By Andi Rivarola
I have the pleasure of always receiving an advance copy of IRISES in order to write this short preview, and this time as I opened the envelope the view of this cover blew me away. Congratulations to all involved in putting it together. It's beautiful.
A warm welcome to those who are seeing the gorgeous cover of this issue of IRISES, the Bulletin of The American Iris Society. The image is of TB iris 'Social Graces' (Keith Keppel 2000)) by Pat McNeal (Easton, MD), one of the 2015 Photo Contest Winners.
The Spring 2016 issue of the AIS Bulletin will be available soon for online viewing within the Emembers section of the AIS website. Note: to access this area of the website you must have a current AIS Emembership. AIS Emembership is separate from the normal AIS membership. Please see the Electronic Membership Information area of the AIS website for more details.
As I said above, the beautiful cover of this edition of IRISES is gorgeous, I hope it's making an impression on you as well.
Read a lovely introduction of early 20th Century iris breeder Arthur J. Bliss by no other than British Author Anne Milner, on News & Notes on page 8. The watercolor work on the cover of Bliss Irises will draw your attention to this article immediately.
Always a pleasure to review Youth Views, by Cheryl Deaton on page 11.
A fascinating article by Bob Pries on What Color is That, Really? Can we really ID a mystery iris from a picture? on pages 28 through 31.
"Another mystery is the oldest known iris cultivar. Iris 'Susiana' has never been recorded from the wild except that it came from the ancient city of Susa, which is also lost."
If you are interested in variegated foliage or blooms, don't miss the very interesting article by Don Spoon called Jumping Genes and Variegated Blossoms. It's quite remarkable, on pages 34 and 35.
For those of us who can grow Siberian irises, Jan Sacks article Styles in Style will fill you with desire to explore even more the these garden stylists, on pages 36 through 39. Amazing images too.
Going to the 2016 National Convention in Newark, NJ this year? Please note an update on page 40, by Paul Gosset followed by the registration form on page 41, and then more information specifically about the Silent Auction during the convention on page 42 by Debbie Strauss. Also, more on the website: ais2016convention.com
Curious about how your iris came to be? Then, you must read the article titled Ancestry.Iris by Keith Keppel. A fantastic read, on pages 44 and 45.
I never miss the section called Remembering Friends, which kindly describes the passing of iris lovers who have gone ahead of us, by Jim Morris, on pages 46 through 48.
Also included in this edition, the AIS 2016 Symposium!
Lastly, a great read and beautiful article by Dennis Luebkin and Judy Book on the Richard Marcusen Sculpture Garden and iris garden in Prescott, Arizona, on pages 63 through 67.
"It combines the beauty of sculpture and of irises in a marvelous, unique blending of "petals and metals," as it was described in the an article of the same name in the May 2013 edition of AAA Highroads magazine,"
There's a lot more to see and read in this edition of IRISES, either in digital or print formats. If you are an AIS member know that you will receive the print edition soon (it's in the hands of the U.S. Post Office), or if you are an e-member, then that version will be a available online soon as mentioned above.
Happy gardening!
