'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, 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, 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.
