By Phil Williams
This blog is to honor the quiet legacy left to the iris world by
Gerald Richardson. I hope he is barefoot
and up to his waist in new seedlings on the other side. It is called paradise for a good
reason!!
Gerald Richardson was no ordinary guy! Fully invested in his work at the Atomic
Energy facility in Richland for most of his working life, his eventual
retirement there gave him more time for growing and hybridizing Tall Bearded
irises. Short in height, this brilliant and talented man was a giant among
mortals. He purposely remained busy and
involved in his many studies and hobbies; he was an amazing wizard of
investment, quietly turning his spare change into a sizable fortune.
Photo by Dale Austin
Richland is not a short drive from the Salem-Portland area. It was
one of my highest honors and privileges to visit his matchless garden 5 times
in the past 15 years. This quiet and
unassuming gentleman always had a garden filled with bloom. He declared that he
had no idea how or why virtually every named variety and seedling in his garden
were filled with stalks! It was a corner
lot that would slow traffic to a crawl. More often than not, this energetic
human dynamo was covered and dressed for protection from the hot desert-like
sun while his feet were bare and dusty!!!!
On my final visit with my friend Gerald, Parkinson's had slowed
his speech and movements to a crawl—yet his mental capacities were as
incredible as ever. He apologized profusely for not having felt up to
fertilizing his plants though yet again virtually every clump was filled with
iris stalks. Barbara Nicodemus exclaimed after her visit there that she had
never seen such massive percentage of bloom in her lifetime of growing and
breeding irises!
Gerald selected seedlings based on two primary factors: (1.) He had
to really like it and (2) it had to show distinct improvement or be uniquely
different from other irises in commerce. He was the first established
hybridizer to quietly work with Allen Ensminger's “broken-color” patterns and
he was an early fan of the Lloyd Austin “horned, spooned and flounced”
irises. He said he was not breeding
irises for profit (followed by a full body laugh!) and that he felt that
“different” was necessary for expanding interest in the tall bearded iris
classes. He taught great lessons by example. He believed that an iris was a
garden plant and he grew impressive 2-3 year clumps in his garden to
perfection!
His last and final great gift to the iris world was financial
in nature to the American Iris Society with a cash gift. He wished above all else that his gifts would
be invested in innovative, hands-on,
much needed research on bearded iris diseases—specifically soft rot, crown rot,
and botrytis.
And now a look at some my favorite Gerald Richardson
introductions!
'Angler Fish' was his delightful contribution to the horned-spooned-and flounced iris flower form. The combination of blended colors in the flowers with consistent appendages on all flowers, “horns” of contrasting colors and easily grown plants were
all accomplished in this fine iris.
'Angler Fish'--image by Dale Austin
'Crimson Tiger' and 'Infernal Fire' were his two contributions to the
variegated/broken color patterning randomly applied to the entire flower.
'Crimson Tiger'--image by Brock Heilman
Blue was clearly his favorite color. And why not? How many perennials with blue
flowers are in your perennial garden? 'Blued Indigo', 'Donaghcloney', 'Dusky He-Man', 'He-Man Blues', Magheralin', 'Perrymount', and 'T-Rex' were among his darker and mid-toned selections. Each had large, clean, smoothly-colored
flowers with excellent substance and plant habits. I would tease him about filling a void for
magnificent blue varieties when Schreiner's Gardens expanded to many additional
color schemes in their breeding program.
'Magheralin'--image by Dale Austin
'Surfer's Dream' was his supreme addition to the softer blue color
class of garden irises! I remember
seeing this as a seedling in his garden for the first time on the day of its
maiden bloom. Gerald was glowing and
standing tall just waiting for me to point and gasp at this magnificent iris!
'Surfer's Dream'--image by Dale Austin
'Bev' is named for his iris friend Bev Petrak. (She and one other
iris person attended his memorial service.)
The red color in this iris is smooth and strong with chestnut
undertones. 'Bev's Babe' followed a few years later and is still likely the
strongest approach to “true” red in the garden. I never quite understood why
one of the better known hybridizers didn't work with this amazing color gem.
Both had unusually good form for the red color class.
'Bev'--image by Terry Aitken
He worked consistently with lavender and magenta irises in all
shades. '
'Blockbuster' had huge flowers and huge plants in a soft blue-lavender color combination with infusions of gray and yellow. It was also tall and the stalks remained upright on established clumps. 'Blueberry Fudge' was a deep, rich “electric” violet like no other. Its bronze beards and blue flushes make it one of the most uniquely colored irises ever to appear in American gardens.
'Lucille Richardson' was a blend of gray, lavender and orchid; its wonderful color and flower form can likely be credited to Larry Gaulter's 'Mary Frances'. 'Nora Eileen' was the first iris I grew with smooth, pleasing flowers in the magenta color class. Too few breeders have touched the surface in this vivid color class. They should as visitors spot this color from afar!
'Blockbuster' had huge flowers and huge plants in a soft blue-lavender color combination with infusions of gray and yellow. It was also tall and the stalks remained upright on established clumps. 'Blueberry Fudge' was a deep, rich “electric” violet like no other. Its bronze beards and blue flushes make it one of the most uniquely colored irises ever to appear in American gardens.
'Lucille Richardson' was a blend of gray, lavender and orchid; its wonderful color and flower form can likely be credited to Larry Gaulter's 'Mary Frances'. 'Nora Eileen' was the first iris I grew with smooth, pleasing flowers in the magenta color class. Too few breeders have touched the surface in this vivid color class. They should as visitors spot this color from afar!
'Nora Eileen'--image by Dale Austin
'Spring Social' was his favorite
seedling from George Shoop's 'Spring Tidings'. It was a quality flower in
shades of lavender, pink and rosy violet.
Gerald's work with pale blue flowers and dark violet beards was a
difficult class that earned his diligent devotion. 'Clyde' is a milky blue with very dark violet
beards and a dark purple eye just below them. 'Emilo' was a milky blue with beards not quite so black. However, its perfectly formed rounded flowers
on shorter stalks was the exceptional garden plant with wonderful, compact
plants and strong stalks. 'Clouds of Glory' was a very pastel blue-white with
fine deeper blue pastel petal edging. It is a difficult color pattern to work
with but its impact on seasoned iris growers is to “ooh and ahh” at its simple
elegance!
'Clouds of Glory'--image by Elladan McLeester
I was taught early on that concentrating on limited colors and
patterns was the key fame for an iris hybridizer. (Gerald NEVER made that declaration!) Blends were everywhere in his seedling
rows! 'Carousel of Dreams' was his newest
and brightest and a spectacular combination of lavender, red, soft gold and
wire gold rims on petal edges. In
addition, it is a great garden plant that offers heavy spring bloom with good
increase and plant habits.
'Days Gone By' is a wonderful combination of lavender, violet and peach with striking red beards. It is a sister seedling to 'Spring Social' mentioned above. 'Golden Legacy' is a superlative creations with strong, tall, well branched stalks, 7 buds, and strong plants that produce large flowers in gold and amber tones with orange beards. It can hold its own among the best of the best!
'Carousel of Dreams'--image by Dale Austin
'Days Gone By' is a wonderful combination of lavender, violet and peach with striking red beards. It is a sister seedling to 'Spring Social' mentioned above. 'Golden Legacy' is a superlative creations with strong, tall, well branched stalks, 7 buds, and strong plants that produce large flowers in gold and amber tones with orange beards. It can hold its own among the best of the best!
'Golden Legacy'--image by Dale Austin
'Grace Whittemore' is an early introduction from Gerald that is
superior to many in the cream-yellow and white bi-tones. Its amazing super-wide flowers was far ahead
of its time and went hardly noticed by the iris crowd. Also heavily ruffled, it
has soft yellow standards, cream-white falls with precise, yellow borders and
orange beards. I would brag on it during every garden visit. I was amused that he had the good sense not
to waste time trying to improve it. It
remains a magnificent iris with a perfect score! There is also no category or rival to 'Ivory Ghost'. Huge, perfectly formed flowers on strong stalks are ivory-white, infused
violet and deep yellow hafts with faint amber wire edges and orange beards.
Vigor and form is no doubt from 'Fogbound'.
'Sunset Storm' is from variegated/broken color breeding but it is not revealed in this flower. It is an attractive blending of lavender and buff and was years in the making. (Check the lengthy parentage!) Sadly, its plant proved erratic in its behavior. Its magnificent blending of colors earns it a spot among my favorite Richardson introductions.
'Ivory Ghost'--image by Betty Jacobs
'Sunset Storm' is from variegated/broken color breeding but it is not revealed in this flower. It is an attractive blending of lavender and buff and was years in the making. (Check the lengthy parentage!) Sadly, its plant proved erratic in its behavior. Its magnificent blending of colors earns it a spot among my favorite Richardson introductions.
Three others stand alone. 'Demonic' is a sibling to 'Blueberry Fudge'. It is deep, deep violet and
has beautifully formed flowers with domed standards and excellent holding power
in the garden. Its plants are wide
bladed and can be left in 3-4 year clumps with excellent results. It is not
quite black … and Gerald was working on the next step that never quite
appeared--a sooty black iris with good form, strong foliage and good plant
habits. 'Smoking Embers' is from 'Wild Jasmine' breeding and is a very dark rust
iris from the brown side. The standards are slightly lighter and the falls have
a pale with tiny “shadowed” rim. The
hafts and beards are yellow and there is a white sunburst at end of
beards. Compact plants and stalks that
do NOT fall over. Last I will mention 'Temple of Lights', and iris I will likely grow forever. It is a very wide flower
in cream with strong flushing of melted butter; intense amber-gold style arms. The cream falls have smooth gold hafts and
tiny golden edging and orange beards. 'Grace Whittemore' (see above) is the
proud Mother of this beautiful iris. Expect a magnificent flower on a rugged
plant.
'Temple of Lights'--image by Dale Austin
Thank you, Gerald, for choosing me as your friend. You have made my life and the lives of iris
lovers around the world brighter and more interesting because of your tireless
joy of spreading pollen in your wonderful garden. I miss you terribly and I will see you on the
other side with dirty bare feet and your wonderful, welcoming smile!
