Iris Evansia, Iris Japonica, Crested Iris, BOURNE GRACEFUL

Medium size flower which is deep lilac-blue with strong orange-yellow signal surrounded by old gold to dark violet flecks and a violet border around the white signal area. The flowers are borne on distinctive green stems that become darker towards the bottom, but the plant itself has no canes. The long glossy leaves are ribbed and coloured purple at the base (PBF)

The Iris Yearbook (BIS), 1975,"An Iris Japonica Seedling", J.R.Ellis.
From pollination's of the Ledgers variety of Iris japonica with pollen from the plant recorded as the Capri form of Iris japonica ( B I S Yearbook 1966 page 138) a vigorous hybrid has been obtained which has been registered as 'Borne Graceful'. For the last two years this hybrid has been grown in a cool greenhouse where it has flowered profusely from the end of March to the beginning of June. The flowering spikes reaches a height of 4 feet and the flowers which are 2 ½ inches to 3 inches across are pale mauve in colour with a deep yellow crests surrounded by deep mauve spots.
Cytologically, the hybrid has approximately 61 chromosomes and this is the highest chromosome number recorded in Evansia irises. The parental species, Ledgers variety and the 'Capri form' have a 54 and 31 chromosomes respectively and the higher chromosome number in the hybrids stems from the fact that neither parent forms are cytologically true species. Ledgers variety with 54 chromosomes has been reported by Chimphamba (Cytologia 38:501-514, 1973) to have a triploid chromosomal constitution and in crosses with I.cofusa give gametes with different chromosome which range from 24 to 30 chromosomes (unpublished data). The 'Capri form' of I.japonica was also by Chimphamba to have a chromosome complement indicative of hybrid origin. It is highly sterile because of meiotic difficulties, but produces a few functional pollen grains which, in all probability have not been reduced in chromosome number. An unreduced gamete with 31 chromosomes from the 'Capri form' together with a 30-chromosome gamete from Ledgers variety have almost certainly combined to give the hybrid 'Bourne Graceful'.

I have used the B&W photo taken by the hybridiser,this was published in the BIS Yearbook in 1975
then I changed the photo taken in the garden today to B&W to confirm ID .Click on collage to enlarge.

The Iris Yearbook (BIS), 1975, '1975 Registrations'.
BOURNE GRACEFUL    Jack R. Ellis, Reg 1975. Evansia  I. japonica.  Ledgers variety X I. japonica Capri form. Very pale mauve with darker mauve spots around yellow crest 42 " height. April-June in cool green house. A.M.,(J.I.C.), S.C.,C.M., 1975 . 

AIS Checklist 1975
BOURNE GRACEFUL   J. R. Ellis, Reg 1975.  SPEC 42" (107 cm) E-M.  Very pale mauve with darker mauve spots around yellow crest. I. japonica var. Ledgers X I. japonica var. Capri., British Iris Society 1990.

Clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter

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Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris BANBURY RUFFLES

Blooming today. The registered colour description of 'Banbury Ruffles' is a rich blue self but really the colour is more of a rich velvet blue violet. The falls are highlighted by a deep rich bold red purple halo that surrounds the white beards that are tipped a in soft amethyst. Superb bloom placement and display  and quickly becomes an excellent garden subject because of its outstanding strong growing habits. Super clean foliage that is proportional with the bloom, all and all a very well balanced and attractive Standard Dwarf Bearded iris.

Schreiner's, Salem,Oregon, 57th Annual, Iris Lovers Catalog, 1982.
LILLIPUTS
BANBURY RUFFLES bounteously ruffled rich blue.

IRISES A Gardener's Encyclopedia, Claire Austin.
Iris 'Banbury Ruffles' (D. Reath, 1970) The rich violet flowers have white beards tipped violet and surrounded by large maroon-purple patches. The petals are serrated around the edges and gently curl outwards. Height 38cm (15in) Bloom very early season. Parentage Seedling X Nylon Ruffles.

AIS Checklist 1979
BANBURY RUFFLES D. Reath, Reg. 1970 Sdlg. A-6-64. SDB, 15" (38 cm), VE Rich blue self with darker blue spot on F.; ruffled. A-6-60 X Nylon Ruffles. Schreiner's 1970. HC 1968, HM 1971.

There is a outside chance 'Banbury Ruffles' is still commercially grown in New Zealand somewhere, fortunately  I was able to purchase my plants on Trade Me from hctnz (Lyn Nell) a Mid-Canterbury gardener who sends generous plants that have great plant health and  I have no hesitation to recommend highly.
Clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

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The Peacock Iris 'Moraea villosa'

Insanely beautiful, commonly known as 'The Peacock Iris', Moraea is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae (Yip, that's the 'Iris Family'). This is the species 'Moraea villosa' blooms from September to October, and flowers last several days. The more white looking blooms are from bulbs that were sold labelled as 'Moraea aristata' the endangered species but I very much doubt that they are M.aristata. Still with a display like this whats to complain???
Moraea villosa is endemic to the Western Cape of Africa and was once renown for mass spring flower displays in the Cape lowlands, sadly not so common nowadays as their habitat has been replaced with wheat fields and urban sprawl. Plant is now classified as vulnerable. In New Zealand both bulbs and seed can sometimes be purchased online but only in very small quantities.

Should you desire the need for further in-depth reading on Moraeas I can highly recommend these two books ;

The Moraeas of Southern Africa. National Botanic Gardens in association with the Missouri Botanical Garden, Cape Town. Goldblatt, P. 1986.
I am very fond of Botanical paintings and I appreciate the watercolours in this book by Fay Anderson, both the plants portrayed and paintings themselves are absolutely stunning.

The Iris Family: natural history & classification. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.  Goldblatt, P. & Manning, J.C. 2008. 

Thought I would take the photo today before the thunderstorm weather we are getting this spring lays the blooms to waste.
As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.

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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Miniature Tall Bearded Iris PARTURIENT

An absolute classic Miniature Tall Bearded Iris in a colour tone I'm quite partial to. Small, compact, well shaped flowers are a very bright red brown blend. Standards are a blend of honey to smooth red . Falls are darker dusky red brown edged with a narrow honey gold of the standards. Bright yellow beard. It is floriferous, and makes a stunning clump.

Riverdale Iris Gardens, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 1984 Price List.
PARTURIENT (J. Boushay, 1980)
Ruffled red-brown, darker falls...............................................$4.00

Rossmore Gardens, Oaklands, Christchurch. Iris Catalogue 2001.
PARTURIENT (J. Boushay, 1980) Ruffled red-brown with yellow beards. Limited Supply.

AIS Checklist 1989
PARTURIENT (J. Boushay, R. 1980). Sdlg. 74-BB-1. MTB, 18" (46 cm), E. S. smooth red brown; F. darker red brown; yellow beard; ruffled. New Idea X  Jolly Fellow. J. & J. Iris 1980.

As always clicking on the above images will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

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Helleborus x Double Hybrid

Hellebores are beautiful perennial garden plants that are in bloom in our garden from mid-winter to mid-spring. This is one beautiful double white spotted hellebore blooming in the garden today. I purchased this vigorous good health plant from the Telford family Clifton Homestead Nursery. These plants are grown from seed and as the plants are not species each plant although true to a particular colour type in this case double white spotted burgundy, but each plant is not strictly speaking identical which makes each plant a one-off delight that I cherish. Clifton Homestead Nursery have many Hellebores to choose from with single and double hybrid cultivars, also there are other species selections that are worth growing in any garden during the winter.

As always clicking on the above images will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter.

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Classic Collectable Tall Bearded Iris MOONSTRUCK

Small amounts of sort of zonal white beneath the yellow beard tipped orange which was empathised in the Artist enhanced image in the Schreiner's 1982 catalogue confirmed to me the ID plus the description in Schreiner's catalogue and other publications that documented its vigorous growth. At home 'Moonstruck' is a weed-of-a-grower, so very quickly makes a highly desirable, compact clump with a mountain of non fading yellow flowers. Make sure you plant the rhizome in a position so it can expand, one season this iris increased with 4 new thick rhizomes. Thirty four years old 'Moonstruck' is a Classic Collectable Iris.

Schreiner's, Salem,Oregon, 57th Annual, Iris Lovers Catalog, 1982.
MOONSTRUCK   (Schreiner 1979) EM. 36"
You will marvel at this enticing, precisely formed and exquisitely clean light  sulphur to lemon yellow. It has flawless form and equally compensating vigour. Its enamel finished flowers are ideally poised on two and three branched stems, with 7 to 9 buds.

AIS Checklist 1979
MOONSTRUCK   Schreiner's, Reg. 1979. Sdlg. I 1225-1. TB 36" (91 cm) EM. Sulphur yellow self; light yellow beard. Moon Glimmer X New Moon., Schreiner's 1979.

Clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter. 

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How to Hybridise Bearded Iris, Iris Genetics and Hybridizing with Dr. Kenneth Kidd -- PART 2

As the new Iris season is getting close, and for those of us thinking about giving Iris Hybridising a go this season, you would have to agree it was very good timing that  GardenClips producer Patrick Volk sent me this message today "I was recently shooting video of irises at the Marsh Botanical Garden at Yale University when we ran into Dr Kenneth K. Kidd, Professor of Genetics, of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine who dabbles in breeding bearded iris and he graciously agreed on the spot to show us how he does it. Your readers may find these videos to be a useful visual aid".
In the book 'The World of Irises' Chapter 26 'Iris genetics' was written by the very same Dr.Kenneth Kidd in 1978 and is still a relevant and interesting read, very useful when your hybridizing becomes just a little more serious than fun.The art and fun of iris hybridising is in choosing which pollen parent to cross on which pod parent.



 Big hat tip to Patrick Volk and the team at GardenClips.com

How to hybridize iris, pollinating irises, how to cross pollinate irises, how to cross bearded iris, pollinating bearded iris, iris cross pollination, hybridizing irises, iris hybridizing, hybridizing bearded iris, How to Hybridise a Bearded Iris

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How to Hybridise Bearded Iris, Iris Genetics and Hybridizing with Dr. Kenneth Kidd -- PART 1

As the new Iris season is getting close, and for those of us thinking about giving Iris Hybridising a go this season, you would have to agree it was very good timing that  GardenClips producer Patrick Volk sent me this message today "I was recently shooting video of irises at the Marsh Botanical Garden at Yale University when we ran into Dr Kenneth K. Kidd, Professor of Genetics, of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine who dabbles in breeding bearded iris and he graciously agreed on the spot to show us how he does it. Your readers may find these videos to be a useful visual aid".
In the book 'The World of Irises' Chapter 26 'Iris genetics' was written by the very same Dr.Kenneth Kidd in 1978 and is still a relevant and interesting read, very useful when your hybridizing becomes just a little more serious than fun.The art and fun of iris hybridising is in choosing which pollen parent to cross on which pod parent.




  Big hat tip to Patrick Volk and the team at GardenClips.com

How to hybridize iris, pollinating irises, how to cross pollinate irises, how to cross bearded iris, pollinating bearded iris, iris cross pollination, hybridizing irises, iris hybridizing, hybridizing bearded iris, How to Hybridise a Bearded Iris

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Tall Bearded Iris BOLD VISION

 

Long blooming, dramatic, and bold. It's a wonderful rich deep yellow iris with falls banded nearly an inch thick in a airbrushed brownish-red. A white zonal spot highlights the bright orange gold beards. Stalks are strong, of moderate height, with good branching, amazing coloured buds. Fred Kerr suggests 'Bold Vision' is a zonal variegata, Perry Dyer  suggests it is a Emma Cook Pattern. I just think its a ray of sunshine.

Contemporary Views, 2003-2004, Perry Dyer– Emma Cook Pattern.
BOLD VISION (Kerr 2000) is from the same hybridizer which gave us another Emma Cook type, ‘Queen’s Circle’, but the pattern is the only thing that is similar. Color combination, instead, is rich yellow standards and falls, then precisely banded in bold brown-red. Yellow beards blend in to the base color. A nice advancement over an earlier Emma Cook type introduction from Fred, ‘Dear Jean’, with richer color and more elegant banding. It is finally receiving the recognition it deserves.

Fred Kerr's, Rainbow Acres, North Highlands, California.
BOLD VISION (Kerr 2000)  29" Early through late. (Citoyen X Lena Baker sib) The latest of our line of zonal variegatas. Bold Vision has the darkest red band of the line. The one and a quarter inch fall band surrounds dark yellow center with a startling white area just under the gold beards. The standards are of darkest yellow. Good bud count. HM 2002 AM 2006 

AIS Checklist 1999
BOLD VISION Frederick Kerr, Reg 1999. Sdlg. 936307. TB, 29" (74 cm), EML. S. dark yellow; F. dark yellow, lighter around gold beard, wide brownish red band; ruffled, flared. Citoyen' X 9111A, Dear Jean sib. Rainbow Acres 2000.

Available in New Zealand from Richmond Iris Garden.
As usual, clicking the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version.
Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter.  

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