By Bryce Williamson
The pandemic had so messed up my thinking that it was
at the end of the iris bloom season in Northern California that I realized that
it was safe to make a day trip to see a garden. And the best day for the trip
would fall on Mothers’ Day. With the far north of the state blooming a bit
later and curious about the Diana Ford’s hybridizing efforts, I set out early
on Sunday for Hopland.
'Centennial Celebration' |
The Fords built a retirement home on property that had
been owned by her grandfather. The 14 acres are surrounded by vineyards. Diana
comes naturally into irises as both her grandmother and mother grew them. When
she retired in 2012 as a computer programmer, she bought a few irises, went to
the Santa Rosa Iris Society plant sale, and we all know what happened next.
Diana and Don Ford |
These days she is growing around 4000 seedlings each year. The current focus of her hybridizing is on pinks, bicolors, olive toned flowers, and rebloomers. As she later wrote to me, “I love iris with the white standards and light within, so I’ll always look at those first. I love bright clean color. Try to work with iris that get me excited.”
178SBLB2 |
238SB6 |
167WCG1 |
323FS4 |
187RCI2 |
At the 2019 National’s blind competition of seedlings,
her seedling, now named ‘Centennial Celebration’ won. Diana explained to me
that she had not expected to introduce so soon, but winning the competition
resulted in 'Centennial Celebration' being introduced in 2020.
I not only enjoyed my visit, but also brought home some
canes of a wonderful single rose Altissimo. It was a long shot that I could
root the cuttings, but 6 out of 9 are still alive and giving me hope that they
will survive. It would be a wonderful addition to my yard. Not only were the irises of interest, but I also enjoyed the garden.
After I the visit, I took the grand tour of Hopland and then found a shady spot by the Russian River to eat my lunch. It made for a beautiful and peaceful day. It felt very good to be on the road again.
Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteLoved this story! Thank you for sharing.
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