SPRING 2012  PEARCEDALE

It seems as if the springs are coming closer together as only yesterday we were writing a few introductory lines to our catalogue and here we are doing it again. Sign of getting older and everything kaleidoscopes into each other. Already the Iris are moving and winter is over, early Dwarf Iris buds are forming and it won’t be long and we will be spending time among the rows of Iris, particularly the seedlings, looking for that next amazing new variation.

In May we were very fortunate to spend three weeks with members of the French Iris Society (SFIB) travelling all over France looking at Iris growing in a gorgeous country and meeting many members of the small but so enthusiastic Iris Society. We were there to present programs about Iris breeding and Iris growing as we do it at Tempo Two. We have many happy Iris customers all over France and it was a delight to finally meet so many people we had only known by name. It was so enjoyable and something never forgotten. As we have found in other places in the world, the power of the Iris to bring people together and enjoy the companionship and all the fun of growing and showing off the latest Iris seedlings or new aquisitions from other growers was alive and well in France.

We did notice travelling through the countryside that Iris are grown much more often than we have seen before. It seems as if Iris are much more a part of gardens and gardening in France. We checked if the French gardeners thought the emblem of the fleur de lis was an Iris or a Lily. Always it was said that it was an Iris. Maybe that is the reason for the popularity of Iris in the country. Along roadsides and in so many town gardens, Iris were flowering in profusion. This was particularly noticable in the Loire Valley and no doubt in part to the fact that the two largest iris nurseries in Europe, Bourdillon and Cayeux, are found in the area.

We note with delight that Florentine Silk did win the Dykes Medal in USA last Spring, another feather in the cap of Keith Keppel;  his lovely Gypsy Lord won a Wister Medal. Maybe Gypsy Lord will also take one more step and win a Dykes Medal in a year or so. We have Gypsy Lord back in the catalogue again this year, so those interested in growing one of the most rewarding Iris parents could do no better than trying it in their garden and incorporating it into their breeding program. From our experience it is well worth the reward. We have seen many delightful seedlings from Gypsy Lord both here and in American seedling beds.

This catalogue again offers the best of the new American Iris cultivars and a selection of our own introductions that we are very pleased with. Also a fine range of Hostas are presented and as usual, some of the Hostas are in short supply, so early orders will be filled in rotation. We are still cutting back on what we grow and this catalogue has a few pages less than last year.

We will have the garden open on 3 weekends as indicated below on this page. We will have a display in the barn of some of the newer named iris for closer comparison to each other, or you can wander the rows and see how they grow.

Happy Gardening

Lesley and Barry