Intermediate Iris "KARIN OLDING"

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Karin Olding a New Zealand bred Intermediate Iris Hybridised by Glady's Watson and registered in 1978 (I cannot find much information about this lady).Length of bloom makes this is one of the best reblooming intermediate irises. Yesterday I was chatting to Gloria Rapson one of New Zealand's finest Irisarian's ,who informed me that in her Tauranga garden Karin Olding is currently a mass of bloom stalks and flowering is expected within the week. KO starts to bloom for Gloria in June and can still be blooming at Christmas Time and into January. The temperature is a lot warmer in that part of the country than it is here but Karin Olding is one of the first to bloom in the Wairarapa. Whilst the flowers would not be considered perfection by the so called NZ Iris Growing Elite the iris can not be faulted for its bud count,the bud colouration, its good increase, and its extraordinary long bloom season makes it an Iris your garden can not be without.





Its registered Bloom season classification is VE (Very Early) but if this Iris was to be registered today it would probably have a bloom season classification VE-ASRE.(All Season Rebloom)Its amazing homozygous recessive condition would mean it has enormous breeding potential as a parent.







AIS 1979 Checklist entry
KARIN OLDING (Mrs G Watson R.1978) Sdgl; W2-31-63 IB, 22" (56cm) VE. Light blue,overlaid and veined deeper blue on Falls;Yellow beard tipped white.Helen McGregor X Schreiner sdlg.
Introduced Collins Iris Garden 1978/79
Last bloom season was the first time I had seen KO in all its glory, it instantly became a 'Must Have' in my garden, and 3 Rhizome's of Karen Olding were purchased for a group planting.
The only New Zealand catalogue listing of this iris in 2007-2008 is Amazing Iris Garden 138 Walford Road RD2 Katikati.Email wendy@irisgarden.co.nz


Karin Olding is yet another treasure of New Zealand iris Hybridising which to date has been very poorly promoted. Pictures taken of unlabelled Karin Olding growing in Queen Elisabeth Park, Masterton, New Zealand last bloom season. With the registration date of 1978 Karin Olding is now 30 years old so has archived Historic Iris status. I have no doubt it will still be around 30 years from now

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Soliloquy

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'Soliloquy' is a garden blog I recommend you visit .Yesterdays post "Little Earth Stars" is an excellent example of the first class writing and the food for thought that is a consistency with this blog. It's the thinking person's Garden blog.
Please visit the site by clicking on this link SOLILOQUY and then click on visit blog so we can vote this lady into the top ten blogs on Blotanical where she deserves to be.
For me Dandelions will never be the same again.

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Tall Bearded Historic Iris "SHANNOPIN"

This photo of the iris "Shannopin" was taken growing in a garden of an old heritage house in Masterton at peak bloom time. 
My first association with this iris was as a NOID, found growing opposite a Butcher's Shop so I originally labeled it "The Butcher's Iris". This garden was small, directly adjacent to a tar sealed footpath and was overcrowded with rhizomes, buttercups and other plants, and had there been a competition for 'The best Iris surviving in a neglected garden' category it was certainly the clear cut winner. Flowers mid-late season. An iris of classic form, widely grown and admired in mainly older gardens of the Wairarapa District.
SHANNOPIN the iris was named after 'Shannopin's Town' which in the 1700's was a Delaware Indian Village located near the site of modern day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The hybridiser T. Lloyd Pillow was Pittsburgh's superintendent of Street and Sewer Department. The first of his three registrations was in 1939 a tall bearded iris NANTY GLO. In 1943 he introduced a tall bearded iris CONNOQUENESSING a native American word meaning "A Long way Straight". All of the names Lloyd Pillow used to register his Irises have an association with  'Shannopin's Town' or the associated Pennsylvania area.

Stevens Bros, Wanganui, Irises Catalogue, 1948-49. 
SHANNOPIN (Pillow 1940) An Iris of most unusual combination and very striking. Clear cream standards with lilac rose falls. Well branched with medium sized flowers 3.5ft

Schreiner's, Salem,Oregon, 1948, Iris Lovers Catalog.
SHANNOPIN (Pillow 1940) M 40" A striking iris and most original.Close to a cream and rose amoena. Clear cream ruffled standards with pink to rose cast falls, medium sized flowers.$1.25

AIS Checklist 1949
SHANNOPIN TB-La-W9M (Pillow 1940)Kellogg 1940 ect. (Redwing X Seedling)

If you love historic irises and you get a chance to purchase this iris don't hesitate. I guarantee it will be a iris you will never regret growing. No commercial grower in New Zealand, and the American Garden that I knew stocked it has now closed.

Photo credit and copyright Iris Hunter 

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New Zealand Tall Bearded Iris 'SLYVAN SONG'

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Sylvan Song a recent addition to my collection and another amazing New Zealand introduction from Jean Stevens. This iris when it clumps up (I have several plants) will 'look the business' when growing among the darker blues.
Sylvan Song is the sister seedling to Airy Grace
Sylvan we think refers to Spirit's of the Wood's (Thanks J.M.)

Stevens Bros Catalogue Novelties 1947-48
SLYVAN SONG
A very distinct and novel personality is inherent in this lovely rounded flower of largest size and faultless form. A true self, the colour is quite new, and can be visualised as a warm honey-cream. A faint dusting of cinnamon brown at the hafts gives a rich almost vibrant note unexpected in such a light toned flower. A variety which will become extremely popular having nothing of the pallid washiness one usually associates with pale colour tonings 4ft.





D'Arcy Blackburn Catalogue, Gisborne 1952-53
Slyvan Song (Stevens) A very distinct and lovely variety with rounded flowers of largest size and faultless form. A self of warm-honey cream enlivened by a dusting of cinnamon brown at the haft. This is destined to enjoy great popularity.48 inches

1949 AIS Check List
SYLVAN SONG TB-M-Y4L (Stevens W R N.) Reg 1947 (Sdgl. X Tiffany) #3/T32

Notes from Jean Stevens stud book 1925-1944 the following pedigree extrapolated from several entries the Pedigree would read (Seduction X (Naranja X Firelight)) X Tiffany
Seedling T32 is a 1943 cross


Finally I take this opportunity to Thank Ms.Wanda Williams (Deceased) and her gardener Wayne Brown for their impeccable good taste in Irises which had made them accidental guardians of a collection of Jean Stevens Irises that endured for decades.

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Martha Stewart 'Living' Magazine Iris Feature

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Martha Stewart "Living" Magazine,May 2008, out in stores now!! features A Gardener's Palette "Few flowers come in as many shades of the spectrum or are as versatile as the Tall Bearded Iris", Schreiner's Iris Garden played a big part in this article. Good to see Irises on the up and up!!

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The American Iris Society Bulletin has Arrived

Fantastic!! the April 2008 AIS Bulletin has turned up and as usual it is an informative read.
The picture featured on the cover is Keith Keppels 1998 introduction "Broken Dreams" an Iris I received as a bonus plant from a grower this year so I am 'over the moon' It sure looks good. Photo credit Terry Aitken.


For all you folks that visit this blog and there are many of you (By the way Thanks for visiting) the bulletin is distributed to members of AIS 4 times a year, each bulletin has 120+ pages of information and colored photos on Irises. A selection of Articles in the April issue are as follows

• Growing and Selecting Irises in Slovenia Izidor Golob
• The Quest for a Yellow Japanese Iris John White
• A Germination Experiment Kelly D Norris (Guest Editor for this edition)
• Culture Corner Rita Gormley
• A Breeders Life Robin Shadlow
• How Fungi Function Sandra Dark
• The Other Irids Part 1 Robert Pries
• A Milestone of the Las Vegas Iris Society Mary Lee Fortner
• Plicata Locus color patterns in Bearded Iris Dr. Don Spoon

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End of Iris Rebloom Autumn has arrived with vengance

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Autumn really arrived in the last two days. light dusting of Snow on the hills this morning, 1° Celsius at 6am, currently 4°C at 11:23am . The temperature drop has helped with brightening up the autumn foliage which is looking brilliant especially the Liquidamber styraciflua. Pictures of the hills from the top paddock and the trees turning colour. That's the end of the reblooming Iris as all the bloom and buds have just turned to mush. In a couple of months time the Iris bloom will start again.

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Back to the future but not with Blotanical

I have only just found the list in Blotanical which is the directory the 200 Most Recent Posts and it seems that it is almost impossible to obtain the status of "Recent" when you live in New Zealand as Blotanical places my current post in Yesterday's date. I published a blog Thursday 1st May and its instantly placed on Blotanical "Most recent posts" half way down the Wednesday 30th April section. Half a day later and its not on the list at all. Amazing!!
Where will this posting be placed I wonder

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Tall Bearded Iris 'TWILIGHT HARMONY'

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Twilight Harmony grows in the same garden which is the featured garden shown on the top banner of this blog. (Banner now changed) Plant grows more Border Bearded height for me but when its bloom arrives it most certainly changes the colour dynamics of the garden. Plant shows good purple bottom foliage (PBF), has moderate increase, and can have up to ten buds per bloom stalk. The breeding potential of this Iris to date has largely been ignored. Richmond Iris Gardens, Nelson, is the only commercial grower in New Zealand who listed Twilight Harmony last season





Catalogue description from Wanganui Irises 1966-67
Twilight Harmony; No introduction of recent years has greater claims to beauty and distinction than this lovely Iris novelty. The grace and glamour of the modern form of ruffling and flaring has been given to a lovely new colour combination, totally new to the iris palette. The standards are a soft clean lemon gold, whilst the falls are just as soft in colouring but a light pure heliotrope margined with honey gold. A clear lemon haft and beard brings the colours to a delightful harmony
2.5ft

1969 Checklist.
TWILIGHT HARMONY.(J Stevens R. 1964) 2-158 TB 32" M Y4V S.luminous honey gold F.light heliotrope, honey gold border; gold haft and beard. P.Cook 216-55 X Olympic Torch Wanganui 1967

The seedling from Paul Cook 216-55 was also used by Jean Stevens in her 1962 introduction "SPARKLING SEAS" this is another variety that I have recently found, positively secured its ID, and is now growing in my collection of Jeans Irises

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