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 had Siberian Irises flowering with Standard dwarfs, the reliable strong Nor-westerly winds came and went and about half the Irises did not bloom at all, so all and all a interesting bloom season. Now before the climate change wonks say this is proof of their dribble, they should read any Iris Journal from the past and they will find published within are a multitude of reports that show the weather has its own mind and most likely always will. Some have immediately attributed  'Climate Change' to recent statements 'No Blooms for the Iris Show this year', my thoughts are that it has very little to do with a change in the weather but more to do with a change with the show date. History shows us that show dates year on year can and have changed by as many as 10 days either side of the previous year's date which has a far bigger impact on the amount of blooms for the show bench but always seems to be overlooked.
   Oh and today, Bee Warburtons 'Reprise' has decided to start blooming again, Bob Hollingworth's 'Shall We Dance' has not stopped blooming since it started 2 months ago, and looks like it will be around for Christmas Day, Terry Aitken's 'Double your Fun' has started to bloom today for the first time this season, it's an intermediate that is registered a re-bloomer but I think it's just a straggler.

Change is so swift in the digital world that Smartphones and Tablets are changing the way we use the internet and web masters need to make it a priority to view the way their web site display's on the smaller screens as within a year these little power packed wonders will be the major player in the world of digital media, web masters who ignore this rapidly advancing change will be rewarded by decreased visitors to their website.
While I am on the subject of digital media let me say the AIS E-membership is not what it is cracked up to be. I am a E-member so I can access the iris register database (the real one). The fee last year jumped from $10.00 to $15.00 and for the 50% jump in fees I get access in advance of the printed Bulletin as a PDF file and help fund the Twiki thing. The bulletin in Portable Document Format (PDF) is a huge data file, takes for ever to download cannot be printed or saved so every time you visit cost more megabits which I have to pay to the phone company, adding to this, once the bulletin is released in the digital format it is then parroted via the AIS Book face thingy and AIS World of Iris blog, parts of the featured articles are discussed on various Iris forums, and all this before my printed copy (which I have to pay for as a separate membership) arrives in the mail. By the time I get to read the printed bulletin half the publication has articles that have already been part published on the AIS Book face thingy and includes some expanded articles that were originally posted on the AIS World Of Irises Blog.
  Hey some people may like this new way of doing things but for me it devalues the Bulletin which is after all the AIS premium publication and this repetitive media strategy is getting a lot like listening to a Wagner opera, you know, where the lead character first tells you what he’s going to say, and then he says it, and then he tells you what he just said.
 
Also it was a year with some people getting sniffy about this blog expressing my opinions on the inaccuracy of the Iris Encyclopedia.
Am I opposed to a web site undermining the considerable credibility that we associate with the Checklists? Yes I am, but why should I have to shut up about that? Who says any faction of a Society should be able to step over me and say 'shut up, you're not allowed to open your mouth on that'. I am been seen by some to be doing something wrong by pointing out mistakes that are been published on the internet as facts.........huh?
However this is the real point....... Censorship is undesirable and a threat to liberty. We should always think long and hard before bowing to the ever present wowser elements in our society who would wish to align the limits of our liberty to their own tastes. You either believe in freedom of speech, or you do not.

In 2012 my eyes particularly like these irises ... George Shoops, 'Spring Tidings', 'Deep Venture', and 'Private Treasure', Barry Blyth's 'Covet Me', Joe Ghio's 'Caption' Ron Busch's 'Irwell Wild Child' and 'Irwell Fancy',

BEST IRIS PUBLICATION Bulletin or Journal for 2012 (That I receive, and I receive a few) goes to The Historic Iris Society online magazine  'Flags'. It's well set out, can be downloaded, great photos, and its free to everyone who visits the web site. After a trying year for the editor with back problems and surgery the publication still came out for the Fall. If there is one small criticism from me its the need to publish other points of view in regards to various issues but I am sure it will go on to even better and brighter things in the future.

 I DON'T THINK SO AWARD 2012 goes to the Iris Encyclopedia now often referred to as 'Bob's Bloopers' . It wins the award for putting the wrong photos against a check list description and I think my post 'Tall bearded Iris Beaumonde' covered problem well, but from all reports these problems have not gone away.
Now, when I visit the site (which is not often) I am reminded of that old saying 'Trust is like a eraser. It gets smaller and smaller after every mistake.'

Anyway Merry Christmas to all 'Heirtage Irises' readers, thanks to the comment makers, thanks to all the Worlds Iris Hybridisers both past and present for whom I have the utmost respect, to the contributors of Photos, and also to the International commentators, thank you all for a really great year .

All the Very best for 2013 and may your New Year be full of family, Irises, laughter and love.
 See you mid January and thanks for 2012.

  An explanation, 'Heritage Irises'  is a record some of the irises growing at my Home, features photos of 'New Zealand Bred Irises' and also the blog at times  features new introductions of Irises from International Breeders. As opposed to a Bulletin, Journal,or Year Books, 'Heritage Irises' is more of a personal diary with a minimum amount of interactivity.

 Reproduction in whole or in part of this post, its opinions or its images without the expressed written permission of Terry Johnson is strictly prohibited. Photo credit and copyright Terry Johnson and Heritage Irises ©.

 

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Heritage Irises 2011 Year in Review

HERITAGE IRISES YEAR IN REVIEW 2011

HERITAGE IRISES has been around in the blogosphere for over four years now and its hard to imagine my life without it. (sad huh).

The bloom season for me in 2011 was erratic and many New Zealand growers reported a bloom season that came late by 2 weeks. At home, not only was it late, it all came at the same time for the Standard Dwarf Bearded and Intermediates, Dutch and English Irises and early flowering Tall Bearded. Then the strong Nor-westerly winds of up to 140 kph wasted the iris bloom several times during the season, and about half the Irises did not bloom at all, so all and all a disappointing bloom season.

'Heritage Irises' measured success and the many Google #1 page ranks it has received for subject matter has been achieved without links from Iris Societies web sites making visitor numbers accurate and avoiding 'Iris Churn' also Google does not track my own page views. Referring sites are almost all search engines.

The Internet is not the "be-all-and-end-all", nor is it going to be, it's a telephone party line, a broadcasting medium, an Archive, a Library, a Botanical Garden, a Public Park and the Garden Centre. Sure, it puts a digital spin on each of those things, but it's fundamentally the same, not fundamentally different. I don't have, facebook, twotter, squidly or any other of the try hard so called 'social media' bunk, if you want social networking, go to a cocktail party, a community barbecue, a street party, or try and overthrow a government.

My awards this year are somewhat like the 2011 European Economy, on negative watch sprinkled with a small amount of positive.

Time for the Awards

BEST IRIS PUBLICATION, Bulletin or Journal for 2011 (That I receive, and I receive a few) goes to 'Tall Talk,' for its 'Content', 'Content' and wait for it,'Content'. Its a great read. Now I do not want to encourage another deluge of emails on this subject but, 'Just how is it that there seems to be more content in some Commercial Growers Catalogue's than in some Official Iris Societies Bulletins???'

MY 'I DONT THINK SO AWARD' for 2011 was a copy of a report sent to me regarding a Iris Website which included the following point of interest, "If the society were to pay for a site like this it would be spending between $5,000.00- $10,000.00". Now having visited the said Web Site I cannot see where one thousand dollars could have possibly been spent on it let alone ten times the quoted value. Web Sites are so Static and when will some web-masters get to understand that unless its new and informative and current, visitor numbers will just fade away.

THE 'LETS COMPLAIN SOME MORE AWARD' goes to a editorial comment which is a bit of an old chestnut actually, and no doubt you have heard it before. It goes something like this, "send more information and photos after all this is your bulletin blah blah blah." I always smile when I read these articles and you may hear me mumble "What's the big deal??? Write a Blog you have to do it all yourself !!!"

THE IRIS LIKEJACKING AWARD for Tricking users of a social media site, especially on Facebook, activated by clicking a “like,” “fave” or “thumbs up” button goes to the AIS Facebook Page. To view the American Iris Society Facebook pages the Welcome page message currently reads "The American Iris Society. Please click, "Like," above, to get started, then go to the Wall tab to browse around. Thank you for visiting."
 Just how do you know you are going to like it?? you haven't seen anything yet !!!!! They count these 'likes' as members!! Gives the facebook page a 'Please like me I'm really desperate' look.(Almost got my 'Worst of the Worst' award as well)

WORST OF THE WORST AWARD, goes to selling Irises on the internet for a 'Trade Me' listing of a common garden Iris Pallida hybrid listed as "One (1) Rare Spring Flower Lilac Blue Bearded Iris" I mean what is rare about it?? not sure if it is just a selling point or the seller needs to get out more often or just lives in a plain old fantasy world. The majority of Iris listings on Trade Me are most likely to be genuine but sellers who use photos that are not theirs to use (Its Called Theft) always makes me think that maybe the iris they are selling is not what they say it is, and after all the purchaser is going to have to wait until next bloom season to see if they are genuine or not, why take the risk!!! It never ceases to amaze me the amount of coin some people spend purchasing Irises on 'Trade Me' when they could buy the same Iris for many dollars less from a Commercial Grower and in most cases get a better rhizome with a guaranteed name.

MY 'RECOVERING LUDDITE FOR 2011' would have to go to a Publicity Chair who recently labelled members without a computer as "Internet Challenged" and insulting the members who made observations regarding the error of his ways by informing them that "complaining is their art form not producing results".

Reading the latest NZ iris clubs 2011 booklet, (I do this so that you don't have to.) the club has lost its editor and does not have a replacement, so potentially there will be no publication, and will anyone be sure if the membership will notice.
While we are on the subject of the NZ iris club I received anonymously in the mail a few days ago a complete set of the last seven years of NZ iris club booklets. My first thought was that I could wrap them up for the office Secret Santa, but that just seemed a bit cruel for the potential recipient. It took me awhile, but I figured that they where sent to me as a sort of 'Chain Booklet' so I added the years 2001 to 2002 to the parcel and sent them on to someone I am sure firmly believes that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden and so its quite possible that he might try and see some merit in the parcels contents, but I'm not holding my breath.

 Anyway Merry Christmas to all of you, and thanks for your visits to the blog, for your understanding when I have my rants and raves, thanks to the comment makers, also to those who don't comment but often visit to read, Thanks to the Worlds Iris Hybridisers both past and present for whom I have the utmost respect,to the contributors of Photos, and also to the International readers and contributors.

All the Very best for 2012 and may your New Year be full of family, Irises, laughter and love.
See you later and thanks for 2011.

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