Has anyone seen this blog?

I was just contacted to have a link to my business put on here, and was wondering if anyone has ever seen this before. Very interesting.

http://historiciris.blogspot.com/

I just love the picture of Keppels Villain.

And has anyone bought or reviewed the new book on the blog :
The Iris Family

Looks like something I might need.

I assume the blog is from New Zealand.


This message was edited Mar 24, 2009 11:50 PM

Polly not seen this one at all...

D

I haven't seen it, but don't follow blogs. Is it on the Garden Bookshop here? We used to grow 'Villian

She posts entries on the "Iris" forum on gardenweb. I believe she is outside of Wellington and researches historic irises.

I have stumbled across this site before, pretty cool

i just added a link to it on my blog - so much good info about historics.

The person that contacted me is Terry Johnson. I assumed it was a man, due to the Y in Terry, but thanks for telling me it's a woman, Neil.

Where is your blog Green Thumbs? I don't know anything about blogs.



Has anyone seen the book that is pictured? Anyone have it? I'll look in Garden books, Lucy. I'd kind of like to know before I spend that much money.

i just started my blog, i'm really new at it also.
http://greenthumbsgalore.wordpress.com

Actually, now that you mention it, I don't know if Terry is a man or woman. I looked at the site several times last year but now don't remember why I am thinking "she."

Who knows how they might spell male or female Terry in NZ?

HAPPY Wed. my BIF's!!!People always try to spell my name with an ie! Real name is Nickolette! My mom probably didn't know any better!LOL Here is a pretty purple for you polly! Southland Grape!! It also smells wonderful!

I can smell it right through the computer, Nickolette. I think it smells like grape.

Lovely picture.

Well, Terry contacted me again, saw people had clicked on his blog from DG. And wanted to thank us for looking. And Terry is a he, works in the oil industry in NZ, and is a historic iris lover. I encouraged him to join us on DG. He is on Gardenweb at times.

PollyK,
Just want to say thanks for posting this thread. I would have never seen it if not for you. I am a big fan of Keppel and I absolutely love Villain !

SOoo does anyone know where Villain might be available from ?
Thanks

You're welcome.

Yes, I would like a Villain, also. That's one gorgeous iris!

Someone from New Zealand posted an entry from that blog on the iris-forum. The post was about some new intros by a grower in New Zealand. And we just thought we were smart ordering from Barry Blyth! There are good growers all over the place. But few are as good about shipping to the US as Barry Blyth -- at least that I know of. Dee may have a more knowledgeable opinion on that subject.

On that blog scroll down to March 13, 2009 and see the new intros of Ron Busch.

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 9:08 PM

Not bearded, but I've been trying to find out how to get irises from Kamo Industries in Japan for years, to no avail. In these modern times, it's hard to believe it's as impossible as it seems. I think if I had some way to communicate better with them it could be a possibility.

And there are some sibs from Jennifer Hewitt in England I would love to get.

But yes, you are right, there are fantastic hybridizers all over the world. And I would imagine bearded irises, of all plants would ship well.

I think they would ship, but countries are putting up more and more barriers to shipping of live plants. Blyth said or wrote somewhere that Australia is threatening even harsher import rules than it has now and he says such a change would mean that they would not be able to import iris or much of anything else anymore. That was part of his rationale in starting some hybridizing here at Keppel's place. That way he could still mix his iris with new American cultivars -- that is unless the US puts up similar barriers which has been threatened but so far has not gotten off the ground.
I find it surprising and sad that as the world becomes more global in almost everything, plant varieties could be kept out in the future.
Hopefully it won't come to that.

Barry Blyth doesn't ship to NZ any more because of restricitons.

Well, that says it all. I wonder if they can ship out of New Zealand to other places?

With all the new restrictriations to ship overseas from USA to here, this is why many hybridizers will no longer ship...give you an idea, I must be inspected 3 different times 3 weeks apart before I can ship to any country except Canada. Then when I get ready to ship, they must be cleaned, soaked in 10/90 bleach for 15 min or more then they must be soaked in Safer Soap or something the same balance for 30 min. The phyto must state what was done and how long and with what...France is the worse of Europe and will not ship there any longer.

New Zealand usually will not SHIP out because of all the restrictriations on their end...and as you know Barry Blyth to import makes a $50.00 iris from USA cost about $150.00 per rhizome by the end of all the test and quanantines they go thru...

The biggest problem I have had in the past is the iris gets to customs and sits! Sometimes as much as several weeks before customs tell the receiver that the iris are in...and trust me they know.

But to give you another tell of overseas orders, my local post office and the next two closest will not allow me to ship overseas as they put iris in a LIVING PLANT catagory even tho I have brought in everything telling them that once a bearded iris is dug it is dormant like a daff, o. lily, tulips, glads, you get the idea. IT IS DORMANT not a live but our office says it has green foliage and roots there for it is alive. I must drive to Salem which is 45-50 miles one way to ship overseas at the place that many of the area growers ship from without a problem! Go figure.

Alot of the problems is how each country interrupts the import or export rules...and with Canada it gets to the border super fast and then sits, but if sent UPS (brown truck) 2 days, there is no problem...

I want to get some iris from England as well so maybe if several went together and did ONE order it would happen...

D

Hope this helps