Joe Gatty's Iris of Lovely Form

 By Bryce Williamson

Sometimes, when an iris hybridizer dies, too quickly his or her irises drop out of commerce and the last introductions often fail to get awards. Paul Cook did win the Dykes the year after his death, and Monty Byers is a huge exception—three posthumous Dykes Medals.  There are others, however, who are not as well remembered, so I would like to tell you about two Region 14 hybridizers who I miss. This post is on Joe Gatty.

Joe Gatty was a New Jersey transplant to Northern California. He first had success as a hybridizer when his white tall bearded iris 'Friendship' won the President's Cup.  Until his death, Joe produced lovely things from what was really a small seedling patch. Mary Dunn remarked that Gatty irises can be viewed in black and white because they are studies in form. 

Joe Gatty (Photo courtesy of Keith Keppel)

Joe was also an accomplished breeder of median irises. While I am focusing on his tall bearded iris,  I must mention that the famous 'Gingerbread Man' has a Gatty seedling as one parent; and 'Rare Edition', an IB plicata, still looks good and sells well today. The story of Joe's medians, however, must wait for another day.

Just before moving to California in 1969, Joe explained to me how he had made many out crosses (crosses between two named varieties from other hybridizers) wanting to get some new blood into his hybrids. Keith Keppel explains that "Liz Aulicky had offered use of her land to grow seedlings, so seedlings from his 1967 New Jersey crosses were planted at Liz's in 1968.  His 1968 seeds were sent to me and were planted in California, lined out in 1969.  When he arrived in California in 1969, that year's crosses were made on what I was growing....it was with great trepidation that he used such 'tender California stuff' as 'Launching Pad' and 'New Moon', because he figured the seedlings would not be hardy back east.  We had to twist his arm to get him to put 'White Lightning' on the market.  Also in 1969, Liz sent what she had selected from the seedlings blooming from his 1967 seed crop.   'Princess', 'Liz', 'Shining Light', 'Vamp' and 'Hooray' were amongst her selections."  

Here are a few examples of his wonderful pinks through the years.

'Princess'

'Chanteuse'

'Playgirl'

'Paradise'

At last spring's Clara B. Rees Iris Society show, there was a wonderful stalk of 'Fashion Statement', also out of his pink breeding:

'Fashion Statement' Photo by Riley Probst

Every time that I see a lovely pink iris, I always judge them against the Gatty pink standard.  Near the end of his life, Joe released 'Haute Couture', and with its pleated ruffling, it suggested a different direction in form.  To date, it is the only variety that I know with this distinctive deep pleating way down into the falls.  

'Haute Couture'

Joe's first California native Tall Bearded iris was 'White Lightning' and quickly he took the line forward with increasingly lovely creations. Some of the 'White Lightning' children are pictured below.

'White Lightning'  Photo by Keppel

'Lemon Punch'

'Dream Affair'

Joe was not all soft colors, as the next two pictures indicate:

'Finalist'

'Show Biz'

Along the line Joe had some good golds, though they did not seem to attract as much attention as his other colors.

'Bold Gold'

Joe was also generous. He would share pollen and plants, and two of my introductions had a Gatty seedling a parent.

'Gauguin' (Williamson)--from a Gatty seedling

Despite his years in California, Joe never lost his charming New Jersey accent, and he maintained his eye for lovely form.  One of Joe's great successes was the white 'Friendship', and one of his loveliest irises still in commerce today is the deeply ruffled white, 'Arctic Express'.  Who needs color with form like this?

'Arctic Express' Photo by Superstition Iris Garden

Although I still grow many of Joe Gatty's irises of lovely form,  I failed to get his delicious recipe for cheesecake, which I regret to this day.  

Editor's Note:  Do you grow any of Gatty's lovely irises? How about you East Coasters?

My Favorite Louisiana (LA) Irises

By Ron Killingsworth


Iris lovers are always asking me to name my favorite iris. That is hard to do when you have so many. I have never been able to pin it down to just one favorite so I though I would share with you some of the irises that are in the running.

'Amber River' by Richard Sloan (1984)

I'll start with an iris by Richard Sloan, a close friend in Bossier City, LA, who has produced many beautiful irises.   'Amber River' has nice colors, is a good garden iris, and I really like the form and the style arms.

'Atchafalaya' by Farron Campbell (1988)

Farron Campbell is a former president of the Society for Louisiana Irises and hybridized many exceptional irises.  I like 'Atchafalaya' (Ugh chaf ugh lie ugh) because of the "Louisiana" name and the "cartwheel" form, as well as the vivid color.  It also has a "halo" around the edge of the petals. We have a large bed of this iris and when it is in bloom it really puts on a show.

'Creole Can Can' by Marvin Granger (1956)

Marvin Granger discovered a cartwheel form iris in the wild in the marshes of south LA and collected it.  He crossed the iris and produced several more "cartwheel form" irises.  I really like the name 'Creole Can Can' and the beautiful blue color of the iris.  You will seldom find two blooms of this iris that are the same. Another beautiful cartwheel form by Marvin is 'Starlite Starbrite', a really nice white iris.

'Creole Rhapsody' by Joe Mertzweiller (1998)

Joe Mertzweiller was a college professor and he hybridized over thirty registered LA irises.  If someone held a gun to my head and said "pick a favorite iris or die!" I would have to pick 'Creole Rhapsody' because it has huge blooms and the coloring is just out of this world! Of course the name is just right for a LA iris.

'Edna Claunch' by Harry Wolford (2004)

The iris 'Edna Claunch' has won many awards and is truly a lovely veined lime green iris, tending to fade to a lovely yellow.Edna Claunch (the real person) is a member of the board of the Society for Louisiana Irises and lives in Rochester, NY, where she was part of a group that planted a mass of LA irises in a friendship garden.  It amazes me that these LA irises spend their winter under many feet of snow.  Harry Wolford, the hybridizer of this iris, is a retired educator and lives in Palm Bay, FL.  Harry is past president of SLI.

'Enviable' by M. D. Faith (2002)

M. D. Faith is retired, and living in a small town near Little Rock, AR.  He has produced many beautiful LA irises and is a long time member of SLI.  This iris has some unusual colors and is really an eye catcher in the garden.

'Extra Dazzle' by Heather Pryor (2003)

Heather Pryor and her husband Bernard have produced many beautiful LA irises from their commercial iris garden in Australia.  I love the "sun ray" spray and signals on all the petals.  The lime style arms really stand out.

'Flash Harry' by Penny Davis (2008)

Penny Davis is another Australian hybridizer and although she has introduced only a few irises in the US, she has many of her hybridized irises growing in her native country.  This is just a lovely colored (coloured) iris that is sort of wine red.

'Gertie Butler' by Charles Arny (1989)

Charles Arny produced over 130 registered LA irises during his life-time.  He won many awards for his irises and was a charter member of SLI.  This iris has a beautiful white spray pattern on the falls.  Another iris with this pattern is 'C'est Si Bon' (J. C. Tayor, 1983), which is a little darker color than 'Gertie Butler'.

'Heather Pryor' by J. C. Taylor (1993)

J. C. Taylor, another hybridizer from Australia, registered over 200 LA irises.  He named this beautiful pink iris for his fellow Australian hybridizer, Heather Pryor.  This iris is definitely in my top 10!

'Honey Star' by Janet Hutchinson (1991)

I have a large clump of 'Honey Star' and it puts on a show for me every spring. Janet Hutchinson also lives in Australia and has hybridized and registered over 30 LA irises.

'Hope and Glory' by Richard Sloan (2008)

We have been growing and introducing irises registered by Richard Sloan and have enjoyed seeing his latest irises each spring.  I love the name 'Hope and Glory' and the flower is really a beauty with the white standards.

'Kentucky Thoroughbred' by W. Bruner (2002)

I am not really acquainted with Mr. Bruner but I love this tetraploid iris.  The spray pattern around the signals is a feature I enjoy in irises.  There are not many tetraploid LA irises and this one stands out in the garden.

'Mighty Rich' by Charles Arny (1982)

'Mighty Rich' is a beautiful large iris with an eye catching signal. It may be an oldie but it is still a goodie!

'Our Parris' by C. Carroll (1987)

I am not familiar with C. Carrol but think she is also from Australia.  I love this iris because of the unusual color which is registered as "cream ground with peach to dusty peach overtones."



So, friends, I ask you, how can anyone decide that one of these irises is prettier than the others?   See if you can pick yourself a "favorite" from the irises here and leave a comment about why you like this one so much.

To learn more about irises of all sizes, shapes and descriptions, visit the web site of the American Iris Society or visit the Iris Encyclopedia to view many more pictures of irises.

The Iris at the End of the Rainbow: the Favorites of Ginny Spoon

By Renee Fraser

Traditionally, men arrive for a first date with flowers. Don Spoon brought Ginny just the pollen! And so at their first dinner date in 1993, Ginny made her first iris cross, 'Zurich' X 'Chaste White', using pollen from Don's garden. The match produced offspring:  Ginny's first iris introduction, 'Autumn Ivory'.

Does it get any more romantic than that?

Don and Ginny Spoon are the owners of Winterberry Gardens in Cross Junction, Virginia. Their gardens are in USDA zone 6, 1100 feet above sea level. The main problem in their climate is the extreme temperature shifts. Spring temperatures might go from the mid 80's in the daytime to 25 at night! Those of you gardening under these conditions know that this can pose challenges for growing irises, because they may begin to bloom and still be vulnerable to frost.

Don started hybridizing as a youngster, over 60 years ago, along with his mother, Lilla Spoon, who was president of the Charlotte, North Carolina Iris Society at the time. Don majored in biology, earning his Ph.D. and taught at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. for over 22 years. He established a lovely garden there, which is still maintained by the staff at Georgetown. Don also discovered a previously unknown organism and published a scientific paper and got to name it [Euhyperamoeba biospherica]. Ginny earned a degree in horticulture, and she says "so of course, the biologist and the horticulturalist are always arguing over who is right about what to do in the garden, but we manage to do it without too much bloodshed."

Don and Ginny worked at the Biosphere 2 in Arizona when they were first married. He helped design the ocean and was in charge of it for two years. Ginny went along for the ride, but ended up taking care of the Intensive Agricultural Biome for three months so the manager could visit his family in Nepal. They planted quite a few irises around the Biosphere 2, where they still grow today.

One of Ginny's favorite introductions is Don's 'Little John'. Ginny says "Don took me out to a large planting of his seedlings in Maryland where I first saw 'Little John' in bloom. Of course it was just a seedling then. I wanted it but we had no tools and the ground was dry and hard as cement. Don was ready to leave but I had to have a piece so I took a rock and managed to chip out a rhizome. I planted it and the next year it was in bloom with 11 buds. Don got his shovel right away and we traveled the three hours to dig out the rest of it.

'Little John' 1996 Owens Rebert garden

'Little John' was not named for the character in Robin Hood as many people have thought, but for a young man who helped me in my garden who was a John Junior, but his dad called him "Little John." Sadly, he died very young from leukemia, and I asked Don if I could name my favorite iris for him. 'Little John' is a cross of 'Damsel' by 'Queen Dorothy' and since it is half rebloomer it also has produced rebloomers for us, including broken colors. I have seen it growing very well in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Maryland. I think the best planting was at the garden of Owens Rebert."

'Orchid Dove' 2007 (Lady of Leoness sibling X Uncle Charlie)

 When a dreamy orchid-colored seedling bloomed, Don kept asking Ginny if she could see the dove-blue color in the crests. Hence the name 'Orchid Dove'. It has been reported to grow well wherever they have sent it. At the National Convention in Wisconsin it got the most popular votes for a tall bearded iris out of region.

'My Ginny' 2000 (Sweet Musette x Femme Fatale) X (Winifred Ross x My Katie)

Don was waiting to name an iris after his love, and when the first flower on this seedling opened, his exclamation of joy and surprise was "My Ginny!" Both Don and Ginny love the 'Emma Cook' color pattern.  'My Ginny' won the popular vote at the International Competition in Florence, Italy for a commercial variety and the Franklin Cook Cup at the 2003 National AIS Convention. It grows well all over the U.S.

'Daughter of Stars' 2001 (Clarence X Mindreader)
Photo by Riley Probst

'Daughter of Stars' is another of Don's irises beloved by Ginny. They named it after the local Native American legend about the Shenandoah River, which says the river is so deep and dark that it gave birth to the stars. This iris won the Wister Medal 2007. It grows well all over the country and reblooms in zones 6 through 9.

That takes care of Ginny's favorites hybridized by Don, but what of her own efforts?

'Selah Christine' 2012 (Sariel X Orchid Dove)

Of her own introductions, a great favorite is 'Selah Christine', which is named after Ginny's granddaughter. It has been awarded an Exhibition Certificate (EC) which is the only award an iris can get that is not a garden award, and a High Commendation (HC) for a seedling iris. She has high hopes that it will also do well in most areas.

'Zippo' 2011

Another is 'Zippo', a nearly black SDB (Standard Dwarf Bearded) iris with large pure white beards, is named for Ginny's daughter-in-law's cat, which is black with white paws.

'Velvet Elvis' 2012 ((Cerise Boy x Candy Corn sibling) X self)

A wide, velvety red iris with showy orange beards inspired the name 'Velvet Elvis'. This SDB won an EC as a seedling.

'Autumn Rose' 2008 (Diamond Blush X Chatter)

The striking 'Autumn Rose' reblooms in the autumn.  Ginny crossed Don's beautiful pink rebloomer 'Diamond Blush' and Ghio's dark pink plicata, 'Chatter' (which rebloomed once for them) and got a nice zone 6 rebloomer. Don had told Ginny that if you cross a solid color with a plicata it would intensify the color, and indeed it did. It is a very intense rose pink that stands out in the garden.

When Don and Ginny met at the C&P Iris Society, they each had a large collection of rebloomers. They continue working to produce irises that are multiple rebloomers with modern form, vigor, and exceptional coloration.  I grow two of their irises in Southern California.  MY favorite is 'Plum Pretty Whiskers' which has that gorgeous orchid color of many of their irises.  It is not listed as a rebloomer, but it reblooms in my garden. 

'Plum Pretty Whiskers'

I also recently planted what may be their most famous iris, 'Daughter of Stars', even though I had to create a place in my garden for it.  I couldn't help myself!

Do you grow any Spoon irises?  Do they bloom in your zone?  And are there any irises that you would love to see in a reblooming version?  Let us know here in the comments section.

The Iris at the End of the Rainbow: the Favorites of Walter Moores

By Renee Fraser

Sometimes when I'm out in my garden enjoying my irises, I wonder about the men and women who create such beauty.  What did they think when they first saw THIS flower open?  Out of all of the irises they have hybridized, which are their very favorites?  I also notice that the irises of particular hybridizers do well for me.  Could it have something to do with the climate the flower was born in? 

Since I have recently become acquainted with a number of both avocational hybridizers and those who also run commercial gardens, I asked them to share their favorite iris introductions and tell us a bit about how they became interested in hybridizing.  

The inspiration for these questions was 'Flying Down to Rio' by Walter Moores.  I have always loved amoenas (irises with white standards at the top) and bicolored irises, and this one is exceptionally pretty with its orange beard. So I asked him about this flower, and it turns out it's his favorite too! So we will begin with Walter Moores.

'Flying Down to Rio' 2006

Walter is an avocational hybridizer who gardens in North Mississippi, about seventy miles south of Memphis, which is at the southern edge for growing bearded irises with success.  He says he likes to try irises that people claim cannot be grown there. Those of you who live in this climate know the challenges.  Evey's Blissful Garden is a website devoted to helping gardeners in this climate choose appropriate plants, and wouldn't you know it, the site features Walter's irises! 

Walter says "sometimes I think I was born in an iris patch.  From my earliest recollections of flowers, I remember irises.  My dad had a huge planting of irises rowed out in the front of the house which was some distance from the road.  He had all colors but didn't know they had names.  My grandmother also had irises in her flower beds.  I remember taking bouquets to my teachers in elementary school just to hear oohs and ahhs and to get praised.  But it was not until I stumbled across an iris show in a Fort Worth mall in 1966 that I got serious about irises.  I had never seen modern irises before and was immediately smitten by them.  I joined the Fort Worth Iris Society on the spot and have never wavered from my love for the genus iris.  It was there that I first learned that some irises produced seed.  I was taught hybridizing by a member of the society and made my first crosses in 1967.  My first introductions were offered to the public in 1977, and I have rarely missed a year registering or introducing an iris.  Some of my irises are now historic, and it is amazing to me to find one of those 1977 introductions, 'Pepper Blend', still listed in catalogs today.  Another perennial favorite is 'Purgatory', introduced in 1987."  

Walter has grown and hybridized siberians, ensatas, spurias, arilbreds, species and species-cross irises, as well as bearded irises.  He loves them all, and thinks the most interesting gardens feature a variety of different iris types.

'Brown Recluse' 2013

An example of his efforts in breeding new species irises include this beauty, which is an unusual color for a fulva iris.  Look at that branching. Good branching allows the flowers to open without crowding, a very important goal in iris hybridizing.

'Pharaoh's Host' 2012

Another favorite of his is an arilbred, 'Pharaoh's Host'.  An arilbred iris is created by crossing an aril iris, native to the Mediterranean region, with a bearded iris.

A few of his favorite tall bearded introductions include 'Ascii 
Art', which remains very popular among gardeners today,  'Lemonade Springs', 'Miniver Rose', and 'Yalobusha Desert'.  Walter named the last to reflect the fierce growing conditions he faces in Yalobusha County.

'Ascii Art' 1997
Photo by Marilyn Campbell

'Lemonade Springs' 2004

'Miniver Rose' 2007

'Yalobusha Desert' 2011

Early on in his career, Walter was known for hybridizing reblooming bearded irises, but for the last few years, when he works with tall bearded irises, his focus is on zonals with different color backgrounds within the zones (see 'Bright New Day' for an example of a zonal pattern). In his current hybridizing efforts he is looking for "that elusive pink zonal." 

Walter adds "I think irises are one of the reasons I have enjoyed a long life.  New seedlings inspire me each bloom season, and I plan to continue for as long as I am able."

'Moonlight and Wine' 2011
Photo by Rick Tasco

Which of these lovelies is your favorite?  Do you grow any irises by Walter Moores?  If you do, how do they perform in your climate?  

If you would like to know more about iris hybridizers, I recommend Classic Irises and the Men and Women Who Created Them by Clarence Mahan (yes, the same 'Clarence' for whom the lovely reblooming iris is named).  Stay tuned for more posts on hybriders from different parts of the country and the jackpots they found at the end of their rainbows.