'STARWOMAN' wins the Dykes Medal!!!!

STARWOMAN is such a stand out Intermediate Iris and so deserving of this award and it's the first time for an Intermediate Bearded Iris to win.
It is only the second time in the history a median iris has been awarded Dykes' Medal by the American Iris Society. The first median to win a Dykes Medal was in 1981 and is the Border Bearded Iris 'Brown Lasso' (Buckles-Niswonger 1975)













DYKES MEDAL WINNER 2008 STARWOMAN (Marky Smith 1998). Previously winner of the Hans and Jacob Sass Medal 2005, AIS Award of Merit (AM) 2003, AIS Honorable Mention (HM) 2001.
The AIS at their annual convention in Portland, Oregon in 2006 also honoured Marky by presenting her with an AIS Hybridizer’s Medal.








AIS Checklist 1999

STARWOMAN Marky Smith, Reg. 1997, Sdlg. 90-26E. IB, 25" (64 cm), M; Standards blackish royal purple (blacker than RHS 86A), faint lavender grey marks at deep purple midrib; style arms strong mauve violet, edges greyer; Falls pearl (lighter than 156D) ground, ½" darkest black violet (darker than 86A) rim and center stripe, dark violet dashing and stitching within rim; beards blue violet at end, gold-tipped blue violet central area, yellow in throat; ruffled; slight sweet fragrance. Chubby Cheeks X Keppel 83-8A: (Snowbrook x sib). Aitken's Salmon Creek 1998. HM 2001, AM 2003, Sass Medal 2005, Dykes 2008.


'Starwoman' is available from Kingswood Irises 15 Railway Road Woodlands R D 1 Invercargill. Write to Marion Rutherford for their Catalogue which is on CD with some of the best Iris photos around. This iris nursery I highly recommend!!!! For our American visitors Starwoman can be purchased from Mid America, Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden, Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Visitors from England could try Claire Austin Hardy Plants. Links to these growers appear in the 'IRIS LINKS' on the left hand side.

American Iris Society 2008 Awards

DYKES MEMORIAL MEDAL STARWOMAN (Marky Smith)
JOHN C. WISTER MEDAL (TB) MILLENNIUM FALCON (Brad Kasperek)
KNOWLTON MEDAL (BB) TEAPOT TEMPEST (Lynn Markham)
HANS AND JACOB SASS MEDAL (IB) MING (Marky Smith)
WILLIAMSON-WHITE MEDAL (MTB) MASLON (Donald Spoon)
COOK-DOUGLAS MEDAL (SDB) CAT'S EYE (Paul Black)
CAPARNE-WELCH MEDAL (MDB) YAK ATTACK (Brad Kasperek)
MORGAN-WOOD MEDAL (SIB) FOND KISS (Marty Schafer/Jan Sacks)
CLARENCE G. WHITE MEDAL (AR & AB) BYZANTINE ART (Lowell Baumunk)
WILLIAM MOHR MEDAL (AB) SHABAZA (George Sutton)
FOUNDERS OF SIGNA MEDAL (SPEC) KRILL (Jill Copeland)
RANDOLPH PERRY MEDAL (SPEC-X) ALPHA GNU (Brad Kasperek)
SYDNEY B. MITCHELL MEDAL (CA) WINE AND CHEESE (Vernon Wood)
MARY SWORDS DEBAILLON MEDAL (LA) GREAT WHITE HOPE (Dorman Haymon)
ERIC NIES MEDAL (SPU) ELFIN SUNSHINE (B. Charles Jenkins)
WALTHER CUP (Most HM votes in any category) BLUEBEARD’S GHOST (Paul Black)

The complete listing of all American Iris Society Awards is on their official AIS Website

Its a great way to celebrate my 50th post for the blog.