CULT: Bloom Report
- To: iris-talk@onelist.com
- Subject: CULT: Bloom Report
- From: H*@aol.com
- Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 13:34:38 EDT
From: HIPSource@aol.com
Greetings.
Henry and I rode up to Charlottesville yesterday for a lecture and when we
returned at dusk, drunk with the sight of thousands of pallidas blooming all
over rural Virginia, we discovered that the heat had caused quite a few of
the irises here to pop open, and many of the roses as well.
A strange combination of irises is blooming in my sunniest bed, a group of
unusual and jewel--like blooms of many ages, with varied shapes and markings.
All are highly distinctive, and I have decided I enjoy that about them a lot.
When you have a tiny garden space, you have to be choosy, and I choose the
interesting and the beautiful, while making a place for several of the rare
and endangered treasures of the past. I've got a few workhorses, too, but I
try to not get bogged down with the boring.
Open were: THORNBIRD: blooming with long violet horns; LADY FRIEND: a gawjus
show stalk; ONE DESIRE: the splendid historic clear pink, with pink beards;
JUNGLE SHADOWS: smoulderiest BB in grey, brown and purple; AMIGO'S GUITAR: a
very deep tobacco and madder variegata of which I am enormously fond;
CRANBERRY ICE: a classic deep rosey pink which has a lovely texture and holds
up well; SINDJKHA: a blend of tans and blues with a lot of interesting things
happening detail-wise; DRADY: oh, beautiful little DRADY; CHALICE: a small
bright yellow from quite early in the century with that cute little propeller
shape some of them have; FLORENTINE: a large, very delicate lavender on
white allover-plicata; ELECTRIQUE: which is all they say it is- and smells a
bit of cat this year; COPPER LUSTRE: sparkling goldust on toffee; PRETTY
BUTTERFLY: a little neglecta with brilliant purple-stripe-ity falls; NUEE
D'ORAGE:-translates as "Storm Cloud"; ERMINE ROBE: a lovely staturesque white
which blooms irregularly, but is worth its space; and our Walta's splendid
LEMON CHESS: pale yellow with interesting details and good foliage and a
classic form with just the right amount of ruffles. I'm not seeing any buds
this year on my beloved big tacky orange TB and I'm annoyed about that since
it goes with the deep pink ones and adds a good deal of snap to the bed. But
the unknown "Bowling Green Beauty" has added a fine tone to the mix, as does
a fascinating "unknown" of the type of COLOR CARNIVAL, which means it is
basically a lurid peachy pink with a heavy grape purple wash on the hafts and
brilliant red beards. Oh, it is not in the least bit subtle, that one. I
nearly wrecked the car when I first saw it in someone's back yard.
Buds are up on some rare and obscure Cayeux things and also on BEOTIE:steel
grey and bleu electrique; VINGOLF; SENLAC: a wine; JEAN CAYEUX:a cappuccino;
and Walta's CONFEDERATE ROYALTY. The fans of SHAH JEHAN are plump. Phil
Edinger IDed that one for me recently. Took me three years to weedle a piece
out of the hands of the tedious woman that grew it, and it is worth it.
Little MA MIE continues to bloom on, her stalks straight and her blooms still
coming fresh and lovely after about ten days of bloom. I've always enjoyed
her, and this hard year she has earned my greatest respect. Among the
species, the white tectorums are looking especially fine, and the I.
pseudacorus is blooming, both my fine, almost veinless, clear golden clone,
and a good near-white. Some of the Siberians are about to pop.
Among the old roses, SOMBREUIL, SHAILER'S PROVENCE, and SAFRANO are in full
bloom. One often finds unknowns of both genera in older gardens and
cemetaries and homesteads, blooming long together. The old roses are very
fine companions for the irises, and the scent in the air in the early evening
is profoundly beautiful.
Anner Whitehead
HIPSource@aol.com
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