Beardless Irises!!
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Beardless Irises!!
- From: I*@aol.com
- Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 05:18:39 -0600 (MDT)
The beardless irises are kicking in here in western New York, and a quick
stroll around the garden confirms that these are the very coolest,
spectacular, to-die-for irises of all!
For the new folks, when I mention bearless in THIS area (ie... Buffalo
burbs), I mean siberian, spuria, louisiana and japanese iris. Right now the
latter three types are blooming and the garden is magical!
SPURIA.... these irises are only marginally hardy here. Not that they can't
take the cold - they sure can! But our climate is quite moist and the
spurias need a dry summer. The only one that I have in my garden is a
fantastic white with a yellow signal area... very ruffled. Don't know the
name because I assumed it was dead and yanked out all the labels. If I pull
myself together later, I'll look it up. They sure are spectacular when they
bloom..... stately yet elegant.... this one's looking me in the eye!
LOUISIANA... another marginally hardy iris here - but this time it's because
of the cold! LAs can be sprawling (therefore very short) or tall... and
quite orchid-esque. The ones that are in bloom this morning include BLACK
GAMECOCK - a pretty reliable variety for all climates. Darkest royal blue
with a startling yellow signal. And AMBER RIVER... wider petals than BG, and
almost toffee colored.
JAPANESE... this is my favorite kind of iris! Very elegant and regal and
imposing in the garden! A bunch of seedlings are blooming now... no real
keepers there. The cross turned out many 3 petal whites with purple
pinstriping and purple standards. But some of the standards are misshapen...
and the color combo has been done over and over. But they look great in a
clump. I also have a 6-petal purple with yellow signals that I may keep for
awhile.
STRUT AND FLOURISH is putting on its usual show. Very tall and great ruffled
shades of violet and blue.
TEA CEREMONY... shorter with a wide grape band on each fall and some
speckling in the center.
MCKENZIE SUNSET... another medly of blues with some white shot through
And I have to reflect on how absolutely brilliant we are for scheduling our
JAPANESE IRIS EXHIBIT on Sunday... which should be RIGHT ON THE MONEY! This
year we're sharing the show with the Hosta folk and the daylily folk... a
three-way marriage that should be wonderful. And... I've finally gotten menu
confirmation from the Royal Botanical Gardens so when I have a moment, I'll
start working on the JAPANESE IRIS SYMPOSIUM scheduled for October 11th with
four great speakers and an auction to follow.
Live just doesn't get any better.
Kathyguest... lovin' life!
