A Trip Down Memory Lane - Part One

By Maggie Asplet

Well, what else is there to say? COVID19, you have a lot to answer for, in particular my not being able to travel back to see my friends in Salem and Portland, Oregon for at least another year.

Usually, at this time, I am busy planning my next visit back, which is hard to believe especially the horrific weather conditions happening in Salem (and elsewhere) right now. It is hard to believe the destruction I am reading from Facebook posts.

So here we have it, unable to travel, so this is going to be a serious and humorous look at my last trip in May 2019.

One of the things none of you will be aware of is the time we leave home (midnight) to begin our travels, which leaves us sitting for hours waiting to check-in for our flight. Here I am with my traveling companion Wendy Begbie, who has the largest iris nursery in New Zealand.

Our first stop was Hawaii, meant to be for a 3 hour stop over, but due to a problem with our tickets we missed our next flight and to our shock (tongue in cheek) and horror, had to spend a night in Honolulu.  What are two girls to do but go and explore, which we did.  In the mall we came across this amazing stand where you get to make jandals (New Zealand name for flip flops) to your hearts desire.  Never seen anything like it before.  

It might look as though I didn't indulge, I did.  My granddaughter now has my pair.

Due to our unforeseen stayover, I think it is fair to say that a couple of nights in Honolulu would not go amiss, just to see the magnificent gardens and parks.

Taken at the airport, this is sure an indication of some stunning flora and fauna to see next time.

We finally arrive at Mid America Iris Garden and Sebright Gardens just about in the middle of the night.  First thing on the agenda is to wander arounds the house display gardens, and what a picture they always are and to heck the irises, here and down the road a couple of miles in the paddock (New Zealand term for field).

Irises at last

Beautiful display gardens

Irises, yes there were plenty of those.  Here is a selection of some of my favourites.  I guess this list would sure change once I can visit again.

These are some of the SDB irises that I used and will finally get to see what I have achieved this Spring (October 2021).  In the second set of photos the unnamed image is Basket of Goodies - Black '15.

One of the chores that I like to help with was feed the chickens and visiting the fantastic peacocks, especially the white ones - just stunning.

Sebright Chickens

By arriving prior to the main tall beard irises flowering, it gave us spare time to go visiting.  One of our favourite places is Schreiner's.  How can you not love their display gardens.  Just so inspiring with the companion planting and then returning when in full bloom.

Schreiner's Display Garden

The exterior of the delightful souvenir shop - check out just how the walls of the shop are made????

THEN, we finally get to full bloom season, what a picture the place is.  Given the size of the nurseries that Thomas has, when you see if for the first time, it is rather gobsmacking awesome.

As there is still so much to show you from a wonderful trip, I am going to finish this - part one - with a photo of us (the two New Zealanders with their Australian friends) enjoying the hospitality of Iris Royalty - to me they are.

We are very fortunate to have mentors like the Schreiner Family, Thomas Johnson, Paul Black, Keith Keppel.  Fabulous times together - now we wait until we can do this again.

Black is Dramatic!

By Mel Schiller

There is nothing more alluring and mysterious than a clump of black iris. Hearing the gasps from garden visitors as they gaze in disbelief upon the sultry beauty and pure elegance of these dark magical blooms, without a doubt the black iris are a firm favourite in our garden. Here are the top 8 black Tall Bearded Iris grown at Smokin Heights.

'Coal Face' (Grosvenor 2010)

Coming in at number eight is 'Coal Face,' hybridized by Graeme Grosvenor here in Australia. A fast and easy growing variety although it is not as dark as we would like.

'Black Is Black' (Schreiner 2010)

Seventh Place is 'Black Is Black,' hybridized by Schreiner's. Stunning depth of colour but not the fastest of growers, it also has purple based foliage.

'Obsidian' (M. Smith 2002)

In sixth place is 'Obsidian,' hybridized by Marky Smith. One of the first 'black' Iris that we grew, it will always have a spot in our garden!

'Visigoth' (M. Smith 2013)

Placing fifth is 'Visigoth,' another iris hybridized by Marky Smith. A newer variety here in Australia, it has thoroughly impressed us with its growth habits and depth of colour in the blooms.

Unfortunately there are no true black Iris on the market today, they will always have a blue, purple or even red undertone to the bloom. However, with extensive hybridizing we hope to achieve a true black Iris in the future.

'All Night Long' (Duncan 2005)

Beginning the top four we have 'All Night Long,' hybridized by the late Roger Duncan. One of our favourites in this colour class, it is a late bloomer that can handle the heat without burning towards the end of our iris season.

'Black Lipstick' (Keppel 2016)

In third place is 'Black Lipstick,' hybridized by Keith Keppel. It is very good parent that has given us some good seedlings. Amazing growth and bloom habits.

'Raven Girl' (Schreiner 2008)

Placing second is 'Raven Girl,' hybridized by Schreiner's, one of the best black Iris on the market. This variety has the best colour saturation of any black iris. This would be number one if it grew a bit quicker.

'Here Comes The Night' (Schreiner 2009)

And placing first is 'Here Comes The Night,' another hybridized by Schreiner's. Amazing growth and blooms habits coupled with depth of colour makes it a winning combination. Highly recommended for the lovers of black iris!

F79-1: (Raven Girl X Visigoth)

Finally we would like to show a sneak peak of one of our black seedlings currently under evaluation. This variety is looking very promising with great growth and bloom habits and gorgeous depth of colour.

Black iris create such a dramatic effect and really are a must have in the garden. Of course as with any variety of Bearded Iris some varieties grow better than others. We much prefer to grow the early to mid season bloom varieties as our hot scorching sun can scald and burn the bud in the socket before the bloom has a chance to open. Bailey and myself are working on black iris in our hybridizing efforts and of course black is Mel's favourite colour.....

We sincerely hope everyone keeps safe and healthy in these difficult times. Gardening is music to the soul--get out and enjoy it!

On the Road Again: Schreiner’s

By Bryce Williamson

After a good night’s sleep, I started my first full day in Oregon with an early morning visit to Schreiner’s Gardens. Everyone was just waking up and setting up the garden for the arrival of visitors and I had the gardens mainly to myself for much of the early morning. I have combined images in this post from my visits to Schreiner's during the springs of 2018 and 2019.

After hearing much about him, I finally met Ray’s son, Ben. Ben is the fourth generation to be involved in the iris business and is bring a fresh prospective as Schreiner’s have now expanded into daylilies and other plants.

I find it sort of sad that Schreiner’s is really the last old fashion garden with irises integrated into the landscape with other plant materials.

Schreiner 3231-E

Schreiner A-278-2

I'm always on the outlook for selfs and we have too few good blues these days.

'Baja Blues'

'But Darling'

After a whirlwind visit here, I was on the road again to Mid America.

On the Road Again: Lauer’s Flowers

By Bryce Williamson

The saga of visiting iris gardens in Oregon and Washington continues. When I arrived at Kevin Vaughn’s, we made the executive decision to both go to see Larry and Marcy Lauer in Independence, basically just a hop and a skip away from Kevin’s. I needed directions, of course, since I had always approached their garden along the river.

'King of the Road'

Larry and Marcy lived in Wilton, California for many years and there they met Jim McWhirter and Larry starting hybridizing. On his retirement from the United States Post Office, they headed north and ended up with an acre in Independence 10 miles south-east of Salem. 

The town is charming with many of the turn of the 20^th Century buildings being renovated. It has become a bedroom community for Salem as gentrification in Salem has forced many people to live miles from the Oregon capital. From my first visit to this garden to my last, the changes in the town are striking—where there was open space around the garden, new housing is almost to the property line. You will see the change in the next picture taken last year and the image below it taken the year before.

Larry has had many awarding winning irises, but his most widely grown iris is the Dykes winning ‘Stairway to Heaven’. More recently, Larry has become increasing interested in reblooming irises and is focusing his current projects on that area. Larry has also been working a line for red amoenas, an interest of Kevin too, so they had much to talk about.

 

Larry Lauer with Kevin Vaughn in the seedling patch

In the last several years, I have greatly admired Larry’s ‘King of the Road’, but it seems to have slipped through the cracks of the American Iris Society awards. A warm, satisfying color combination, it also attracted the attention of Schreiner’s and they have it listed in their catalog. I had to look for it for two years to find plants to buy, but it is now happily growing in my garden.

 

The image is from two years ago before the two story homes went up next door.

Another Lauer introduction that is happily growing here is ‘Blinded by the Light’, a very bright and very early orange. Oddly orange colored tall bearded irises don’t seem to be in fashion these days.

'Blinded by the Light'

While I visiting mainly to see Larry's seedling and introductions, he grows many new irises and some of them that impressed me included the following three. 

'Dark Storm'--Rick Tasco

'Ocean Liner'--Keith Keppel

'Jungle Mist'--Paul Black

The last iris looks quite green in the garden and when I had a commercial nursery, I always found "green" irises sold well and were in high demand.

Among Larry's introductions and seedlings, I took pictures of the following; the first two remind me of Gaulter colors and patterns.

Lauer B-10-31

Lauer B-44-1

Lauer B-76-31

Lauer E-53-2

Lauer F-17-4

'Higher Ground'---Lauer 2019

After a too short visit to the garden, it was back on the road again. I needed a good nights sleep since I had caught an early flight from San Jose to Portland and I knew tomorrow with visits to Schreiner's and Mid America would be a long day.

Photo Essay: A Visit to Schreiner's Iris Gardens

By Mike Unser

In spring of 2018 I had the good fortune to take a day to travel to Salem, Oregon and visit the amazing Schreiner's Iris Gardens. Schreiner's is one of America's longest running commercial iris gardens, first established in 1925, and is still run by the same family. They are more than just fields of irises for sale tho - their display garden is renowned for its beauty, and is a favorite destination for iris lovers around the world. The gardens are very well thought out with companion plants that help showcase the beauty of irises in a garden setting, and I spent several hours enjoying the blooms and taking photos. I hope you'll enjoy this photographic tour of the display gardens, and if you ever get to Oregon in May do not miss your chance to experience the beauty in person. It is well worth the trip.

First up - garden shots.

I normally don't like to have people in my photos but I made an exception for this gentleman. He has the enviable job of spending the day examining the flowers and deadheading the irises to make everything look as beautiful as it can for the visitors. 

A closer look at some of the irises. Varietal names are on the photos.

A closer look at some of the companion plants.

Delphinums

A blazing red geum.

Creamy pastel peonies.

I hope you enjoyed this brief tour.