AIS judges, the ballot, and our voting.

 

To begin with, there are a tremendous quantity of judges who vote their ballots honestly and truly based upon garden value of iris, which I believe is what Bill wants.  I believe that award winning iris can be likened to politicians.  No matter who gets elected, someone doesn’t like them.  As Smarty Jones learned yesterday, performing at peak all the time, everywhere, is a very hard thing.

 

One point that seems to be overlooked, frequently, is distribution.  When an iris is better distributed, then more judges grow it, see it, and have the opportunity to vote for it.  Lesser distributed iris are at a disadvantage there.  Guess we could mandate that every hybridizer give a piece of every introduction, to every judge, thus leveling the playing field.  Of course, that would mean that smaller hybridizers would never have enough stock to introduce an iris (and don’t forget all that postage).  Oh yes, and what about those judges who don’t have room to grow all those iris every year, guess they would just have to drop out too.  Nope, that idea won’t work, hmm…..will have to keep working on that/

 

Sea Power grows well and performs well here and earned its AM (which it received last year).  I am very sorry it is not up to that standard in all gardens.  It did receive the most votes for a TB getting its AM in 2003.  I have seen it looking good in several convention gardens, so I am inclined to believe it does well in other gardens too. 

 

Another point I would like to make is that Shore Patrol, is just this year eligible for an award.  It is a 2002 introduction and appears on the ballot for the first time this year.  Alas, I can not vote for it as I have never seen it in a garden (Bill’s pictures don’t count).  On an impulse, I picked up the 8 catalogs I am most likely to order an iris from.  Only two of them list Shore Patrol.  So, I am far from the only judge who has not grown and therefore can not vote on Shore Patrol.  I grow a lot of Walter’s things and love most of them so, I have no problem believing Shore Patrol is a good doer.  However, we go back to the point I made earlier about distribution.  Have enough judges seen Shore Patrol growing for 2 years (meaning they got it the year it was introduced) and can therefore vote on it, for it to get it’s HM this year?? 

 

I, for one, love “pipe stuffing” just as I loved showing dogs and horses.  Healthy competition is fun regardless of what you are competing for.  One thing to remember here, is that I entered one show this year but, I toured over 30 gardens.  I vote my ballot based on how well something does in my garden, and the other gardens I visit, not on how well it looks stuffed in a pipe.  My credo, which anyone who has attended one of my JT sessions knows, is, Grow it, Love it, but don’t vote for it unless it excels in your garden.  The things we as judges look for in an award winning iris are exactly the things gardeners everywhere are looking for in an iris.

 

I am not saying the system is perfect, I am saying that there are many of us working to keep it it’s best and we would welcome more like Bill who would vote their ballots based on all the correct criteria!  Come join us Bill!!

 

Dana

 

Dana Brown

AIS Region 17 Judges Training Chairperson

Director TBIS, ASI

AIS, ASI, MIS, RIS, SPIS, TBIS

Malevil Gardens

www.malevil-iris.com

Lubbock, TX

Zone 7 USDA, Zone 10 Sunset

D*@peoplepc.com