A View from Russia of Gypsy Lord and Children

I am glad to welcome all fans of irises! My name is Sergey Stroganov, and I live in the South of Russia (USDA zone 6B). In our country, there are a lot of fans of beautiful flowers, and many of these gardens grow bearded irises. The most popular iris in those gardens is tall bearded, which are grown from 3 to 8 zones. Here and in my garden I grow mostly tall bearded irises. I am very grateful for the kind offer to blog, and my first photo post I want to devote to all known variety of iris 'Gypsy Lord' and varieties obtained with his participation, which are more than 90 (in our I garden grow some of them).

So- 'Gypsy Lord' (Keith Keppel, 2005) - a posh iris, winner of honorary reviews and medals - Honorable Mention 2008; Franklin Cook Cup 2008; Award of Merit 2010; Wister Medal 2015, American Dykes Medal 2015! Conspicuous long bright beard, contrasting falls, good shape and branching and great growth. In the spring, before budding, thanks to its advanced growth of green mass it is pleasing to the eye.

Now presenting irises with Gypsy Lord as a parent.

Largely inherited the qualities of a parent - 'Brilliant Idea', Keith Keppel, 2008 (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X 02-185D: (Restless Heart x Queen's Circle)): the same long beard, only orange; shaded edge on the falls and abundant and powerful growth:

Iris  ‘Giorgio’ Paul Black, 2013 (Parentage: Kiss of Passion X Gypsy Lord) – excellent shape, contrast and good growth:   

  

Iris 'Royal Orders' Barry Blyth, 2008 (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Decadence) – a direct descendant of two legendary masterpieces:   

                

A very effective amoena with contrasting beards, 'Snaparazzi' Barry Blyth, 2011 (Parentage: Legerdemain X Gypsy Lord):

Dramatic neglecta with contrasting beards: 'Honourable Lord’ Barry Blyth, 2009  (Parentage: Legerdemain X Gypsy Lord):

The next sample of beauty is the neglecta 'Big Spender' Barry Blyth, 2014 (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Keppel 04-71D: (98-181E, Naughty Nights sib, x Decadence), wide, very ruffled flower with a deep, rich color:

Iris 'Girls Got Rhythm', Barry Blyth, 2013 with a long parent list (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Keppel 05-114A: (01-99A: (96-28B, Mysterious Ways sib, x 98-122A: (Shoop 91-26: (Summer Fashion x Coming up Roses) x Lotus Land)) x Decadence)). As you can see, Gypsy Lord was good as a parent plant and as a parent.

A contrasting iris with gold edging on the standards, looking very rich  is 'King's Reign’ Thomas Johnson, 2015 (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Edge of Heaven):

Next, I would like to Supplement my post with some wonderful photos of other Russian collectors in order to further expand the picture of the ideas about irises that came from the Gypsy Lord.

Frequently requested variety - 'Colour Bazaar' Barry Blyth, 2012 (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Carnival Capers); the color of the flower resembles the color of a tropical butterfly! Photo by Victoria Myrova in her garden:  
  

Iris 'Paris Memory' Barry Blyth,2013 (Parentage: Let's Romp X Gypsy Lord). Photo by Victoria Myrova in her garden:

Repeatedly attracting the eye iris – ‘Tango Express’ Barry Blyth, 2010   (Parentage: Gypsy Lord X Keppel 02-177XY: (Brave Face x Parisian Dawn):

And, finally, one of the varieties of the Russian hybridizer – 'Kozyrny Tuz' Olga Riabykh, 2011. Bright, memorable, good and abundant growth.

Photo by Nadezhda Zotova in her garden. All other images by the author.

Photomontages of our 2016 Tall Bearded Irises

by Dawn Mumford

'Dazzling Gold' D. C. Anderson, 1977, 'Broadway' Keith  Keppel, 1979,  'Showcase' Schreiner's, 1973

'Orange Titan' J. T. Aitken, 2007, 'All My Dreams' Paul Black, 2009, 'Winning Hand' Joseph Ghio, 2011,'Barbara My Love' William Maryott, 1998, and 'Orangutan Orange' Brad Kasperek 2009 

I was a commercial artist in a past life (before marriage) and have always understood "Collages" to be pasted and glued objects fixed to a background to make a somewhat new abstract design. So strictly speaking what I make is really a "Photomontage" because it is digital pasting of similar objects together to make a new photo. The software I use calls it a collage but that isn't correct. It may be called collage because of the evolution of the English language. But back in my day it would be called a photomontage.

'Purple Pepper' D. C. Nearpass, 1986, 'Syrian Hills' Schreiner's, 2012, and 'Global Crossing' Robert Van Liere, 2011

This year I took pictures every day of the many irises that opened that day.  The pictures above were taken May 13, 2016.  Then I made montages of them.  I find these montages to be good in many ways.

1.  The montage is taken on the day the blooms open so it records bloom date.

2. I try to group the photos for the montage in colors that could later be used to plan iris beds.  
3. I know that I can use these irises in a single bed because I know they open at the same time.   

'Sea Of Joy' Schreiner's, 1985, 'Decadence' Barry Blyth, 2011, 'Gypsy Lord' Keith Keppel, 2005, 'Showcase' Schreiner's 1973, and 'Tumalo Sunset' Schreiner's  2009. 

This montage shows colors opposite each other on the color wheel so that is called a complimentary color scheme.  Using colors that are across each other in the color wheel will give you maximum contrast because orange will make the purple look darker and vica versa.  

'Master Touch' Schreiner's, 1980, 'Sea Power' Keith Keppel, 1998, 'St. Louis Blues' Schreiner's, 1979, 'Crowned Heads' Keith Keppel, 1996, and 'Snowmound' Schreiner's, 1976

This montage was taken May 31, 2016.   Sometimes some of my irises put out more than one open bloom at a time.  I love the effect. The visual appeal is dramatic. The one trouble is that they will all close together as well. This color scheme is called Analogous meaning they are colors close to each other on the color wheel. 

'Gay Parasol' Schreiner's, 1973, 'Polka' Thomas Johnson, 2009, 'Eagle's Flight' Schreiner's, 1985,'Elizabethan Age' Lowell Baumunk 2005

These flowers bloomed on May 14.  I guess you could say thy all are in one color family (red violet) but they are all subtly different or dramatically different. Again, I think a bed with these colors in it would be pretty. If you wanted more contrast you could add a yellow or an orange or pink.     

'Queen In Calico' James Gibson, 1979 'Vizier' Joseph Ghio, 1997, 'Fashion Diva'  Thomas Johnson, 2009, 'Romantic Gentleman' Barry Blyth, 2002, and 'Grand Classic' Richard Tasco, 2007

Arranging these photos together in a montage shows the slight difference in color of all these red wine colored irises.

'Modern Classic' F. Knocke, 1975, 'Highland Lord' Richard Tasco, 2009, 'Pledge Allegiance' Schreiner's, 1983, 'By Dawn's Early Light' Robert Van Liere, 2013, 'Blutique' Virginia Messick, 1998

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of purples and blues in the iris world but that doesn't mean that they look the same.  The picture above shows some of the differences. 

'Sea Power' Keith Keppel, 1998, 'Grecian Sea' Anton Mego by Bruce Filardi, 2008, 'Slovak Prince' Anton Mego, 2002, 'Conjuration' Monty Byers, 1988, 'Skywalker' Schreiner's, 1996, 'Like Wow' Schreiner's, 2012

More blues and purples taken May 26, 2016. An interesting note about 'Conjuration', it is at least 50" tall here in our garden.    

'Salzburg Echo' Schreiner's, 2009, 'Overjoyed' Joseph Gatty by Keith Keppel, 1993, 'Expose' Joseph Ghio, 2003 

I don't have a lot of yellows but I love the ones that I have.  

'Batik' (Border Bearded) Allan Ensminger, 1985, 'Millennium Falcon' Brad Kasperek, 1998, 'Kinkajou Shrew' Brad Kasperek, 1999, 'Ocelot'z Lot' (Border Bearded) Brad Kasperek, 2012, 'Blutique' Virginia Messick, 1998, and 'Tiger Honey' Brad Kasperek, 1993,

I have started collecting "Broken Color" iris like those pictured above.  I find them fascinating.  I now have about 29 of them. 

There are many software programs that you can use to make collages or more correctly photomontages.  The one I use is no longer available but a search on line reveals lots and lots of programs that work. Smilebox and Shutterfly both have one.  

I have found collages or photomontages to be extremely useful as explained previously in this blog. Give them a try. Let me know if you do them and which software you have. How well does it work and how easy is it to use? If you comment on this article it will let others know what other software is out there and tell me and others who read this blog about it.      

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!

TALL BEARDED IRIS, MY FAVORITE PURPLES, PART ONE

by Dawn Mumford 

Purple is the symbol of royalty and wealth.  It also represents wisdom and spirituality.  Since it does not often occur in nature, it can sometimes appear exotic or artificial.

Here are some of my very favorite purple irises:

'Paul Black' (Johnson, 2002) HM 2005, AM 2007 and Dykes Medal in 2010; 'Feature Attraction'  (Schreiner, 1994), Winner of the 1994 President's Cup at the American Iris Society National Convention in Portland Oregon; 'Poem Of Ecstasy' (Hager, 1997)  HM 1999, AM 2001; 'Stepping Out' (Schreiner, 1964)  HM 1965, AM 1967, and Dykes Medal in 1968; 'Magic Man' (Blyth, 1979); 'Allegiance' (Cook, 1958)  HM 1958, AM 1960 and Dykes Medal 1964; 'Like Wow' (Schreiner, 2012); 'Glistening Icicle' (Maryott, 1982) HM 1986; 'Gypsy Lord' (Keppel, 2006) HM 2008, AM 2010 and Wister Medal 2012.

According to the the ProFlower Blog, "the iris’s history is rich, dating back to Ancient Greek times when the Greek goddess Iris, the messenger of the gods and the personification of the rainbow, acted as the link between heaven and earth. Purple irises were planted over the graves of women to summon the goddess to guide the dead in their journey. Ancient Egyptian kings marveled in the iris’s exotic nature, and drawings have been found of the flower in a number of Egyptian palaces. During the Middle Ages, the meaning of irises became linked to the French monarchy, and the fleur-de-lis eventually became the recognized national symbol of France. From their earliest years, irises were used to make perfume and as a medicinal remedy. Today, they are primarily seen in gardens, in bouquets, and in the wild all over the world." 

 Fleur-de-lis

I love purples of every hue and shade. I have so many favorite purple irises that I will have to present them in two parts, like I did with my favorite pinks.  Click Here (Part 1) and Here (Part 2) to review the pink blogs. 

In some of my beds, I like to plant similar colors together to get greater color impact.  It is also fun to compare the different subtle shades of purple. For instance, look at all the rose coloring that is in 'Theatre' compared to 'River Hawk' behind it.  To the right of 'Theatre', look at all the blue in 'Rare Treat' compared to 'Stepping Out':

  

This method of planting in a single color block can create problems, though.  If two plants are too much alike and you plant them next to each other then eventually you may not know which is which.  I had 'River Hawk' and 'Tropical Night' next to each other and I have a difficult time telling the difference. 'Tropical Night' was introduced by Schreiner in 1970 and nine years later Plough introduced 'River Hawk'.  He used 'Tropical Night' as the "pollen parent" so no wonder they are so much alike. Here they are in my garden:

'Tropical Night' (Schreiner, 1970)

'River Hawk' (Plough, 1979)

Some of my favorites were gifts from friends:

'Angelique' (Batson, 1961)

I tried to find 'Angelique' on the American Iris Societies WIKI but couldn't.  I love its orchid coloring and it grows well for us in zone 6b.  I was given a rhizome by my friend's sister, a woman who started collecting many years before I got my start in the mid '80s. 

'Boysenberry Buttercup' (Lauer, 1997)

Another friend gave me a rhizome of 'Boysenberry Buttercup' and it is a very nice iris.  I like how it looks in a vase, where it compliments my maroon carpeting.  

Other favorites include 'Into the Night': a fine example of a rich royal purple color. 

'Into The Night' (Schreiner, 1989)

The catalog lists 'Versailles' as a blue but I also see shades of lavender.  The flaming orange beards are a wonderful complementary contrast.  

'Versailles' (Keppel, 2007) 'Rhinelander' is a great iris to have in your garden.  It grows vigorously, it has good color and substance.  Someone said to me that they liked it because as it ages it is still pretty because it almost looks "antique".   'Rhinelander'  (Schreiner, 2006)

Notice how both old and new 'Rhinelander' blossoms are beautiful.

This is our "share" iris garden.  These are the extras that we plant here away from all the others so that when friends come to see the irises they can dig some up and take some home from these "share" rows. (We don't sell or mail irises).

 'Rondo' (Schreiner, 1972)

'Conjuration' (Byers, 1989)

'Conjuration' won HM in 1991 and AM in 1994, the Wister Medal in 1998 and the Dykes Medal in 1998.

My mother loved purple, my three sisters and an aunt love purple, and I guess it must be in the blood because I love purple.  

I wear purple, I decorate with purple, and the carpeting in my bedroom is plum colored.  I even have a purple and lime green Christmas tree!

Do you have a favorite color of iris?  Are there some colors that you don't like?

Every time I exclaim that I love a particular iris my husband says "Dawn, let's face it, you love all iris."    He is right, but I love purple just a little more.