Re: CAT: Phil William comments

Please allow me to second Bill Shear's reply to those who took 
umbrage at his remarks concerning THORNBIRD.  To dislike the iris is 
not to dislike the hybridizer; the two are not one and the same at 
all.   I don't grow this iris myself, nor have I any desire to do so, 
on the basis of the pictures I've seen, either on the bulletin cover 
or in certain iris catalogs.  The color seems ugly to me, and until I 
see it growing somewhere--I do visit a lot of gardens in a season--I 
won't have the evidence needed to make me change my mind.  This is 
not a commentary on Monty Byers at all.  I respect his work as a 
hybridizer, but that is beside the point in liking or not liking an 
individual flower.
	At the same time, recognize and admit that the reasons judges voted 
the Dykes to THORNBIRD were probably varied.  And it may be that some 
it was a vote for Byers rather than for this plant.  It would not be 
the first time, according to some knowledgeable and experienced iris 
judges I've heard say it, that this happened, a vote for somebody 
who, it was felt, should by now have gotten the Dykes so here is the 
opportunity.  Mind you, I don't say that happened here, but I would 
not be surprised, either, if it had in some cases.  I don't really 
care.  The reason I want to grow something is because I like it, not 
because somebody else does.  If the majority of AIS judges give an 
award to a certain cultivar, that may be reason to consider that one 
for my garden.  It's not reason enough to get it.
	Finally, the personal and negative comments about persons should 
have no place in this list or anywhere else.  It's mean-spirited, 
destroys the camaraderie that should (and usually does)characterize 
the discussions, and if continued would destroy the list.  We should 
be able to agree to disagree in a spirit of kindness and charity, 
without put-downs, snobbery, or arrogance.  Anything else makes me 
sad and very uncomfortable, to say the least. 
	Off the lecture platform, and back to the garden,
Arnold


Arnold Koekkoek                         Home Ph. (712) 722-0724
Assoc. Prof. of History                 Off. Ph. (712) 722-6326
Dordt College                           e-mail koekkoek@dordt.edu
Sioux Center, IA 51250
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index