Re: OT:Region 21 Spring Meeting

    Thought some of you might be interested in a brief report on the Reg. 21 spring con-
vention that was held this past Sat. and Sun in and around Lincoln, NE.   For a change, it seems, the bloom season co-incided perfectly with the appointed dates, so those in attendance got to see an abundance of iris in every garden.  SDBs were largely gone, tho in a couple gardens we still saw a few, but there were lots of IBs, TBs in full glory, and many Siberians already out as well.  Wonderful!  To add to the enjoyment, some of the gardens were large enough to include a lot of other beautiful landscaping, so there were many perennial beds, shady areas in woods, some splendid clematis in full bloom, and some really imaginative and carefully planned use of landscaping possibilities.  Among the highlights were some local hybridizers' seedling beds or plantings of their registered varieties.  One that drew lots of attention, including from the men who did the judges' training on Sunday, was Gene Kalkwarf's EMERALD SKIES, (Gene lives in Emerald, NE) which is a huge ruffled light sky blue.  We saw it in Gene's garden as well as a number of others, blooming to perfection in each place.
    The highlight of the convention was the several hours spent in Varigay Garden of Allan Ensminger, on the edge of Lincoln.  Most of you know the name, as well as some of the introductions, of this man, who's gotten the nickname of "The Wizard of Odds", for his work with variegated iris. 
Arnold & Carol Koekkoek
38 7th Street, NE
Sioux Center, IA 51250
e-mail  k*@mtcnet.net
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