Tall Bearded Iris "BENTON OLIVE"

Perhaps the best classic Iris I have ever seen amazing that it was never registered.Description from the 1959 'Lloyd Austin World Famous Iris Color Guidebook'BENTON OLIVE (Morris 1949) E-M 36" A very popular novelty in silvery-olive buff. I imported this from England as there is none like it in this country. A subtle new coloring proving very useful to arrangers. Enough green in its make-up to cause it to be used by every hybridiser working toward greens. Very good pollen. Sometimes blooms in Autumn.Photo credit and copyright Sarah...

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Sir Cedric Morris Iris Collection

The blog is honoured to have this interesting contribution from Sarah Cook  who has the Royal Horticultural Society National Collection of Sir Cedric Morris Irises 'Strathmore' named by the Queen Mother when she visited the Iris Show in London Colour plate from the 1959 'Lloyd Austin World Famous Iris Color Guidebook' When I retired in 2004 I returned to Hadleigh and started collecting together Sir Cedric Morris’s Irises. Fortunately his Irises are relatively well documented with 55 registered with the American Iris Society...

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Tall Bearded Iris "BENTON OBERON "

In the Northern Hemisphere the Iris bloom season is about to start and above is a colour plate of the Iris Benton 'Oberon' from the 1959 'Lloyd Austin World Famous Iris Color Guidebook' which is one of the irises not yet in the Morris collection.The catalogue description is thus;BENTON OBERON (Morris 52) ML-34" My color plate shows exceptional brightness and arresting color scheme of this one that I imported from England. Courtly and trim flower in bright fuchsia-heliotrope with very prominent contrasting beard in bright red-tangerine;...

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Tall Bearded Iris "WHOLE CLOTH"

'Whole Cloth' blooming perfectly in the morning sunshine is a sight to behold. It is considered one of the truly great breeding Iris of its time. Above photo taken of the iris growing in the Garden No.1 at home and blooming along side to good effect another great breeding parent 'Freedom Road' (Parent of Edith Wolford, Right hand side of the shot).In England a concept of National Collections exist. There is no known National collection of a similar concept in America. As a Notable, Paul Cook would be an obvious choice for a national...

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New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris "POLYNESIA "

Another delightful Iris from the Late Jean Stevens. This photo was taken at the very fine gardens of the President of the Masterton Horticultural Society, Colin McCarthy. STEVENS BROS CATALOGUENovelties 1944-45 POLYNESIAThis new iris of our own raising is a delightful shade of golden bronze,quite a new colour in irises.It is a pure self,and both standards and falls are nicely frilled.The flowers are of a classic form and are carried on well branched stems. 3 feet in height. 21/-The Iris Year Book 1958 Published by the Iris Society (BIS)WHERE...

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Tall Bearded Iris "VILLAIN "

Twenty eight years ago the iris 'Villain' was introduced and in two years time it will attain the status of Historic Iris which is a visual puzzle, for if it were to be introduced today it would still make the cut as a stand out Modern Tall Bearded Iris. Maybe the label or the determination of what constitutes a 'Historic Iris' needs to be redressed. as 'Villain' and many other Irises of this era and many more to come do not 'fit' with the Gardening public's perception of what is an 'Historic Iris'. That aside, 'Villain' is a great...

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New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'IRWELL MINSTREL'

Ron Busch has created another sensation with this 2010 introduction 'Irwell Minstrel'2011 New Zealand Hybridisers Cumulative ChecklistIRWELL MINSTREL Ron Busch, Reg., 2010. Sdlg.1778/4136. TB, 28" (71 cm), E. S. white flushed wine at base and midrib; style arms rose wine; F. Deep wine-black, white veining around tangerine beard. Parentage unknown. The Iris Garden 2009.As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version. Photo credit Ron Busch. Copyright Iris Hunter...

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Ron Busch Irises 2009 Introductions

..Ron Busch in my considered opinion is the most significant New Zealand Hybridiser since Jean Stevens. Now that's high praise indeed but it's deserved.Iris Names displayed are tentative only and are subject to AIS Checklist Registrar approval, but I can't see a problem with this aspect. Photo's are scans and whilst they could not be described as Catalogue shots the photos more than adequately display the depth of Ron Busch's hybridizing talent. With 40 Irises to be registered by Ron this year the post is just a small taste of the future...

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Iris 'Florentina' The Florentine Iris

'Iris 'Florentina'' is an early flowering iris of historical significance and its shorter growth suits the front of the border.The variety was mentioned in the post on 'Gracchus' as a cut flower. Also known as the Florentine Iris, 'Florentina' is in my opinion a natural hybrid that has found favor with gardeners for at least the last 600 years. Used in the production of Orris Root along with I.albicans, I.pallida, and I.germanica. The following will give much for the reader to consider. A SYNOPSIS OF THE KNOWN SPECIES OF IRIS.—XVI....

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Keith Keppel Iris 2009 Catalogue

..Two weeks ago Keith Keppel's Iris Catalogue arrived in the post. Truly amazing to see what a hybridising Giant of the Iris world has to offer. Keith is a magician with visual perception and has the foresight required when it comes to selecting which varieties to cross with. It's just to bad Importing Irises to New Zealand is a wee bit tough at the present time, but things could change!! Anyway for those visitors to the blog lucky enough to live in the USA go and buy yourselves some classy Irises and for the rest of us we will just...

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Tall Bearded Iris "ABBEY ROAD"

Abbey Road is a very beautiful pale yellow that is renown as a heavy bloomer. I purchased this iris from a commercial grower that was discontinuing this variety and a lot of 1960-1970 Irises that were meeting the same fate. Technically, this iris is a reverse Amoena, with its lemon standards and white falls. I cannot for the life of me understand why this Iris was discontinued as it is an amazing iris which has vigorous growth, strong stems, and bucket loads of slightly scented blooms, so you can see I am very glad it grows here...

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Tall Bearded Historic Iris "GRACCHUS "

Purchased from Otepopo Garden Nursery (see later in the article), the photo above is of the Iris 'Gracchus' reblooming over by the Woolshed last month.One of the earliest known cultivars that rebloom in mild climates and bred well before the use of middle eastern tetraploids were introduced to Iris breeding. W.R. Dykes in 'The Gardener's Chronicle' November 5th, 1910, observed " Last year I remember that the variegata GRACCHUS flowered most freely in October" The Iris is listed in the 1929 AIS checklist GRACCHUS TB-Y9L (Ware 1884)...

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