The American Iris Society Announces the 2024 Cook-Douglas Medal Winner

 'CHEERFUL CHIPMUNK'

 The Cook-Douglas Medal is restricted to standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises. It is named in honor of Paul Cook (1891-1963) and Geddes Douglas (1902-1993). Paul Cook's work with dwarf irises was truly pioneering. His early breeding of dwarf irises led to a series of I. arenaria hybrids, the most notable being 'Keepsake,' 'Tampa,' and 'Promise.' He was the first to use the true I. pumila in his breeding programs, and this resulted in the introduction of the first of the great stud irises in the standard dwarf class: 'Baria,' 'Fairy Flax,' and 'Green Spot.'

Geddes Douglas was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1902. Douglas was a chemist and businessman. In the early 1950s, he founded the Geddes Douglas Garden Center in Nashville. He became a leader in the Tennessee Nurserymen's Association, and served a term as president of the Southern Nursery Association.

Previous awards winners can be found at: https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

Standard dwarf bearded iris 'CHEERFUL CHIPMUNK'
Photo by Jeanette Graham

'Cheerful Chipmunk' (Michael Sutton, R. 2016) Seedling AZ-595-A. SDB, 10" (25 cm), Early to midseason bloom. Standards pale butter yellow; style arms cream; Falls pale yellow, chartreuse thumbprint with beech brown veining; beard hairs based white, tips yellow; slight spicy fragrance. 'Reddy Freddie' X 'Puddy Tat'. Introduced by Sutton's Iris Gardens in 2017.

The World of Irises blog will be posting classification medal winners as soon as the hybridizers are notified. The entire list of winners, including  Award of Merit and Honorable Mention, will be published on the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.