Garden Chit Chat

GARDEN CHIT CHAT

It is with joy and wonderment that we look back on thirty years of not
only cultivating and selling irises but also cultivating friendships, some
that have continued during all that time. It seems a bit surreal that this
has come to include people in seventeen countries. Thank you for making
us a part of your lives. Thank you for helping make Mid-America Garden
a successful enterprise.

At the top of this year’s “what was exciting” list is the iris ‘Paul Black’
winning the Dykes Medal for its creator Thomas Johnson. It is a testament
to Thomas’s creativity, eye for quality and ambition. A bit of history will
be made at this year’s AIS convention in Victoria, Canada. Thomas will
be the first Canadian to receive a Dykes Medal at a convention in his
native country. Congratulations Thomas.

Cher and Diva turned 5 this year and continue to enjoy their garden
paradise, including rolling in a few fragrant items only their noses can
appreciate. “Send in the Clowns” is still the anthem for Sitka and Kita.
We thought they would slow down a bit after the terrible twos but not so
for them. They both still go around the garden mostly in tandem, rolling
and tumbling all the way. Amazing how those fluffy tails hold up to being
tugged and pulled on. Whichever is in front is the target.

We’ve come to expect exceptional bloom and growth as part of gardening
in the Willamette Valley. This past year was a major departure
from that norm. While much of the country was experiencing earlier and
better than normal bloom seasons, we were having day after interminible
day of cold rain. Bloom season was delayed and in like manner,
growth was slow. We delayed the start of shipping season by a week but
plants still weren’t what we expect to send. We apologize for the lack of
quality and particularly on earlier orders. We hope never to experience
another season like this one but we learned a very long time ago that we
can’t control the weather. We work with what we’re given.

You will notice this year’s catalog has 8 fewer pages than last year.
This was a very deliberate effort to reduce the number of varieties we
are growing and selling. As many of you know, it isn’t an easy proposition.
Decisions have been made to make bigger reductions next year. The
unexpected and accidental death of Thomas’s father and a major health
crisis of one of my brothers and the death of his wife heighten awareness
that one must make time to enjoy life aside from work. If you see a
variety you want in this year’s catalog, don’t put off ordering it, it very
well may not be available next year. We will begin cataloging more of
our own hybrids and fewer of others.

Again we want to say thank you to AIS judges for taking their time
and space to grow and evaluate some of our introductions. You honored
us with many more awards than we could possibly have hoped for. Here
are our varieties that you considered worthy of note.

For Paul - Caparne-Welch Medal for Chemistry & Walther Cup for
SDB Eye of the Tiger. Award of Merit for TBs, Sharper Image & Padded
Shoulders. AMs also for BB Crow’s Feet; IB Nickel and SDBs Bluebeard’s
Ghost, Wish Upon a Star, Canadian Kisses & Big Blue Eyes
and also MDB Dollop of Cream. Honorable Mentions received were TBs
For Lovers Only, Cloudscape, Strut Your Stuff, Cat Call, Coral Splendor,
Thundering Ovation, Guilt Free Sample, Loopty Loo, Blushing Bashful,
Cameo Appearance, New Face, Luscious Lace, I Love a Parade, Magic Masquerade & Oh So Yummy. HMs were also awarded to BB Lady
of the Night; IBs Dazzling, Man’s Best Friend, Arctic Wind, & Frisky
Frolic & SDBs, Eye of the Tiger, Meow, Bombay Sapphire & Gal Pal.
Guilt Free Sample was Best Pink at Premio Firenze in Italy and I Love a
Parade was awarded Most Original Color.

For Thomas - Dykes Medal for TB, ‘Paul Black’. & Cook-Douglas
for SDB Ultimate. Award of Merit for TBs Wild Angel, Saturn &
Guatemala; SDB Scream & Arilbred Suspect. Honorable Mentions for
TBs Baltic Sea, Brilliant Disguise, Scatterbrain, Attractive Lady, Snapshot,
Simply Sensational, Crete, Flash of Light, & Dialect. HMs also for
SDB Clever & arilbred Octave. ‘Paul Black’ moved to fifth place on the
AIS top 100 TB Symposium. Pursuit of Happiness was awarded third
place & Ink Patterns fifth place at the Premio Firenze International Competition
in Italy.