TB: Form of Blossom--Preferences
- To: i*@onelist.com
- Subject: TB: Form of Blossom--Preferences
- From: H*@aol.com
- Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 12:30:31 EST
From: HIPSource@aol.com
Linda Mann wrote.
<< This is the form that is my ideal - tall, straight stalk, medium-large
sized bloom,
lots of ruffles, waterfall form to the falls (I really REALLY dislike the
'modern' horizontal form) >>
I do too. It is certainly suitable for a pert smaller iris that one needs to
look down upon anyway, but not for a big TB, I tend to think.
I don't know why some hybridizer's have chosen to go down that particular
road. It makes for a flower that often looks incompletely open---which it
probably is-- and the garden effect is much diminished. When combined with
shorter and more open or upright standards, or those unfortunate standards
which meet in a rather pyramidal--an ungenerous person might say pinheaded---
form, the effect is even less. The blooms may be larger overall, and I guess a
lot of them actually are, but the surface area presented to the viewer from
any angle other than above is much diminished. Nor can it be argued that they
show better on the bench, unless you fancy an unobstructed view of the
reverses and often too-meaty stems.
We have discussed form in blossoms here on several occasions, generally in
relation to the pros and cons of extra petals, or extra petaloid parts such as
found in the Spage Ager bearded irises. I find that most kinds of forms are
okay with me if they are effective visually in the individual flower under
consideration. One knows an aesthetically satisfying whole when one sees it,
just as one recognizes when something is not right. All people may not agree
on each iris, but a consensus is usually there on the stuff which is really
good.
As I said, this business of horizontal falls tends to be not very satisfying
to my eye. Linda talks of "waterfalls", which I understand to be falls which
have a distinct downward flow in the classic manner coupled with the sense of
lift and buoyancy of the moderns at the margins. These types are very iris-
like and always satisfying in the garden or on the show bench. Speaking in
ballet terms, the dancer in the stiffer short tutu moves quickly around the
stage and shows a lot of leg and so forth, and she is very very fine with her
studied impression of lightness. But the dancer in the long skirt is grander,
more mysterious, and more colorful as she floats along in the breeze.
Anner Whitehead
HIPSource@aol.com
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