High Country Iris mtg.
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: High Country Iris mtg.
- From: M* H* <M*@worldnet.att.net>
- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 13:22:53 -0700 (MST)
Hello all:
Thot I'd tell about attending, Sunday, my first ever meeting of an iris
society, High Country Iris which meets in Englewood, CO in the flatlands
about 45 minutes drive from my foothills home. (Not surprisingly, their
name strikes me funny...) I had a delightful time & met a lot of nice
folks who just happen to be fanatic irisarians, altho they otherwise
seem to be sane & rational people. The group has only been in existence
for about a year & members come from all over metro Denver & as far
south as Colorado Springs.
Prez Randy Penn invited me so I would have a chance to connect with some
of those looking for volunteers for the Denver AIS Convention in June.
Among other things, it looks like I will be helping out in the host
gardens of Glenna Chapman & Lowell Baumunk, both of whom are beginning
to get a teensy bit panic-stricken as tour time draws near. I've heard
that these two are excellent gardeners so I suspect their definition of
iris beds "overrun with weeds" differs greatly from what I'd mean by the
term & I'm looking forward to the tasks they set me. It will be a treat
to snoop around in the gardens of really experienced iris growers.
The other lure for getting me to attend was the presentation topic, Aril
& Arilbred Irises -- these flowers intrigue me no end tho I have yet to
see any in real life. Lowell gave a talk with terrific slides courtesy
of the Aril Society International (ASI.) The first batch showed
oncocyclus & regelia species & some crosses between the species & the
second batch of slides focused on species crosses with TBs & SDBs
(Arilbreds), including many produced by Howard Shockey of Albuquerque,
NM, among other noted hybridizers.
My word, I'm in love! Every time anyone said the iris being displayed
grows well in their Colorado garden my ears pricked up. I may have to
mortgage the cat but one way or another I'm going to try some of these
beauties, starting with Arilbreds & working up my nerve to try Arils if
the ABs do well. It appears that most ABs will grow in conditions
similar to those enjoyed by most bearded iris, as long as drainage is
good & they can stay dry thru the summer -- they don't like wet feet at
any time & prefer xeric conditions, which is typically what I have to
offer. Altho it's risky to ever predict Colorado weather (summer '97 was
a real *soaker*), my sunny east & south facing slopes should suit them.
The meeting concluded with a Judge's Training for Arils & Arilbreds,
presented by Rob (sorry, didn't get his last name) & eavesdropped upon
by me, tho a lot of it went right over my head -- I've never even seen a
flower show, let alone an iris show/competition. I came home with a copy
of the ASI yearbook from '95, which includs articles by Iris-L's Tom
Tadfor Little (check out the ASI website which Tom also maintains:
http://www.rt66.com/~telp/asi.htm) & Sharon McAllister -- Sharon's been
working on hybridization of Arilbreds for many years, has produced some
wonderful flowers & done a lot for advancing the field. It's fun to feel
a "connection" with knowledgable people such as these because of Iris-L!
I didn't actually join the society yesterday tho I suspect I'm well &
truly hooked. I am going to help out a bit next Sunday at the booth High
Country Iris is running at the Denver Spring Garden & Patio show so I'll
probably weaken further -- iris gardeners are neat people to hang around
with, that's for sure.
Marte in the mtns Zone 4/Sunset 1 Colorado -- in the 50's & low 60's
here days, dropping to 15F or so at night. Still much snow piled up in
the shade but real dirt is showing wherever the sun reaches. Fresh
snowfall is predicted for later this week...
