Re: favorite self-colored irises
- Subject: Re: favorite self-colored irises
- From: t*@Lanl.GOV (Tom Tadfor Little)
- Date: Wed, 7 Feb 96 09:18:08 MST
Jim Wilson writes
|This question, along with Mike's comments on irises that escape
|popular attention, has had me thinking lately, especially in the
|white category. I don't like ones that look like a used kleenex
|after a day or that have flowers heavier than their stalks can
|support in breeze or a little rain, and some of what others think
|are the best seem to have those problems for me.
This got me thinking about something. I think conventional judging
standards do a poor job of separating objective qualities (such
as substance and vigor) from subjective ones (form and color). In
the second half of this century, we have seen an unrelenting
preference for TBs (and often medians too) that have very wide,
ruffled petals. Increased width is almost always seen as an
"improvement". Yet that's a matter of taste, isn't it?
For me, the two most important objective criteria are substance
and vigor; the most important subjective criterion is the silhouette
of the stalk--proportion, grace, and balance.
For me, the color pattern and shape of the petals are secondary
(if the form is good enough to give the stalk a nice silhouette, that
is). These things do not make an iris good or bad, although they
do determine whether and where you use it in your garden.
Tom Tadfor Little tlittle@lanl.gov -or- telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor Los Alamos National Laboratory
Visit Telperion Productions on the web at
http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
