This page was created on the 30th of May, 2003.
Page Maintained by Murray Head

Show and tell:- Rhonda Burg –a rebloom spike of Chinese Empress. Rhonda questioned why the spike had grown crooked.  Answer cold nights stop growth then warm days cause a growth spurt which bends the stem.
Pauline Smith – Decorated eggs with iris motif  from Kashmir and bought from Community Aid Abroad.
Richard Preston – Flyer from Aberfoyle Stitch ‘N’ Craft with an iris patchwork class advertised.
Julia Jacobs – Coaster set with molded iris on holder and pictures on coasters.
Marg Kuchel – Sugar bowl with iris purchased from the Opportunity Shop.

From the Inland Region Newsletter – Iris is a Greek word meaning rainbow.
Iris was one of the lesser Gods in Greek mythology.  Iris was the messenger of the Gods and the personification of the Rainbow.  This Rainbow Goddess carried messages for the gods, especially for Zeus and Hera.  Among the duties of this Greek Goddess Iris was that of leading the souls of dead women to the Elysian Fields.  In token of that faith the Greeks planted purple Iris on the graves of women.

Guest Speaker
2002 Premo Firenze in Florence. Brett Draper was speaker with additions from Ivar and Carol.
 A description of the garden in which the irises are grown is – ‘an old terraced olive grove with some iris plants under shade from the trees’.  The garden is on a hillside overlooking Florence.   The soil is heavy clay with shale rocks but well drained.   The garden was started in 1956.  Margaret Longo has been involved since 1969 judging the irises and training judges and gardeners.   There are 5000 cultivars of iris in the garden.   Growers from around the world send four plants of a new variety which are planted and grown for three years.  They are judged in the third bloom season.  Excess rhizomes of older varieties are sold in pots.   The garden is also used for research and trials are done there.   No old varieties are discarded, the garden gets bigger every year. Entries submitted each year are planted in a new section with the plants numbered but not named. There are five judges each year – In 2002 two were from Italy, one from USA, Ivar from Australia and one from Europe.  

The judging is done in three sections.   The first section identifies plants which are suitable for judging.  Any with less than five buds per spike are eliminated, as are those with poor growth.   The plants to be judged are labeled with a stake marked ‘E’ (eligible).  Of 96 entered, 51 were selected for judging.  Most were TBs with a few medians.

Editorial

Hopefully everyone has now had some useful rain to green up the garden and get plants growing before the cold sets in properly.  The rain has produced a lot of new seedlings in my latest seed pots and I am starting to wonder how much space will be needed to plant them all out in spring – a problem we face every year.

An Iris Show at Naracoorte

While in Naracoorte for a family party I spotted an advertisement for an Iris Show to be held as part of the Naracoorte Country Fair on Saturday October 18^th.  I could not resist the urge to find out more about this so took the details and rang Rosemary Miller who is convening the show.  This is the first show of Iris to be held there and could possibly become a permanent show if this one is successful.  A good judge has been selected – someone called Carol Schmidt, so we can be confident that the best Iris will win.  I have a list of classes for anyone who would like to exhibit and will publish it in a later newsletter.

Guest speakers

The Guest Speaker for June 12^th will be Joyce Gepp who will speak on Geraniums, or more correctly, Pelargoniums.  Joyce runs the Powell Park Pelargonium Nursery at Clare and will be bringing plants to sell as well as enlightening us all about these beautiful plants.

The speaker on July 10^th will be Steve Forbes who is the Director of the Adelaide Botanical Gardens.

What would you like to learn more about?

If you have an interest you think could make a good topic please contact someone from the committee and we will investigate the possibility of using the idea. One suggestion that has been made is ‘Plants to attract butterflies to the garden’.

Advertising

In the March Newsletter Natalie Houba asked for information about suppliers for some plants she wanted.  Natalie reported that she had had several replies including one who gave her some plants and another with information of a nursery which could supply some.  This is obviously a good way to find that elusive plant you have yearned for, so for the modest sum of $1, you can place your advert, find your plant and help the Society to earn a little more income.

Iris Patchwork

As mentioned in Show and Tell a flyer for the Aberfoyle Stitch ‘N’ Craft was tabled..  A workshop to create an Iris Stained Glass Quilt will be held on Saturday July 16^th.  Cost is $45 which includes the pattern.  More information is available from the flyer in the Club library.

Cash Management Account

This was set up on 11^th April using the $5,500 in the Term Deposit accounts.  On April 30 $12.51 in interest was added to the account.  Since then a further $2,000 has been added to this account so the interest will accrue even faster.  This type of account was suggested by a very helpful teller at BankSA as the best way to increase the deposit and certainly pays better than the Term Deposits did.

Who was it?

Bob Raabe wants the lady member of SA Iris Society who wanted to buy the book ‘Dykes Genus Iris’ to contact him again please as he does not have your address.

This page was created on the 30th of May, 2003.
Page Maintained by Murray Head