"Talking Irises" LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING - Tall Bearded Irises With Spring Companion Plants

By Susanne Holland Spicker

I love experimenting with different color combinations in the beds. By combining a variety of companion plants, as well as complimentary, or harmonious combinations of tall bearded irises, the beds provide a nice palette of color, as well as a long bloom season by using early, mid and late bloomers that flower at the same time as other perennials in the gardens. The beds are always a work in progress--I evaluate my beds each year at this time and make changes where I want to replace older varieties with newer iris hybrids or add any favorites from my long "wish list." 


I love the colors in this yellow, pink and blue bed: Tall bearded irises 'Skywalker' (Schreiner '96), 'Tulip Festival' (Clough '75), 'Edith Wolford' (Hager '86), 'Aegean Wind' (Schreiner '08), and 'Out of the Blues' (Van Liere '10) with companion plants Singing in the Rain Itoh peony, assorted lupine, hybrid tea rose New Day, clematis Josephine, assorted pansies and petunias, and herbaceous peony Mons. Jules Ellie.

Striking colors of tall bearded irises and companion plants: 'Salzburg Echo' (Schreiner '09), 'Spiced Custard' (Weiler '87), 'Supreme Sultan' (Schreiner '88), 'Dazzling Gold' (Anderson '81),  'Taco Supreme' (Ernst '87),  'Throb' (Weiler '91),  'Flamenco' (Keppel '77), 'Mulled Wine' (Keppel '02),  and 'Tiger Honey' (Kasperek '94), with companion plants early gladiola, lupine, daylily Bela Lugosi and various daylilies and Harlem poppy.

Bold and beautiful!  Tall bearded irises 'Bold Expression' (Ernst '03), 'Dreamcake' (Ernst '02), 'Close Up' (Tompkins '02),  and 'Ringo' (Shoop '79) with companion plants rosy purple pulsatilla, Caribbean Crush verbascum, Fascination hybrid tea rose,  poppy Queen Alexander, America climbing rose, and lilac.

A favorite bed of subtle yellows and blues: Tall bearded irises 'Good Hope' (Moldovan '69), 'Absolute Treasure' (Tasco '06), 'Grecian Skies' (Brown '84), 'Edith Wolford' (Hager '86), 'Bertwistle' (Innerst '90), 'Lavender Luck' (Ernst '88), 'Wedding Candles' (Schreiner '82) and 'On Edge' (Schreiner '86), with companion plants assorted pansies, Blue Star columbine, yellow, blue and white lupine, Crystal Fountain clematis, dwarf Snow Lady daisy, Konigskind clematis, tradescantia, High Noon tree peony, Silver Beauty Dutch iris, and hybrid tea rose Sunblest.

This bed always stands out: Tall bearded irises 'Aristocracy' (Keppel '06), 'Artist's Time' (Schreiner '74), 'Ever After' (Keppel '86), and 'Bubbling Over' (Ghio '92),  with companion plants Elisabeth variegated phlox, pansies, single late tulip Don Quixote, heartleaf bergenia, Jacob's Ladder, bleeding heart, and assorted pansies.

I love these rose and apricot colors together: Tall bearded irises 'Discretion' (Boushay '78), 'Naples' (Johnson '01), 'Mystic's Muse' (Schreiner '93), 'Magharee' (Blyth '86), 'Aphrodisiac' (Schreiner '86), and 'Role Model' (Denny '88), with companion plants assorted lupine, and Itoh peony Singing In The Rain.

Do you like experimenting with your flower beds? What are some of your favorite combinations?  I'd love to hear from you!

Iris Stories: 'April Melody'

By Bryce Williamson

Iris stories can be made up of several related, interlocking, overlapping stories—if the story is about a hybridizer’s creations, there may be stories about the names, why the cross was made, or other issues; less known is that often the hybridizer is influenced by or helped by other people who often are nameless, though those side stories are of interest. That is the case with Jim Gibson’s 'April Melody,' the first good pink plicata and the foundation parent of pink/orange toned plicatas today.

And the story of Jim Gibson and 'April Melody' actually starts in Utah with 'Tell Muhlestein' taking a plicata seedling from Loomis’ 'Seashell' and crossing it with his 'Pink Formal'. 'Pink Formal' was from a Loomis pink seedling and iris 'David Hall.' From that cross, he obtained 'New Adventure' and introduced it in 1953. We now know that the Hall pink irises had plicatas in their background and 'Seashell' certainly had them. 'New Adventure' was an interesting color break—a lavender-pink plicata with a tangerine beard, but, as you can see from the image, it did not have good form.

 'New Adventure' -- image from the Iris Encyclopedia 

When Jim Gibson in Porterville, California grew 'New Adventur'e he realized it had great potential, but it also needed a lot of work on the form. Thus started his quest for a well formed pink plicata. As you can see from the complicated parentage, he made many crosses and brought into the breeding both the best pinks of the day and his own well-formed brown plicatas. And he raised seedlings and then another generation and yet more generations.

During one of my visits to his garden, Jim explained that he thought about giving up—the desired result was not showing up, but he did not give up and finally a flower appeared that met his high standards. As you can see from the parentage, many generations of hybridizing went into the creation of 'April Melody':  ((37-57: (54-55: ('Taholah' x 45-53: ('Ballerina' x (('Gibson Girl' x ('Madame Louis Aureau' x ('Sacramento' x red brown))) x ('Gibson Girl' x ('Tiffany' x 'Siegfried'))))) x (45-53D x ('Ballerina' x 'Happy Birthday'))) x 'New Adventure')   X   (37-57 x ('New Adventure' x 54-55))).

But that was not the end of the story. At that time, the Gibson irises were being introduced by Cooley’s in Silverton, Oregon and they were hesitant to introduce this new colored iris. Enter the stranger in the form of Hazel Stewart of San Jose, a longtime member of the Clara B. Rees Iris Society.

'April Melody' image from HIPS archive

Region 14—Northern California and Nevada—had a spring meeting in Porterville. In the Gibson garden, the pink plicata seedling was in bloom. During the garden tours, Hazel stood by the planting and kept pointing out, “This is good. This is different.” She was right, it was good and different.

When the result of the voting for best seedling from a Region 14 hybridizer was announced, Hazel’s campaign had paid off—the pink plicata was named best seedling. With that award, Cooley’s did introduce 'April Melody.'

And 'April Melody' went on to be a major parent for Gibson and other hybridizers. From 'April Melody,' Jim introduced a series of new plicata colors -- 'Rippling Rose,' 'Summer Silk,' 'Casino Queen,' 'Mod Mode,' 'Porta Villa,' and 'Frosty Blush' are all first generation 'April Melody' children. The second generation produced 'Lilac Love,' 'Pink Ember,' 'Happy Halo,' 'Smoke Rings,' 'Lasting Spring,' and 'Frost Kiss.' In the third generation, along came 'Pink Confetti' and 'Anon,' among others. Further down the line, one of the most important and lasting of Jim Gibson’s iris is the wonderful 'Queen in Calico.'

'Porta Villa' image by Sunshine Iris, Australia

'Pink Ember' image by Glenn Corlew

'Anon' image by Country Delight Iris

'Queen in Calico' image from Iris Encyclopedia 

This is just a partial list of Gibson irises stemming from 'April Melody' and, needless to say, other hybridizers realized the potential of the iris and used it heavily. In fact, 'April Melody' not only opened up a whole new group of color plicatas, but also 'April Melody' appears in the background of so many differently colored irises that it is hard to believe including the 2017 Dykes Medal winner 'Montmartre.'

'Montmartre' image by Schreiner's Gardens

When Jim could have given up on the line, he did not; he continued to work for the goal, finally reaching and not only achieving a wonderful flower, but also a wonderful parent. 'April Melody'’s story also points out the importance of other people in making sure that wonderful and different irises are recognized. While the judges of The American Iris Society did award 'April Melody' an Honorable Mention, they failed to vote it an Award of Merit — a huge oversight on their part. In another blog, I will show how 'April Melody' and its children were used by other hybridizers to produce fine irises.

My thanks to Keith Keppel for reading, correcting, and suggesting ideas for this blog.

A Japanese Iris Cross for Beginners

By Chad Harris

Mt Pleasant Iris Farm 

Of the several different crosses over the past 38 years involving Japanese irises, Iris ensata that have stood out, I would like to share with you my most rewarding to date, ‘Night Angel’ (Aitken 1996) X ‘Frosted Intrigue’ (Bauer/Coble 1997).

Looking to the background of the two parents you will find many different patterns, selves, rims, sanded, blazed, veined, and rays. Pictured here are but a few of the lineage check out the AIS Wiki for more photos of the grandparents and great grandparents.

The cross ‘Night Angel’ X ‘Frosted Intrigue’ I have made twice now for myself. A small trial planting in 2002 with about 30 seedlings produced 15 seedlings worthy to line out to take a second look at. Of these, four were eventually selected to be introduced.

Because of the high percentage of worthwhile seedlings I remade this cross to line out several hundred more seedlings. The first that caught my eye with its maiden bloom in the seedling field was 08JE1, introduced last year as ‘Koto Harp Strings’.

Many other siblings have been lined out and also guested to the 2020 Japanese Iris Convention to be hosted in Nova Scotia, Canada. Following are a few of these 2008 seedlings that have been reselected for possible future introductions.

As you can see with the seedlings and introduced varieties from ‘Night Angel’ X ‘Frosted Intrigue’ that the pattern breakout is wide and varied.

I share this information to hopefully entice someone young and new to hybridizing to raise the tweezers and try their hand with Japanese iris, Iris ensata.