Aril Trek 2018! STORY AND PHOTOS BY TOM WATERS, NEW MEXICO | Reprint from theamericanirissociety.blogspot.com
On April 6 and 7, Aril and Arilbred enthusiasts
from parts far and wide converged on Las Cruces,
New Mexico, to enjoy each other’s company and
an astonishing array of Arilbreds in bloom.
The Aril Trek was a joint undertaking of the Aril
Society International and the Mesilla Valley Iris
Society, and the arrangements were all excellent
and smoothly executed.
Friday evening registration was followed by
an educational session of “Aril bingo” and a panel
discussion with Dell Perry, Pete McGrath, Rick
Tasco, Perry Dyer, and (much to my surprise)
yours truly.
The heart of the weekend was four garden
tours on Saturday: the small but beautifully
designed Pountney garden in the residential
Tortugas area south of Las Cruces, the expansive
Dash garden high in the West Mesa desert, the
glorious Wilson Garden north of the city, with
row upon abundant row of perfectly grown irises
of many types, and the delightfully ornamented
Ayres garden, northeast of the city.
The timing seemed perfect for Arilbreds, with
both halfbreds and quarterbreds apparently
near peak bloom, amidst late Medians and early
TBs. I got to see many old and new cultivars in
bloom that I have not grown myself. It was also
rewarding to see such fine Arilbred performance
in gardens with such different growing conditions:
desert sand to river-valley clay, cool verdant
niches to sites exposed to the full sun, wind, and
temperature extremes of southern New Mexico.
Saturday afternoon featured informative judges
training led by Dell Perry (who took us through
the intricacies of Aril and Arilbred classification
and characteristics with verve and expertise) and
Perry Dyer (who applied his experience and keen
eye to show how to look at these varied plants in
the garden). Yes, I did pass the test at the end!
‘Point Well Taken’ (Sharon McAllister 1998, AB) (OGB)
at the Pountney garden
‘New Vision’ (Richard Tasco 2012, AB) (OGB) at the Dash garden
36 AIS Bulletin Summer 2018