Spring Dreaming? Show Me your Iris!

zacattack, loved that one. Who sells it?

Am including a picture of Thorn Bird. Please notice the horns extending out on the falls.

Love the color and configuration.

Maxine

Another one since I can post so quickly now. Must be the early hour.

Pink Swan is the name. Of course from Suttons. I have toured their gardens and had a personal tour by George [one of the owners]. Boggles the mind to see over 450 acres of iris blooming.
Poor hubby went along, but he sure wasn't interested. Now if it had been machinery it would have been me sitting in the back seat BORED STIFF.

Maxine

Suttons in the gardens you toured, Maxine? Wow, I can not imagine that large an acreage of iris! Where are they located? Are horns and spoons the same thing?
Both are lovely.

Love those horns! When I looked for more photos of Thornbird, I found this yellow one. Is yours yellow, Maxine? Looks pink to me. Are there a group of these?

Maxine... I have checked out several on-line sites and cannot find Prototype. I got mine from an auction at our local Iris Society. I'm sure you can get one from Joe Ghio at Bayview Gardens. www.thegardensite.com/irises/bayviewgardens or by going to Bayview from the commercial directory listing on the AIS web site. www.irises.org SO many growers and so much to see here. Thanks for sharing your photos... and Good Luck, Dan

Boojum, wonder if it is the soil or conditions?
Mine is true to the picture, but will retake the picture when they bloom in May. OK?

zacattack---Thanks for the info. Will bookmark it so I can order it or keep track of it, if and when there is an iris coop.

Maxine

Hello bluegrass425... Space Age Irises such as Thornbird come with a variety of appendages, called spoons, horns or flounces. These appendages extend from the beard and give that unique look that Space Age Irises are loved for. I am including a series of photos showing some of the differences. This photo is of Trick or Treat, a 1984 introduction by Osbourne. It is listed as having feathered purple horns.

Here's Ty Blue, introduced by Tom Burseen in 1999. It has fuzzy purple horns. Thornbird was the pollen parent.

Here's Honey Scoop, introduced by George Sutton in 1996. It is listed as having a cream to chrome yellow spoon. I Love this one !

And for one with flounces... here's All Aflutter. Introduced by Monty Byers in 1994.

One more Space Age that I just had to post... Bonnie Davenport, which was introduced by Tom Burseen in 1997. This is an awesome plant. Thornbird was used as the pod parent.

Oooooo.....I love that Bonnie Davenport!

Maxine - also like that Pink Swan.

zacattack

You have mail.

Maxine

One more. Hope you don't get bored?

Maxine

Most of my iris came from Suttons.

Name " Shelby Lynn"

Color is not accurate on the "Shelby Lynn"

Maxine

Gosh, zacattack, this is fascinating!! I had heard of these but only knew the name Thornbird. I adore Bonnie Davenport. It looks like there are purple ribbons or tongues coming out!! Where did you buy these lovelies?

I've been old "Plain Jane" iris until this fall when I ordered what I hope to be some stunning iris. Thank you for posting these, as it makes them even more exciting. Spent this weekend making a spread sheet of Iris in my garden by color, etc. It was great. I got to look up every one up again.

Wanda, I bought some Historic iris from Nola's Iris this fall. They have a lot of them. I just found out that most of these are diploids and that people pretty much stopped breeding them in the 1940's when a triploid was discovered. Having four sets of genes to work with was just too fun I guess. I'll bet you already know this but I thought that only the daylily people were diploid and triploid crazed. Thank goodness for good gardening books. I guess you can never have too many of them. Just like Iris cultivars.

Do keep sending more pictures. I was just dreaming of a thread like this last weekend.

Bored, never! I love to look at the pictures. I only have older varieties. I think Honey Scoop won at our local show. Everyone can see why.

I really like the Trick or Treat one. So hard to choose. Well, I just like them all!

boojum... You should be able to get Bonnie Davenport directly from the hybridizer, Tom Burseen. You can contact him at TB'S PLACE, 1513 Ernie Lane, Grand Prairie, TX. 75052-1106. He has a catalog that includes his introductions as well as other quality irises. Or check out the commercial iris sites on the AIS website at www.irises.org There are so many wondeful irises available, and the AIS (American Iris Society) web site will be a great companion through these coming winter months. God Bless... Dan

Great info, Dan! Thanks you!

Thank you for the Nola's Iris site! Lots of good choices for old iris. There is just something about them tha calls my soul. Maybe membrances of walking in Grandma's garden as a child. I saved some of her iris when she moved to our home in the 1970s.

Anne Newhard

I love the old ones because they take this cold Maine weather!

Hooked--GORGEOUS!

Here is Camelot Rose. Lovely big blooms on strong stalks that never lay down in a storm.

Another olddie

Maxine, I keep going back to your Pink Swan. I bet it is stunning when it blooms in your garden!

Oops! Thread is getting long. How about Spring Dreaming 2?

http://davesgarden.com/forums/pf.php