IRISES, the Bulletin of the AIS - Fall 2015 Edition

By Andi Rivarola

A warm welcome to another wonderful issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society. As you can see from the cover below it features 2015 Dykes Medal Winner 'Gypsy Lord' by hybridizer Keith Keppel. 

The Fall 2015 issue of the AIS Bulletin is now available for online viewing within the Emembers section of the AIS website. Note: to access this area of the website you must have a current AIS Emembership. AIS Emembership is separate from the normal AIS membership. Please see the Electronic Membership Information area of the AIS website for more details.

In this edition you will enjoy the images of all 2015 AIS Award Winners, starting on page 2, including all three Wister Medal Winners, 'Money In Your Pocket' by Paul Black, 'Snapshot' by Thomas Johnson, and 'Temporal Anomaly' by Rick Tasco.

On page 7 don't miss a beautiful picture of 'Royston Rubies' by Adam Cordes, the winner of the Lloyd Zurbrigg-Clarence Mahan Cup for Best Iris Seedling at the Portland, OR Convention.  It was an exciting seedling to see doing well at most Convention gardens. 

A heartfelt note by outgoing AIS President, Jim Morris on page 9 who says Adieu fondly recollecting the many experiences, and paying homage to the people that made it possible for him to accomplish his timely mission. I enjoyed his quote by U.S. President John F. Kennedy: 

Before we can set out on the road to success, we have to know where we are going, and before we can know that we must determine where we have been in the past.

On Section Happenings on page 10, Gary White, AIS Section Cooperating Society Liaison got this report from the Society for SIberian Irises: 

A Siberian iris was the first runner-up to the Dykes Medal, after judges voting for iris awards this year. 'Swans In Flight' (Hollingworth 2006) may be the closest siberian iris to date to winning the Dykes Medal. 

The Portland Convocation was fully covered in this edition of IRISES, starting on page 12 with articles and photos by Jim Morris, from Missouri; Stephanie Markham, from Massachusetts; Ginny Spoon, from Virginia; Bonnie Nichols, from Texas; Chuck Bunnell, from Indiana; and Kate Brewitt, from Canada. 

On page 28 you will find a full list of 2015 AIS Awards. 

Read the continuation of an amazing article called "The Long Road to a New Iris in India: Part 2" awaits you on page 36.

A fantastic dedication to the passing of David Cadd (1945 - 2015), written by Jim Morris is on page 50. We will miss you David.

Lastly, don't miss news about the 2016 National Convention to be held in Newark, NJ and at The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens on page 51, with a Registration form on page 52. (FYI, the website for the convention can be found here).

There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats. If you are an AIS member know that you will receive the print edition soon (it's in the hands of the Post Office), or if you are an e-member, then that version is already available online as mentioned above. 

Happy gardening!