I started gardening as a middle schooler, first with some fall planted bulbs from the grocery store. I soon started sending off for catalogs, and then the doors opened to all the amazing plants out there I had never seen! Jackson and Perkins rose catalogs were among the first, and they used to send frequent offers through the mail for collections of various perennials. One was a bearded iris offer, a collection of 5 or 7 varieties that I saved allowance money for. Until that time the only irises I'd seen had been various historics like pallida, flavescens, and an old white one from my grandmother's yard. I've forgotten the names of most from that collection, but recall one that blew me away- Stepping Out- I was never the same after that! LOL
Soon after I found out about Schreiner's and Cooly's. That's when I acquired my first pink and orange- colors I hadn't seen in irises before. I also recall one I loved from that time called Praise the Lord, a midnight blue self with a striking white beard.
