The American Iris Society Announces the 2022 Dykes Medal Winner

'FOOTBALL HERO'

First awarded in 1927, the Dykes Medal is the highest award of the American Iris Society (AIS). It is named for William Rickatson Dykes (1877-1925) and is awarded to no more than one iris per year. Irises are eligible as a Dykes medal candidate for three years following the winning of a classification medal. Only AIS registered judges may vote. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

Tall bearded iris 'FOOTBALL HERO' 
photo by Carl Boro

 'Football Hero' (Lynda Miller, R. 2014). Seedling# 8010A. TB, 36" (91 cm). Midseason bloom. Standards butter yellow; style arms same, accented violet; falls plum-purple, pale smoky orchid edged; beards gold; slight musky fragrance. 'Hoosier Dome' X 'Saturn'. Salmon Creek 2015.

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.

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Williamson-White Medal Winners

'MOOSE TRACKS' and 'HOOSIER BELLE'

The Williamson White Medal is restricted to miniature tall bearded (MTB) irises. It is named in honor of E. B. Williamson (1877-1933), his daughter Mary Williamson (1909-1987) and Alice White (1886-1969). Although others had introduced irises that fit into the miniature tall bearded iris class before Williamson, he and his daughter were the first to breed them as cultivars in a distinctive class of irises. They were apparently byproducts of breeding for tall bearded irises. In the early 1950's, Alice White of Hemet, California began a crusade to gain recognition of the assets of these wonderful smaller irises. She organized table iris robins and wrote many articles for the AIS Bulletin and gardening magazines promoting their virtues.

Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, two medals will be award in this area. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

 

 MOOSE TRACKS (Lynda Miller)

'Moose Tracks' (Lynda Miller, R. 2014) Seedling #2010E. MTB, 18"-20" (46-51 cm). Midseason to late bloom. Standards medium gold, veined smoky plum; style arms gold, smoky plum accents; falls black veined over white becoming solid maroon-black at bottom of petal; beards dark gold. Seedling #104A, unknown X 'Rayos Adentro'. Salmon Creek 2015. 

HOOSIER BELLE (Charles Bunnell)

'Hoosier Belle' (Charles Bunnell, R. 2011) Seedling #G30-5. MTB, 20-22 (5136 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards light lilac lavender, sometimes aging to near white; style arms very light lavender; falls dark violet, prominent white hafts extending midway, distinctive white rim; beards white; slight spicy fragrance. Seedling #D21-2: ('Oshel Blue' x 'Lucky Mistake') X unknown.

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 in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

 

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Wister Medal Winners

'FOOTBALL HERO' - 'DON'T DOUBT DALTON'

'BELLE FILLE' - 'VOLCANIC GLOW' 

'BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS' - 'DON'T STOP BELIEVING' 

The Wister Medal is restricted to tall bearded (TB) irises. It is named in honor of John C. Wister (1887-1982). Three medals are awarded each year. Editor’s Note: Due to the pandemic last year, the American Iris Society Board of Directors suspended garden awards. As a result, and for only this year, six medals will be award in this area. Previous awards winners can be found at https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoAwards.

John C. Wister led the organizing meeting that created the American Iris Society and became its first president, a position he held for fourteen years. He guided the society through its formative years. He was widely recognized as a man of rare management skill, leadership ability, and the highest ethical standards. R. S. Sturtevant wrote of him: "Probably few current members realize that the AIS started through the efforts and initiative of one man, John C. Wister...."

'FOOTBALL HERO' (Lynda Miller)

'Football Hero' (Lynda Miller, R. 2014). Seedling# 8010A. TB, 36" (91 cm). Midseason bloom. Standards butter yellow; style arms same, accented violet; falls plum-purple, pale smoky orchid edged; beards gold; slight musky fragrance. 'Hoosier Dome' X 'Saturn'. Salmon Creek 2015.

'DON'T DOUBT DALTON' (Tom Burseen)

'Don't Doubt Dalton' (Tom Burseen, R. 2014). Seedling# 011-297A. TB, 35" (89 cm). Early to late bloom. Standards pure white, red-purple random splattering; style arms white, washed gold; falls pure white, yellow-gold washed hafts, random dark purple splatters; beards poppy orange (RHS 32A), tattered and feathered white horns, gold stems; flared and ruffled; slight sweet fragrance. 'Miles Keith' X seedling# 09-79: (seedling# 07-167: ('Sammie's Jammies' x 'Enchanter') x 'McSeedman Sees Red'). Burseen 2015.

'BELLE FILLE' (Marky Smith)

'Belle Fille' (Marky Smith, R. 2011). Seedling 08-05B. TB, 34" (86 cm). Early to late bloom. Standards hyacinth violet (RHS 87A), primrose ruffled edge and base; style arms cream edged and rimmed yellow, crests lilac touched yellow; falls Vatican purple (83A), thin cream edge, cream white area surrounding beard, rudimentary luminata cream veining just below white heart, surrounded in turn by 1/4" bright yellow ring bleeding out to brown shoulder, small white dart below beard; beards white base, hairs tipped yellow at end becoming solid golden poppy-orange (25A) in throat; heavily ruffled, luminata pattern; pronounced sweet fragrance. Seedling 06-23L. Salmon Creek 2015.

'VOLCANIC GLOW' (Keith Keppel)

'Volcanic Glow' (Keith Keppel, R. 2011) Seedling 05-78B. TB, 36" (91 cm), Midseason bloom. Standards aureolin (M&P 10-L-2), central area flushed cedarwood (6-G-10); style arms aureolin, slight cedarwood flush; falls Zanzibar red (8-L-5), velvety wash, narrow aureolin edge; white heart and dart below beard, heart edged bright golden lemon (9-L-2/3); beards white base, tips golden lemon; luminata. 'Montmartre' X 'Lip Service'. Keppel 2012.

'BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS' (Paul Black)

'Bluebird Of Happiness' (Paul Black, R. 2011). Seedling# P218B. TB, 45" (114 cm). Midseason to very late bloom. Standards dark base and midribs blending to mid blue edges, darker blue textured veins over upper 2/3; style arms mid blue; falls mid blue fading to pale blue, darker at edge, mid blue textured veins; beards orange; pronounced sweet fragrance. Blyth seedling# N24-5, 'Blue Rising' sibling X 'Paul Black'. Mid-America 2012.

'DON'T STOP BELIEVING' (Thomas Johnson)

'Don't Stop Believing' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2013) Seedling TA80A. TB, 42 (107 cm). Late bloom. Standards and style arms clear mid pink; falls milk glass white, pink hafts and edge; beards salmon-pink in middle, lilac-blue end; sweet fragrance; ruffled; lightly laced. Seedling TW3A: ('Ballet Royale' x 'Corps de Ballet') X 'Secret Affair'. Mid-America 2013.

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 in the AIS website, the AIS Encyclopedia, and later in the AIS Bulletin, IRISES.

A Trip Down Memory Lane - Part Two

 By Maggie Asplet

Gosh, it seems like only yesterday and I was writing part one.  So, on with the rambles from an old lady.

Part one had us visiting other places and not just spending all our time at Mid-America Iris Gardens.  Mind you, we didn't mind not leaving, but just so many irises to see and you can never look at them too many times.

A beautiful sunset from the paddock down the road from where Thomas & Kirk live.

(Paddock is Kiwi speak for field.)

The learning experiences, the sharing of knowledge, or perhaps I should say listening to the experts knowledge, is just so invaluable, and just shows you how "so little I know".

Something that some might thing rather trivial can be of great value to another person.  Photos do make explaining yourself to someone else so much easier.  During my last trip I took particular notice of the watering system Thomas used and what connections etc.

Watering system at Mid America

My watering system.  The fitting are much the same and I must say having the picture from my trip sure made it easier when trying to explain what I wanted.

For me, the very best part is learning from others.  Others that were always so willing to share their knowledge and experiences.  

First, I will look at the work of Lynda Miller and her work with MTB's.  They are stunning, just such a delicate bearded iris on such elegant stems.  I think it is fair to say that these are perhaps my favourite of the bearded irises.

Lynda discussing irises with Bailey (from Smokin Heights, Australia)

Here we have 3 of Lynda's seedlings

One of Lynda's registered MTB's.

A sight to behold, watching Keith Keppel evaluate his irises, then discussing with him why he makes the choices he does.  So very talented when it comes to hybridising.  Those years of experience tells him just what the outcome "may be" like, whereas I am still in the category of not knowing at all.

His iris patch, although it decreases in size each time I visit is just amazing.  If it were me having to make a choice of which seedling to keep, I think they would all be staying.

Photo on the left is Keith evaluating his seedlings

One the right you have Wendy (NZ) and Melissa (Australia) taking photos in Keith seedling patch.

I feel that to stop speaking about these different people is like not acknowledging them at all and there are still more that have had an impact on my irises and what I am trying to achieve.  I feel like there is a part 3 coming, as I would also like to just talk a little about attending the Regional meetings.

Each trip that I make, I always try and attend the Regional meeting in Oregon as there are many people there that I met in my first ever trip in 2015 when 23 New Zealanders went to Convention.  So many great friends were made.

From these friendships and from one person introducing another, we had the privilege of Patrick and Margaret Spence coming to our convention (Gisborne, New Zealand) in 2018.  Such a great time and then great to catch up with them again in the States.

While Margaret was here, she liked a top I had and wanted to know where I got it.  To cut the long story short, she now has a top the same as mine.  I had packed mine, never told Margaret - Guess what happened at the Regional Meeting.

I'm the one wearing glasses, oh we both are.  I'm the one with the cell phone in my hand.

This now leads me into the attending Regional Meetings and as this will be expanded quite a bit, I think this will be a good place to end.

SO, Part 3 it will be, covering some of the other amazing people and the Regional Meeting.

It is my great hope that 2022 will see the return of us from down under.

On the Road Again: The Miller Garden, Canby

By Bryce Williamson

Those of you who read The World of Irises on a regular basis know that I am a firm believer in garden visits. Yes, I know we have gotten older and in my case slower, but visiting gardens is so important in a time of high prices for newer irises. By visiting gardens, I find the irises that I like and irises that are growing well as garden plants.

The season’s On the Road Again posts will be about Oregon and Washington and I am going to cheat, combining information in the post about the gardens and what I saw in the last two years.

Flying into Portland from San Jose (who would have thought at 6:30 AM flight would be full?) I picked up the car and headed first to Lynda and Roger Miller’s garden in Canby. I had written Lynda that I was coming up and she wisely told me not to take the freeway to the connection to I-5 and instead drop down on the Old Portland Highway and it was perfect—traffic flowed smoothly and I cut at least a half hour off my time.

Lynda and Roger have put down new roots in Oregon after their move from the Midwest. And the garden is a joy not just for the irises, but all the other plant materials integrated into landscape. They also sell a wide variety of perennials and conifers. 

Lynda Miller

Lynda has seedlings in all classes of bearded irises ranging from dwarfs to tall bearded. Lynda is well known as a successful hybridizer of both diploid and tetraploid miniature tall bearded irises. Her ‘Moose Tracks’ is gathering lots of votes from AIS judges.

'Bingo Marker'

Miller 13918

Miller 4118-B

Lynda also has some fine tall bearded irises. Her 'Football Hero' was the top Award of Merit winner on this years AIS awards list. 

'Football Hero'

Among her irises, I liked the following.

'Amazon Queen' has a huge flower and it is not a flashy color, but I am planning to add it to the collection next year because I believe it is one of those varieties that will grow on me as I see it from day to day.

'Amazon Queen'

A personal favorite of mine is her 'Ninja Warrior'. When I heard the color combination of rose-pink standards and black falls, I thought, "This cannot work." But it does.

I like and hybridize pink plicatas, so I really like her 'Blushing Grapes' with its pink ground; many of the other Region 13 hybridizers are working on orange grounds, but I think pink compliments the plicata edging. This is another iris on the want list for 2020.

Lynda is also working with space age irises. She is keenly aware of the potential faults of this popular class of irises and working to create flowers that do not have those faults.

'Love in the Air'

Miller 1716B

Miller 4817C

Miller 5918

'Cookie Crisp'

As one might expect in Region 13, Lynda grows many new things from hybridizers. Here are a few things that have impressed me the last few years.

'Dancing Days' (Keppel)

Strangely, we do not have a lot of good reds these days, but Terry Aitken's 'Red Triumph' was looking good in the Miller garden.

'Red Triumph'

'Colors of the Wind' (Blyth)

Lauer 62-2

After my whirlwind visit to the garden, I headed south to the Keppel garden in Salem and that will be the subject of the next On the Road Again post. Stay tuned.

AMERICAN IRIS SOCIETY 2017 AWARDS 'MOOSE TRACKS' Walther Cup

By Susanne Holland Spicker

Please join with us in congratulating Lynda Miller as The Fred and Barbara Walther Cup 2017 American Iris Society Award recipient, for 'MOOSE TRACKS' (MTB). This award is for the most Honorable Mention votes in any iris category. 

 'MOOSE TRACKS' (Lynda Miller 2015) Photo by Salmon Creek

This exciting miniature tall  bearded iris (MTB) is described in the AIS Wiki as follows:

'MOOSE TRACKS' (Lynda Miller 2015) MTB 18-20" Mid-season bloom. Standards medium gold, veined smokey plum; style arms gold, smokey plum accents; falls black veined over white becoming solid maroon-black at bottom of petal; beards dark gold. Salmon Creek 2015. Ben Hagar Cup 2015, Fred and Barbara Walther Cup 2017.

'MOOSE TRACKS' (Lynda Miller 2015) Photo by Salmon Creek

Thank you, Lynda, for this delightful little beauty!

For a complete list of all the American Iris SOciety's 2017 Awards, please visit http://wiki.irises.org/

Interested in miniature tall beardeds?  Please visit the Median Society's websit