New Zealand Iris History

..The above and below scans are from H C Gibbons & Co.1904 Seed, Trees, and Plant catalogue kindly loaned to me by Gareth Winter. The catalogue is 184 pages of early New Zealand gardening plant and equipment history also includes a truly amazing list of sprays that if used today commercially on fruit and vegetables recommended, the grower concerned would be in breach of Health and Safety laws. Can you imagine a food label stating fruit sprayed with Asenate of Lead.The popularity of Japanese Irises in early New Zealand gardening history...

Read More

Tall Bearded Iris "SCENE STEALER"

SCENE STEALER by Hooker Nichols is an aptly named and very attractive amoena white standards infused with pale violet at their base, reddish purple falls with a large white zone under the bright orange beards. Almost horizontal falls with a very thin and laced white border. Scene Stealer is a sib to Boogie Woogie, a very elegant Amoena PlicataHooker Nichols writes about 'Scene Stealer' in a recently received email, "The parentage is (Taj Rani x In Tempo) X Song of Spring. It combines the hybridizing lines of Barry Blyth and...

Read More

'A Blooming Business' Movie Review

Last Friday I went to the much anticipated Wellington Film Festival screening of the documentary 'A Blooming Business' which according to the advance publicity, hoopla, and ballyhoo is supposed to be a hard hitting documentary on the Dutch owned flower growing industry in Kenya. This movie goes nowhere near documenting reality and is more of a casual interview with people that are reported to be involved in the industry in one form or another, sprinkled with 'hearsay'.  Fluctuating between occasionally being interesting,...

Read More

Tall Bearded Iris "GOLDEN PANTHER"

DYKES MEMORIAL MEDAL 2009 GOLDEN PANTHER (Tasco 2000) TB 34" (86 cm), M, Heavily ruffled gold, overlaid bronze, highlighted with darker bronze at the edge, bright golden orange beard. Guadalajara X 90-02-03: (Marsh Light x Dazzling Gold) AIS HM 2002, AIS AM 2004, #1 Favorite Guest Iris at Memphis 2002 American Iris Society National Convention. Winner of the Presidents Cup award at the 2004 AIS Convention, Fresno, California.Wister Medal 2006, Dykes Medal winner 2009. And how profound was Perry Dyer writing in his 'CONTEMPORARY...

Read More

2009 American Iris Society Awards

.. DYKES MEMORIAL MEDALGOLDEN PANTHER (Richard Tasco)THE JOHN C. WISTER MEDAL (TB) (4 awards)PAUL BLACK (Thomas Johnson)DRAMA QUEEN (Keith Keppel)ITALIAN ICE (Anna & David Cadd)SLOVAK PRINCE (Anton Mego)THE KNOWLTON MEDAL (BB)BORDER CONTROL (Thomas Johnson)THE HANS AND JACOB SASS MEDAL (IB)DEVIL MAY CARE (Paul Black)THE WILLIAMSON-WHITE MEDAL (MTB)SOMEWHAT QUIRKY (Riley Probst)THE COOK-DOUGLAS MEDAL (SDB)PUDDY TAT (Paul Black)THE CAPARNE-WELCH MEDAL (MDB)TINY TITAN (J. T. Aitken)THE CLARENCE G. WHITE MEDAL (AR & AB)SPIRIT OF CALEB (Peter McGrath)THE WILLIAM MOHR MEDAL (AB)SUE BEE (Susie Kammer by Tim Stanek, selector)THE...

Read More

Just who was New Zealand's Pioneer Iris Breeder?

"Inquiry is fatal to certainty" Will Durant Just who was New Zealand's inaugural pioneer Iris Breeder?? 'Henry Budden, Nelson, 1842-1902' would have to be the front runner based on validated research to date, but I must qualify my answer by stating that at the present time there can be no definitive answer, its just that New Zealand's Early Iris breeding history is becoming a moving landscape. From information to date it's known that he raised, selected and introduced into commerce at least two Japanese Irises MINNIE and CHARLES...

Read More

Tall Bearded Historic Iris "CRAFTSMAN "

Strong rich yellow standards and white falls with a well defined band around the falls of the standards colour. An iris that is just a big sunny smile. Its a great garden Iris that was still sold in New Zealand until recently. Good size blooms, a yellow which does not fade and plant with good health. I mean lets face it, a 1960 iris that is not a great performer would not of survived 50 years and would have made the compost heap years ago if had being anything other than better than good. Awarded by the American Iris Society...

Read More

'Book Day Afternoon'

My Bigger than Ben-Hur Book Day today. Spent a good percentage of the morning and a couple of hours in the afternoon at the National Library, Wellington. (Making good progress with the Iris known as or perhaps its better put, grown as I. Swerti.) Walking back to the car park I stopped by Pegasus Books, in the Left Bank, Cuba Mall, where I purchased a pre-loved book titled 'PLANT' for twenty five dollars which is amazing buying for a 515 page large book that can only be described as encyclopedic and I must say it wasn't pre-loved for...

Read More