Monday, December 24, 2012

HERITAGE IRISES YEAR IN REVIEW 2012

      It was just a few days ago that doomsday theorists said it was the end of the world! never happened! Another non event was the Green Party who tried to convince us this year that 'Jack Frost' was going to become 'Jack the puddle' and that also never happened! its been a year where so called major predictions have gone hopelessly askew. My bloom season for 2012 was the same as many New Zealand growers reported, it came early and all at once making the garden very surreal. At home we...
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'ALISON PENNEY'

A breeding combination of Jean Stevens 'Brilliant Sunrise' and Schreiner's 'Taste of Honey'. This very impressive New Zealand bred iris by Jean Collins is one of the best ever of the classic variegata type, possessing an amazing glow which gives carrying power to the flower and on first viewing has the gardener's mind planning the special place in their garden where this iris will feature. Standards are a smooth rich gold contrasted by the bold red-brown falls bordered a rich gold which in turn has...
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Sunday, December 9, 2012

New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'CABBAGES AND KINGS'

"The time has come," the Walrus said,  "To talk of many things:  Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--  Of Cabbages--and Kings--" Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, Lewis Carroll, 1872. Well yes indeed the time has come to talk of 'Cabbages and Kings'.Strong purple blush in the heart of the standards reminds me a lot of 'Freedom Road' (Gordon Plough,1976), colour placement, frills, ruffles and crimping all taking direction from the Keppel genes. Strangely elegant...
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Saturday, December 1, 2012

New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'IRWELL COURAGE'

      "Lines" have come more to the fore recently as a new (or revised) pattern option and 'Irwell Courage' is a great example of how Ron Busch had brilliantly come to grips with this intriguing style. Tall strong stems with good branching hold well proportioned blooms with gentle honey standards that show some darker erratic virus flecking, violet orchid midribs, falls are wide in a handsome mulberry plum colour broadly edged in a softer tone, coupled with strong white striations (lines) on the upper...
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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Spuria Iris BARBARA'S KISS

One of the good thing that happens when the Tall Bearded iris season nearly comes to the end, is the start of  the Spuria Irises season . This is one of my favourites spurias out of my very limited collection, it has amazing large blooms that have an incredibly long vase life that make the similar looking Dutch Irises look like poor little tryhards. Length of bloom stems are a florists delight. Spuria Iris bloom stalks range in height from 100cm to 150cm (3 to 5 feet) tall. They are usually planted at the back of the border...
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Historic 'IRIS GERMANICA BLACK PRINCE'

Courtesy 'THE GARDEN', 30th June, 1900. The Garden, New and Rare Plants, June 23, 1900. IRIS GERMANICA BLACK PRINCE This is certainly one of the most distinct of the german or Flag Irises. We welcome it heartily as a good variety for woodland and border. The flowers are large, fragrant, and handsome in colour, with light purple standards and deep velvety falls, the broad rich yellow marking running into the depth of the flower relieved the other shades. Shown by Mr. Amos Perry, Winchmore Hill,...
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Friday, November 16, 2012

New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'IRWELL GOLD STRIKE'

I thought it was time for an update for the post 'Irwell Gold Strike' with a new photo and a few additional encouraging words. This iris just will not and has not stopped blooming this season and I think a note should be made to its registered bloom season to change from Mid to Mid to Late. Large blooms on solid as iron rod stalks that more than help make a bold and brilliant garden statement, plant habits that never fail to impress with good clean foliage and great increase. 'Irwell Gold Strike' was the stand out iris and the...
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Monday, November 12, 2012

New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris IRWELL TRIBUTE

IRWELL TRIBUTE is a very fine blending of old gold standards with very smart burgandy plicata on  creamy orange ground falls. Attractive sanded and dotted pattern much in the style of the great 'COLORTART' (Innerst 83). Magnificent form, substance and texture that is simply presented with only light waving, no lace or other clutter. In only one season it is already much admired in the garden for it's vigorous clean growth and the unusual color pattern. Registered as parentage unknown but I have filled in the parentage...
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tall Bearded Iris BEAUMONDE

Tempo Two, Pearcedale, Victoria, Australia. Iris, Daylilies, Hosta Catalogue  1986-1987 BEAUMONDE  (Lorna Hodges '86 Aust)  M. 36"  This has been a favourite of ours since it was a seedling in the raisers garden. This popularity was increased when it started to win awards in the trial garden. It is a plicata with a ground colour of white.  Standards are muted blue violet with a cast of colour throughout; falls are heavily veined muted blue violet.  Beards are bright ...
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Friday, November 2, 2012

Tall Bearded Iris AURORA LIGHTS

'Aurora Lights' a great looking plicata that you see a lot growing in the more established gardens in the Wairarapa. Key point in identification is the purple base foliage inherited from the pod parent. Nice clean foliage and robust growth. This plant has often been mislabelled  as 'Harlequin' which it does not even remotely look like but the most telling fact that eliminates it as 'Harlequin' is that it does not have the PBF trait referred to above. Stevens Bros, Bastia Hill, Wanganui.  Irises 1949-1950 catalogue Novelties...
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Tall Bearded Iris ROCOCO

Which plicata is it? we had to ask?? I have always grown this Iris as 'Rococo' but......first of all there is that registration colour 'Blue' (just which of the hundreds of blues did they mean?) and as you can see just plain old 'Blue' wasn't in the mix on our plant growing at home.The Schreiner's Catalogue 'Artist enhanced' colour portraits on the cover of their 1960 catalog the blue is almost a Blue Black. Turns out we had it nailed after-all and I guess you could say with help from that 7 year old camera we have captured 'Rococo's'...
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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Book Review 'A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts'

I was approach by a Bookseller to review the book 'A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts' (2012) by Kelly Norris, this was before the books publication and it was an offer I turned down, the reason, Mr Norris recently became the Editor of the American Iris Society Bulletin so I had become reluctantly used to his media style, this understandably tempered my expectations for substance and possibly not the attitude required for writing a review for a bookseller who expects all the bells and...
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris SMOKEY BABE

Another pleasant surprise this bloom season! This iris colouration reminds me of the Intermediate Iris 'Confederate Soldier' both are an odd concoction of colours, but find the right place in the the garden for them to grow and they turn out to be winners. 'Smokey Babe' is a good grower but does have a little trouble getting all its bloom stalks above the foliage in its first year, although I have been informed that it sets itself right in its second year of growing. As you can see it's a smoky lavender plicata,with upright and...
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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Border Bearded Iris SOUNDZ OF COUNTIES

If you know 'Cherry Garden' the SDB then you will be familiar with the colour of 'Soundz of Counties' but that's where the familiarities finish. This Border Bearded Iris has branching (if you can call it that) far to close to the stalk, the flowers open touching the stalk and the blooms have crowded each other which never is a good look, and this is exactly what the photo shows one flower on top of the other. We all have the right to ask more of a new iris than just "new and introducing this season". Let me quote a respected...
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New Zealand Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris FOREST GLADE

'Forest Glade' has been blooming its socks off at home and shows no signs of stopping just yet. It produces beautiful two buds per stalk with consistency no matter what the weather conditions throw at it. Strong vigorous growth with hearty clean foliage, all of the great plant habits that we have come to expect from a Jean Stevens introduction. As an aside, the pollen parent of 'Forest Glade's' is an iris named 'Sulina' and has its own interesting history. It's a 3 inch deep violet seedling pumila, one of two (Carpathia was the...
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Monday, October 15, 2012

New Zealand Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris HENHAM

'Henham' Noel tells me is a good growing iris. Named after grandson Henry & used part of surname. New Zealand Hybridisers Checklist 2011 HENHAM Noel Lapham, Reg. 2011 Sdlg. 05-79/2. SDB, 11" (28 cm), E Standards light yellow, lighter towards center; style arms white, slight lemon midrib; Falls, yellow-brown, light yellow rim; beards white, orange tips,paler at end. Zero X Yippy Skippy. A 'Huge Hat tip' to Bev and Noel for the use of their photo. Send them an email and get their catalogue, you will be surprised...
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New Zealand Standard Dwarf Bearded SAY SO

      More of the New Zealand Bred Standard Dwarf Bearded Irises hybridised by Noel Lapham as promised and available for sale this year from Mossburn Iris Gardens.Noel has explained 'This iris lucky to be registered after growing it for eleven years, "SAY SO" is an interesting colour, with striking white beards'. I am sure that an Iris that has been grown at Mossburn Gardens for eleven years has considerable merit New Zealand Hybridisers Checklist 2011 SAY...
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Friday, October 12, 2012

Intermediate Bearded Iris IN BETWEEN

'IN BETWEEN' is out of a cross of Shirley Spicer's 1996 SDB 'Little Bridget' and Gordon Plough's 1976 Blue TB 'Glacier Magic'. Robust growth with nice clean foliage, blooms have good form with strong fluted standards, flaring and lightly ruffled falls and the colouration that reminds me of a indecisive modern version of the great Intermediate Bearded classic, 'June Prom', A. Brown 1966. Standards are solid icy pale blue with no markings, the falls are one shade lighter, smartly deepening...
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