Barbara Roberts
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Barbara Roberts
- From: C* B* <C*@worldnet.att.net>
- Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 23:29:02 -0700 (MST)
At 06:26 PM 1/3/97 +0000, Rick Tasco wrote:
>I've never heard of Barbara Roberts before. Can you give a short bio.
>Please!
Rick, I'll publish it here for the benefit of others who may be looking for
a reliable grower/hybridizer in this area. I'm sure Kathy Marble could give
you more info, as she has known Barbara much longer than I, but here it is
for what it's worth.
Barbara has about 1200 iris plants - mostly TB's, and her hybridizing
efforts have been with TB's. She has been growing irises since 1953, and
hybridizing since about 1980. The six she has introduced are listed below.
She doesn't have a catalog or a price list, nor does she sell by mail-order,
but does welcome visitors to her garden, especially in bloom time (about the
first week of June), and take orders, if she has ample stock. She will ship,
if visitors come from a distance. She has lots of seedlings coming along,
but is very selective about her introductions. She has mostly plants of
other hybridizers, not just her own.
Barb and her husband Keith live in the central Mass. hill town of Barre,
where they have a USDA zone 4 microclimate (they had 11" of snow while the
town center was getting rain). So any iris that can grow in Barre, can
certainly grow in my garden. They don't own a computer, so wouldn't be able
to answer queries. Her snail-mail address is:
Barbara Roberts
R.F.D. 1, Marsh Road
Barre, MA 01005
For directions to her home & garden, call her at 508-355-4624. Barre is not
far from Gardner, MA, and about an hours' drive from Worcester or Springfield.
In alphabetical order:
ILLUSION IN LACE (r. 1982) TB 37" Late; orchid bitone (intro 1983)
JAUNTY AIRE (r. 1985) TB 34-36" Mid; Ruffled yellow (intro 1985)
KING'S COURTESAN (r. 1985) TB 36" Mid; pink-orchid (intro 1985)
KISSIN' COUSIN (r. 1982) TB 37" Late; Lt pink (intro 1983)
LATE EDITION (r. 1982) TB 32" Late; orchid bitone (intro 1983)
MISTY HUES (r. 1986) TB 36" Late; Ruffled beige-peach (intro 1986)
Hope this does a grand lady justice! She is truly very helpful, especially
to rank beginners like me.
Carol Blais - CBLAIS@worldnet.att.net
Western MA, where I'm hoping for winter!
