Friday, March 27, 2009

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 Cook
Posted by Iris Hunter at 3:01 PM Labels: , ,

4 comments:

  1. Jennifer AKA keeweeMarch 28, 2009 at 4:20 AM

    Mother nature sure know how to use her paint brush. Benton Olive is gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Iris HunterMarch 28, 2009 at 7:16 AM

    Thanks Keewee for your comments.Do like your blog and you can see it is now linked with HI under the 'Well Thumbed Blogs' heading on the left side column

    ReplyDelete
  3. Margaret RoachApril 11, 2009 at 11:08 PM

    My very old friend and gardening mentor, who grew a large collection of heirloom iris at the public garden he started and ran for 30-plus years in New York, always described the best ones like 'Benton Olive' as coming in "the shades of ladies lingerie." As in proper ladies of days gone by...not the raucous stuff of current fashion. This post made me think of that, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Iris HunterApril 12, 2009 at 3:40 PM

    Thanks Margaret
    A terrific description of Irises which is even more relevant today.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete

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