“THE ISLAND” IN CITY PARK
“The Island” is a space in City
Park where the Greater New Orleans
Iris Society grows and propagates
irises as part of SLI’s Species
CONVENTION
INFORMATION
Preservation Project. The club also grows species plants
for re-introduction into the wild. In addition, a wide variety
of cultivars are grown on the Island—kept for donation
and club sales—but the Species Preservation Project
has evolved as a
major focus of the
considerable effort
in the roughly one
acre plot. Around 100
different forms of Iris
fulva, giganticaerulea,
nelsonii, brevicaulis,
and hexagona are
entering their second
year on the island,
mostly growing in
seven-gallon pots in
retention pools, or
“iris paddies,” if you
prefer.
The design
I. nelsonii at City Park
of the Species Preservation Project calls for stewards
around the country to assume responsibility for growing
and maintaining a list of designated species forms. Some
irises have been distributed, but because of the availability
of space and support, the island has become an informal
“ground zero” for the Project. At present, there is no spot
in the country where one can see as wide a range of wild
Louisiana iris forms.
The island is no more than a ten-minute drive from the
Sculpture Garden and other tour stops in City Park, but, fair
warning, it is primarily a work area, not a manicured garden.
The site is pretty enough—sitting on the edge of a lagoon in
the park and looking across the water to a newly restored
golf course—but much of the immediately surrounding
space is used for outdoor storage and much is simply
undeveloped. The area in which the irises grow is fenced
and not open to the public. With special permission and
caveats, however, it will be on the AIS/SLI garden tours.
BOTANIC GARDEN IN BATON ROUGE
The Louisiana irises in the Botanic Garden in
Independence Park in Baton Rouge originated with the
efforts of the late Joseph Mertzweiller, a major hybridizer
and guiding force in SLI. Mertzweiller conceived of the iris
garden and donated the irises at the core of the original
planting, most of which survive in a well planned setting
that makes them readily accessible to the public. There is
no charge for admission to this garden, which also features
daylilies, roses, herbs, camellias, crape myrtles, and gingers.
Original plans for the garden called for the construction
of an “Iris Pavilion.” With admirable long term adherence
to the plan and the support of volunteers as well as Baton
Rouge Recreation and Parks, the Pavilion now sits in a
prominent place in the Garden.
The Garden will feature Guest Irises for the Convention
and other recent cultivars as well as many of Joe
Mertzweiller’s tetraploid and diploid irises. A nice mix of old
and new cultivars
Top left to right: ‘Freddie Boy’ (Joseph Mertzweiller 1974, LA),
‘Misty Bayou’ (Joseph Musacchia 2015, LA),
‘Rose Cartwheel’ (Marvin Granger 1980, LA)
Bottom: ‘Full Eclipse’ (Ben Hager, R. 1978, LA)
Iris Pavilion
A well-planned setting readily accessible to the public
40 AIS Bulletin Winter 2018