PEARCEDALE - SPRING 2011.

The weatherman is telling us that this coming season may be normal; what ever that is. In all our 50 or more years of growing Iris, this past summer and autumn was the first one that we did not have to turn the sprinklers on even once. If someone had said we would have a year like that I would have thought that they were in a dream world. Consequently the Iris are looking good and appreciated a smooth growing season.  We expect lovely bloom this Spring.

Again this catalogue we have the most modern range of Bearded Iris that we can offer in Australia featuring many new introductions from overseas as well as our own introductions from our extensive breeding program. Also for those interested in growing Hostas, the range has been increased as the new imports multiple and enough stock becomes available for sale. Some of these newer ones are in smaller numbers, so “first come first served”.

We were able to attend the American Iris Convention again this past Northern Spring and it was held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The award of the Wister Medal for Decadence was presented to us. It cannot go any further because the Dykes Medal in US is only for US citizens. We only mention this because so many people ask about it. Also at the convention we were able to present an hour program about our Iris breeding and where it is going. It was fun to do and seemed to be enjoyed by all.

On the subject of Iris awards, this year’s Dykes Medal winner in USA was Drama Queen and the runner up was Wintry Sky, both Keith Keppel introductions. Keith also won a couple of Wister Medals with Florentine Silk and Tour De France, not to mention several Award of Merits. What can one say about such a high rate of achievement. I suppose after 50 years of hybridizing Iris his chickens are really coming home to roost. His first love is really plicata Iris and this is the first Dykes Medal he has won for a plicata though he has won two previous Dykes Medals. We think his Florentine Silk will win another Dykes Medal for him in a year or so; it is such a rewarding Iris to grow and it does well everywhere. The third Wister Medal this year went to one of our favourite garden Iris “That’s All Folks”, Bill Maryott’s last Tall Bearded introduction. He now hybridizes only Daylilies.

We are still cutting back on the quantity of Iris we grow and we are importing far less, so the catalog will gradually become smaller. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer here and can find something that will go well in your garden.

Happy gardening to all,

Lesley & Barry