Flights of Fancy

     FLIGHTS OF FANCY is a tall bearded fancy plicata luminata introduced by
Keith Keppel in 1993.  It is pictured on the inside back cover of the AIS
Bulletin for April 1993.  It's a distinctive cultivar with warm glowing
creamy yellow standards and bright lavender washed over a white ground on the
falls.  The orange beards are surrounded by a white zone, the mark of a
"luminata".  FLIGHTS OF FANCY is the progeny of two of Keppel's advanced
generation seedlings.
     In 1995, FLIGHTS OF FANCY was one of our first tb's to bloom, the first
flower opening on May 28.  Our spring was delayed by unusually wet and cool
weather in April and May.  FLIGHTS OF FANCY immediately became a focal point
for garden visitors.  Several well branched stalks carried the bright,
attractive and distinctive flowers.  We took a stalk to the Denver iris show
on June 3.  This stalk was a beauty and was placed, with its blue ribbon,
next to the Best Specimen on the winners' table.  It generated lots of "oohs
and aahs."  I think the fact that it had only two blossoms open may have
prevented it from winning Best Specimen.
     On the next Sunday, June 11 we went to the show in Colorado Springs.
 The truck was loaded with our best stalks at 6 a.m. when I made one last
speedy run through the garden with my scissors.  The stalk of FLIGHTS OF
FANCY with three flowers open, to my surprise, still seemed to be in decent
condition, so I cut it, and we jumped into the truck.  The blossoms, one of
which was in its third day, held up, and the stalk did win the Best Specimen
award this time.  I believe the distinctive, glamorous nature of the cultivar
played a part in the judges' decision.
     1995 gave us an unusually extended bloom season.  The performance of
FLIGHTS OF FANCY, though, was extraordinary.  It continued blooming all
through June.  At least one stalk was producing bloom on any given day until
the last gorgeous flower opened on July 16!  What a year for FLIGHTS OF FANCY
in our garden!
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index