The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Cook-Douglas Medal Winners

'STOP AND STARE' and 'PORTLAND PINK'

 The Cook-Douglass Medal is restricted to standard dwarf bearded (SDB) irises. It is named in honor of Paul Cook (1891-1963) and Geddes Douglas (1902-1993). Paul Cook's work with dwarf irises was truly pioneering. His early breeding of dwarf irises led to a series of I. arenaria hybrids, the most notable being 'Keepsake,' 'Tampa,' and 'Promise.' He was the first to use the true I. pumila in his breeding programs, and this resulted in the introduction of the first of the great stud irises in the standard dwarf class: 'Baria,' 'Fairy Flax,' and 'Green Spot.'

Geddes Douglas was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1902. Douglas was a chemist and businessman. In the early 1950's, he founded the Geddes Douglas Garden Center in Nashville. He became a leader in the Tennessee Nurserymen's Association, and served a term as president of the Southern Nursery Association.

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. 

STOP AND STARE (Thomas Johnson)

'Stop And Stare' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2014) Seedling# TD258A. SDB, 13" (33 cm), Early bloom. Standards white, lemon tints, slight gold halo that fades with age; style arms white; falls large black spot with wide white band, small white dart below beard; beards yellow-orange, tipped white; slight fragrance. 'Capiche' X 'Riveting'. Mid-America 2014.

PORTLAND PINK (Paul Black)

'Portland Pink' (Paul Black, R. 2015) Seedling# T234A. SDB, 15" (38 cm), Late to very late bloom. Standards mid pink; style arms mid-dark pink; falls mid peach-pink, darker haft and line from beard ½ way down petal, green-tan textured veins; beards dark tangerine-pink; slight spicy fragrance. 'Shorty' X seedling# R203A: (seedling# M166A, Inspired sibling x 'Love Spell'. 2015 Mid-America.

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.

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Williamson-White Medal Winners

'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)

'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)

'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.

 

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Sass Medal Winners

'BACKLIT BEAUTY' and 'CODE OF HONOR'

The Sass Medal is restricted to intermediate bearded (IB) irises. It is named in honor of Hans Sass

(1868-1949) and Jacob Sass (1872-1945). They bred irises, peonies, daylilies, lilacs, gladiolus, lilies and other garden plants. When they became charter members of the AIS, they had been breeding irises

for more than a decade. Their irises were famous for being strong growers because they used 'Amas' and I. trojana as tetraploid stud irises instead of the tender I. mesopotamia and I. cypriana.

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.

BACKLIT BEAUTY--image by Richard Tasco

'Backlit Beauty' (Richard Tasco, R. 2010) Seedling #01-IB-49-01. IB, 25" (64 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards rosy spectrum violet (RHS 82B) lightly veined white, color blends out to white edges and side bottoms; style arms white, slight lilac blush near midribs; falls darker bishops violet (81A) lightening toward edges, lightly veined around beards to shoulders, bright canary yellow at top of petal; beards white base tipped tangerine in throat and middle, canary yellow at end; lightly ruffled, luminata; slight fragrance. 'Spirit World' X 'Iced Wine'. Superstition 2010.

CODE OF HONOR--image by Mid-America

'Code Of Honor' (Thomas Johnson, R. 2013). Seedling #TB91A. IB, 25" (64 cm), Midseason bloom. Icy blue-white self; beards medium blue; slight fragrance. 'Bluebeard's Ghost' X 'Mythology'. Mid-America 2013.

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.

The American Iris Society Announces the 2021 Knowlton Medal Winners

'BANDED ROSE' and 'GRAPENUT'

The Knowlton Medal is restricted to border bearded (BB) irises. It is named in honor of Harold W. Knowlton (1888-1968) of Auburndale, Massachusetts, a tireless promoter of the border bearded class of irises. Bennett Jones wrote in The World of Irises: "Harold Knowlton was among the first to make deliberate selections of smaller plants. Two of his 1950 introductions, ‘Pearl Cup’ and ‘Cricket’... display the desirable features we still seek in modern border irises." 

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.

'BANDED ROSE' (J. T. Aitken)

'Banded Rose' (J. Terry Aitken, R. 2011) Seedling #04T30B. BB, 24 (61 cm), Late midseason bloom. Standards copper-rose; falls light peach wash at hafts blending to pale cream around orange beards, 7/8" band of copper-rose. 'Banded Gold' sibling. Salmon Creek 2011. 

'GRAPENUT' (Michael Sutton)

'Grapenut' (Michael Sutton, R. 2012) Seedling #W-999-A. BB, 24 (61 cm). Midseason to very late bloom. Standards tan, dark purple midribs; style arms tan, purple stigmatic lip; falls dark violet, near black, lighter at edge; beards beach brown; ruffled. 'Secret Service' X 'Midnight Thunder'. Sutton 2013.

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.