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 garden Iris with high health good bud count and nice clean strong leaf growth that shows PBF. It looks its best when the early morning sun casts its shadows across the velvet falls creating the look of mischief and intrigue. For me the name has a certain irony, and perhaps that's why I grew it in the first place.

AIS Checklist 1989
VILLAIN (K Keppel 1981) ML Olive butterscotch standards and red maroon falls. Mustard beards. Excellent increase. Dusky Dancer X 71-82A: ((Montage sib x Happy Ending) x Ghio 67-20W: ((((Frosted Starlight x (Spanish Peaks x Black Satin)) x ((Cahokia x Pierre Menard) x (Black Forest x Chivalry))) x Penthouse) x (Mahalo x Diplomacy)))

Visit Keith Keppel's new 2010 web site to see his latest selections listed in the Iris Links on this page

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Photo Credit and Copyright Iris Hunter