Favorite Victoria Convention Pictures

By Ron Killingsworth


The digital camera is the best thing since the microwave oven and it makes it so easy to take too many pictures and then just throw out the bad ones.  The problem is there are too many good ones!  Here are a few photos I took during the American Iris Society Convention in 2011 in Victoria, Canada.

At iris conventions, like the one taking place this week in Dallas, the attendees have the opportunity to visit numerous gardens. Many are absolutely breathtaking, and give plenty of opportunities to take photographs.

Water garden with irises at Government House, Victoria, Canada

Butchart Gardens view, Victoria, Canada

Butchart Gardens view, Victoria, Canada

As a lover of water irises, I had plenty of opportunities to enjoy them.

My sweetheart of over 50 years and wife for 47 years at a pond view in Finnerty Gardens, Victoria, Canada

Irises were not the only specimens worth looking at.  Fantastic flower beds greeted us at every garden.

Government House gardens in Victoria, Canada

Hatley Park Gardens in Victoria, Canada

Beautiful architecture and formal gardens also beckoned.

Hatley Park Gardens in Victoria, Canada

Hatley Park Gardens and buildings in Victoria, Canada

Have you been to an American Iris Society Convention?  This year is a special year for conventions because you can attend the American Iris Society convention at Dallas, TX, from April 15-20 and stay for the Society for Louisiana Irises convention in the same hotel from April 20-23.   Log on to the Iris Society of Dallas for more information on both conventions, and think about your vacation plans for 2014.

Dallas 2013 AIS Convention

By Andi Rivarola

The American Iris Society is holding its Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas, April 15 - 20, 2013 hosted by the Iris Society of Dallas.

If you have never been to an iris convention, this is an awesome chance to be in iris heaven for almost a week, featuring eight wonderful iris gardens in Dallas and the North Texas area:

• Addison Garden
• Brown Garden
• Burseen Garden
• Carver Garden
• Clark Garden
• Dallas Arboretum
• Nichols Garden
• Thompson Garden

Plus two private gardens
McDowell Garden
Perry Garden

Full registration discounts apply right now, but not after February 1st. Take advantage of advance registration. Please go to the 2013 AIS Convention website to find more details, schedule of events, more pictures and a registration form you can download and mail.

We hope to see you there!

Siberians and Species Irises: Looking Forward to June

By Renee Fraser

It was a great disappointment to those of us who love irises when the Triennial Siberian and Species Iris Convention had to be postponed for a year.  A mild winter and a record hot early spring forced all of the blooms 4-6 weeks early, so the Convention will be held in June of 2013.  As consolation, I asked  Brock Heilman, a talented photographer and member of the Michigan Iris Society, to share a few photos of the gardens to be featured on next year's trek. 

These are some of the gardens that will be available for tours at this year's convention.

Judy Hollingworth, whose husband Bob is a contributor to this blog and a famous hybridizer of Siberian irises, has created this Eden.

Hollingworth Garden

Hybridizers send their creations to gardens where the Conventions will take place, and growers and hybridizers take care of them, sometimes for several years, to assure a spectacular bloom and a wonderful show of new varieties for the convention attendees.

Guest Irises at the Kaufmann Garden

This is not your father's siberian iris!  Look at the incredible colors being created by iris hybridizers.

'Salamander Crossing' (SIB Schafer/Sacks 1999) 

Novel colors and forms of irises are on display at convention gardens.

'Lakeside Ghost' (SPEC I. laevigata Harris 2012)

Astonishing new color combinations are being developed.

'Tipped In Blue' (SIB Schafer/Sacks 2010)

Hollingworth Garden

This is just a taste of the beauty awaiting you.  We hope to see you at the Convention in June 2013.