By definition, historic irises include anything introduced more than 30 years ago. So right now that would be anything before 1991. I really like some of the ones introduced in the 70s and 80s. So here are my favorites of those:

Anna Belle Babson, 1985


Beverly Sills, 1979


Champagne Elegance, 1987


Coral Chalice, 1983


Dusky Challenger, 1986


Jesse's Song, 1983


Lady Friend, 1981


Mary Frances, 1973


Rustler, 1988


Saffire Hills, 1971


Silverado, 1987


Skating Party, 1984


Vanity, 1975

What a beautiful clump of Beverly Sills.. If it had looked that good in my garden, I would have kept it. I think there was too much root competition where I had it.. Love the row of hostas in the background too... They grow ok here, but never look as lush as they do in other parts of the country..

Boy, I've added a boatload of historics since this thread started..

Here are just a few from the 40's...

Rainbow Room (J. Sass 1946)


Summit (Stevens 1948)


Black and Gold (Kleinsorg (1943)


The Knockout (Muhlstein 1948)


Minnie Colquitt (Sass 1941)


King's Jester (Stevens 1945) with Whisperwood (Kirkland 1944) behind

My Beverly Sills has never grown well here either.

Daisy, beautiful clump of Beverly sills

Yes, that clump of Beverly Sills always has at least 13 bloom stalks, even when I've given some away the summer before. Here's another shot of it from another year.
.

Irises do really well here, in the Piedmont area of Maryland. They seem to like our somewhat acidic, dense clay soil. I have never amended the soil in that toolshed garden, in the 35 or so years we have lived here.. So far this summer we have only had to water the gardens once. I do fertilize, though with 5-10-10 in March and again after bloom, except for this June, because I figure that the cicadas' bodies will be more than enough fertilizer for this summer. OMG, they were covering over every plant in the garden! I have been through a bunch of cicada cycles in my 73+ years, but I've never before seen the likes of this one.

Well, that is just a glorious clump, Daisy... I've heard some say that Vanity is the better of the two,.. Since you grow both, I'm wondering what your opinion is?

Barbara, it shouldn't make me feel better that Beverly Sills doesn't grow well for you either... but It's good to know I'm not the only one...
Are you getting any smoke from the Dixie Fire? We're getting a little down here today..

Sherry I have had Beverly Sills much, much longer than I have had Vanity, so it's hard for me to compare them. This photo of Vanity was its maiden bloom for me this spring. Not so shabby for a maiden bloom methinks!

What I can say is this: I love Beverly Sills' vigor in my garden, and how it glows when backlit, because of its apricot tones.

I love Vanity for its true, true pinkness and its beautiful form.

I think both are wonderful, and wouldn't want to be without either of them in my garden. Beverly Sills, by the way, is a child of Vanity, but they are distinctive!y different.

You have some nice additions to your historic collection, Sherry. I've added a quite a few in the last couple years. I must have added about 8 or 9 this year that I'm eager to see next spring. Some are attempts to ID another one. Beverly Sills holds her own pretty well here, the only thing with her seems to be if you move her, she pouts for a year or two, then takes off.

Nora @HemNorth ,thank you for the acorn!

Henhouse said:

Barbara, …
Are you getting any smoke from the Dixie Fire? We're getting a little down here today..

Yes, it's been smokey here since the beginning of the Dixie Fire. Now the smoke is from the fires to the north and west of us too. The Dixie fire is to the east of us. The other day it was raining ash. I'm not even sure which fire was causing that. With the winds yesterday it was the first day I've seen blue sky in a long while. Today we're back to smokey skies again.

What I really love about the 50's is that it's a transitional period... The flowers are getting larger with some ruffling.The falls are getting rounder, more tailored, and losing that droopy look from earlier years.

Spellbound (Linse 1951)


First Violet(DeForest 1951)


Sable night (Cook 1951)


Joan Crawford (Benson 1952)


Blue Sapphire (Schreiner 1953)


Frivol (Whiting 1954)


Persian Robe (Sass 1955)


Gay Paree (Gordon Plough 1956)


Bernice Drizik (Becherer 1958)


Whole Cloth (Cook 1958)

And the 1960s, when my mother and I were struck dumb by the beauty of Opal Brown's "winter Olympics," the Dykes winner in 1967.

Beverly Sills has never done well for me either.I have tried it several times over the years to no avail.It is such a pretty color iris.

Winter Olympics looks like a really nice white.. Was '67 the year the winter Olympics were held at Squaw Valley? Or was it '63? Well, that seems like a good place to kick off historics from the '60's.. I feel like there were big leaps in form in this decade, and also patterns..

'Gypsy Lullaby' (Brown 1960)


'Gay Geisha' (Olson 1961)


'Gracie Pfost' (Eva Smith 1961)


'Rippling Waters' (Fay 1961)


Tropical Butterfly (Carstensen 1963)


'Babbling Brook' (Keppel '65)


'Spooned Blaze' (Lloyd Austin 1965)


'Beaux Arts' (Plough '69)

Tropical Butterfly is just so cute! Think I'm going to have to find that one.