Lucy, I hope you and John can find a way to work out the garden situation. If you are inspired to try crosses I hope that you continue to do so as long as they bring you joy.

A and C for me!

Lestv said:The last group has a lot of beauties but the one that wins the prize for me is A. Love the icy lavender blue with the white, and those fantastic pink and white beards. The form is perfect. All around a stellar iris.

I agree about A, but I would take D and H, too! Mm-mm.

irisarian said:I enjoyed the all, especially the pinks, but like Leslie I am a fan of medians. So I really like Tightrope. I would really like to cross it with my HI Buddy for form as it is a bit plain for modern tastes since it has I. aphilla in its background. Today's iris people need ruffles. We are fighting to keep our garden since John turns 90 this spring & children frown on more hybridizing efforts.

Tell John I'm not far behind him (83) and I look to folks ahead of me in age as inspirations! As long as it brings you joy, working in the garden, even if it's just puttering, is valuable. Getting help, even for a few hours a week, can also help both you and the garden.

Lestv said:The last group has a lot of beauties but the one that wins the prize for me is A. Love the icy lavender blue with the white, and those fantastic pink and white beards. The form is perfect. All around a stellar iris.

When I first started chatting out here I remember a man who said he had no place for irises in his garden that wouldn't bloom. Why? He was turning 100. I was blown away. I am paraphrasing what he said exactly because it's been awhile but you get the idea. Everyone is different but it made me realize that I shouldn't let the age number define what I choose to do as I continue through life. I think what your body allows you to do is a much better indicator.

Elsa ~ I agree. If we are unable to do the work, then we have to do something else. As long as we are able to work outside (however slowly), then we should follow our dreams.

I'm thrilled you guys are enjoying the pictures it's always a pleasure to share them with the group every year and read your comments and thoughts on which ones you like and for what reason they won your vote glad I can help you get through the winter with some Iris entertainment and a sneak peak at what Joe is working on for the future.. spring is just around the corner and I can't wait.

Here is another wonderful group of color combinations the majority are brand new seedlings but I wanted to highlight some more of the beauty I was amazed at this past spring. Joe has a line of Grape/Pink blends that are unlike anything else I have seen the colors he is getting to blend on the falls is fascinating and shows we haven't even touched on what is possible for color combinations lot's of these had cross tags and makes me think what else is possible .. click on pictures to enlarge amazing what you will see in the falls when there enlarged



A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

I don't know how one would ever go through any of these and find any to cull out? Just amazing.

All of them would be in my cart! All of them are simply stunning.

irisarian said:I enjoyed the all, especially the pinks, but like Leslie I am a fan of medians. So I really like Tightrope. I would really like to cross it with my HI Buddy for form as it is a bit plain for modern tastes since it has I. aphilla in its background. Today's iris people need ruffles. We are fighting to keep our garden since John turns 90 this spring & children frown on more hybridizing efforts.

Apparently I am very much in the minority, but I don't care for most of what I consider overly frilly/curly/wavy blooms. Some to me start to look like balls of wadded up paper ( I admit in my mind I call them spitballs). For me, this is because I don't hybridize. I collect iris because they transport me back to a simpler time and to my parent's gardens of the 60s and 70s when the form was much different, and so that's what motivates me as a consumer. I've started collecting pre 1940 historics for the same reason (as well as wanting to preserve them). I'm also not a fan of standards that are straight and flare outward as the bloom ages, but I am a fan of horizontal falls on short-stalked plants (I may be the only one, lol). The diversity of what we all like or dislike in a plant's habit and form is something I really love about seeing posts here. Fortunately we aren't cookie-cutter copies or the hobby would be so boring!

cinvasko said:

Apparently I am very much in the minority, but I don't care for most of what I consider overly frilly/curly/wavy blooms. Some to me start to look like balls of wadded up paper ( I admit in my mind I call them spitballs). For me, this is because I don't hybridize. I collect iris because they transport me back to a simpler time and to my parent's gardens of the 60s and 70s when the form was much different, and so that's what motivates me as a consumer. I've started collecting pre 1940 historics for the same reason (as well as wanting to preserve them). I'm also not a fan of standards that are straight and flare outward as the bloom ages, but I am a fan of horizontal falls on short-stalked plants (I may be the only one, lol). The diversity of what we all like or dislike in a plant's habit and form is something I really love about seeing posts here. Fortunately we aren't cookie-cutter copies or the hobby would be so boring!

This is a great post. I too love historics, and I am not a huge fan of some of the most modern looks. I love seeing the newer colors and color combos, but with simpler forms. Great garden performance, good increase, and disease/pest resistance is most important to me. It's great we all have different tastes.

I love some of the new colors, but I am a fan of the form that was more popular in the '80s and '90s.

I was worried about my post after I made it because I thought it might attract flack, so I'm glad to see folks aren't taking it wrongly as criticism, but as recognition for the diversity found here!

I think we all recognize that tastes differ and that is why we have such a wide selection of forms and colors to choose from, which is great!

AndreaD said:I think we all recognize that tastes differ and that is why we have such a wide selection of forms and colors to choose from, which is great!

Yes, I like both new and old, although the limp falls of the past, I must confess, aren't much to my liking. I was surprised when, at an iris group meeting, two years ago, an iris judge said he wasn't a fan of the new ruffled irises.

Just shows that there's a wide variety of likes and dislikes in the iris world....and speaking of new creations, Aruba's fantastic photos of Joe Ghio's latest fantastic seedlings, just wowed me this morning!

janwax said:

Yes, I like both new and old, although the limp falls of the past, I must confess, aren't much to my liking. I was surprised when, at an iris group meeting, two years ago, an iris judge said he wasn't a fan of the new ruffled irises.

Just shows that there's a wide variety of likes and dislikes in the iris world....and speaking of new creations, Aruba's fantastic photos of Joe Ghio's latest fantastic seedlings, just wowed me this morning!

I am not a fan of the new heavily ruffled irises. My favorites are from the 80's and 90's also, as stated in an above post.

love the ruffles. the colors are gorgeous, i still enjoy the clear, crisp, clean selfs, and striping and flecks/dots are fantastic textural qualities, too.

Each new decade has its ups, the uniqueness of shapes and colors. And the elusive charm. And your favorites. My heroes are Gracchus , Louvois , Kilt Lilt , Blue Shimmer, Brides Halo, Broadway Star, Brown Lasso, Cayenne Capers ,Immortalite and so on. However, my favorite forms are the last two decades of the 21st century. Empire style
My ideal :