'Bring Me Diamonds'
(Barry Blyth 2015/2016, TB)
‘Reckless Abandon’
(Keith Keppel 2010, TB)
‘When In Love’
(Joe Ghio 2017, TB)
'Break Tradition'
(Thomas Johnson 2018, TB)
‘Bottle Rocket’
(Mike Sutton 2010, TB)
‘Royalty Remembered’
(Keith Keppel 2017, TB)
At Miller’s Manor, the MTB ‘Pixi-Wan Kenobi’ (Charles
Bunnell 2016) garnered enough attention to be recognized
as the Best Out-Of-Region iris. A bitone plicata, this MTB
produces excellent clumps with proportionate blooms and
lovely stalks.
Next the tour moved to Mid-America Garden. We
met at their newest property where Thomas Johnson
has ten acres in which to expand. He has used the new
area to great advantage and there were acres of irises
to see. Picking a few that stand out is no easy feat. But
one that really did stand out for excellent branching
and overall plant characteristics was ‘Meadowlark Song’
(Thomas Johnson 2016, TB). The mid yellow standards
and plicata banded white falls were wide and ruffled and
‘Fiasco’
(Barry Blyth 2018, TB-Novelty)
'Highly Classified'
(Thomas Johnson 2018, TB)
CONVENTION
COVERAGE
'Blinded By The Light'
(Larry Lauer 2017, TB)
‘Rise Like A Phoenix’
(Paul Black 2017, TB)
‘Bucket List’
(Paul Black 2018, SDB)
‘Cherry Hollow’
(Thomas Johnson 2018, SDB)
as you looked at the row, the stalks were quite consistent.
Another that has been quite excellent in all of the Oregon
gardens is Barry Blyth’s ‘Bring Me Diamonds’ (2015/2016,
TB). This iris is a standout—the wide form, lovely ruffles and
pleasing application of yellow on cream near the beard
area makes for a great garden presence. It has good strong
stalks and good bud count. Its parent ‘Magical’ (Ghio 2008,
TB) has grown well in the Midwest, so we are optimistic
that ‘Bring Me Diamonds’ will perform well across the
country. ‘Reckless Abandon’ (Keppel 2010, TB) was also
blooming. It has a unique and interesting pattern with the
application of gold color at the edge of the white standards
and the spray at the beards on burgundy black falls.
Growth is vigorous and branching and bud count on point.
continued on page 34
Summer 2018 AIS Bulletin 31