R Without Your ontributions, There Is Nothing To Print.aisregion17.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/R-17... · Web Page–Jaime Hadley PO ox 143417 Austin, TX 78714-3417 512-731-4621

This is YOUR Newsletter

Without Your Contributions, There Is Nothing To Print.

Anyone can write something that can be included in OUR newsletter. Are you or your club working on any special projects? Have you attended a meeting and learned something you want

to share with other iris lovers? Do you want to ask questions about problems in your garden? Are there irises you are looking for but can’t find? Do you want to brag about your club, region or garden? Did you take photos of a guest speaker, your show, your sale, a

judges training you sponsored? Send them. If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, please write it up and send it in. Any format, printed, faxed or e-mailed will do, but it would be easiest for newsletter production if the article is sent either as an attached text, word processing file or in the body of an e-mail. PDF files must be retyped as they do not copy into Publisher, which is the program used for the newsletter.

The deadline for the Spring Edition is FEBRUARY 15.

Send articles and photos to your Editor at [email protected]. You will never know how difficult it is to do a newsletter if you haven’t worked on one, so please get your info sent in as early as you can!

There are some informational items needed each year from each club in Texas.:

Name, Address, Phone # and email of local club Presidents. When new officers take office, please send this info to me.

Each clubs’ show and sale dates, locations, & contact infor-mation. These can be submitted Fall or Spring.

Also needed: Activity report from all the club presidents, region officers

& chairs. These are needed for the Fall issue.

Articles about anything iris, gardening or club related. Wel-come for both Fall and Spring issues.

I’m not a hounder. If you want your information in the newsletter, get it to me by the deadline. I will not pester you to get it.

START WRITING…. IT IS FUN TO SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT

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REGION

What’s In Here?

YOUR Newsletter ………………………………………………………………………………………….2 “What’s In Here” Index……..………………………………………………………………….……….3 Region 17 Officers & Chairs Information…………………………...……………….......…...4 Region 17 AIS Affiliate Clubs..…………………………………………………………………………….….......5 2018 Scheduled Shows…………………………………………………………………………………..6 2017 Show Results…………………………………………………………….……………………….7-8 RVP Report—Peggy Cathey………………………………………………………………………..9-10 2017 Region 17 Business Meeting Minutes……………………………………………..11-13 Treasurer’s Report—Connie Ford………………..……..……….….........…...................14 Historian Report—Jim Landers………………………………………………………………..15-16 Judges Training Chair Report—Al Elliott………….……………………………………….17-19 2018 Accredited Judges List…………………………………………………………………….20-21 Judges Training on Spurias— South Plains Iris Society……………...….……………...22 Newsletter Report — Dell Perry………….……………….……..…………………..….….……23 Youth 2018 Cosgrove Award Nomination Information……………….……….24-25 2018 Ackerman Essay Contest Information…………………………………….26 2018 AIS Coloring Contest Information…………………………………………..26 Word Search Puzzle—Animals in Iris Names…………………………………..27 Answers…………………………………………………….….54 Membership Report – Bill Pittman…...……………………...…………………….…….……..28 Upcoming AIS and AIS Section Events…………………….…………………………………....28 Hosting an Annual Meeting—Bonnie Nichols………………………………..……………..29 2018 Aril Trek Information and Registration Form..………………………………………30-32 The Road to The Dykes Medal—Peggy Cathey…………………………………………………...33 2018 AIS/SLI Convention—New Orleans…Information and Registration…….....34-36 Reporting Your Reblooming Iris —Gailmae Suite……….………..……………………….37 Energizing Our Clubs—Peggy Cathey……………………………..……………………….38-42 Region 17 AIS Membership Club Recognition Program—Peggy Cathey………..43 Club Reports Belton Iris Society…………………………………………………………………………..44 Benson Iris Society……………………………………………………………….……45-46 East Texas Iris Society…………………………………………..………………………...47 Fort Worth Iris Society…………………………………………………..……………....48 Iris Society of Austin…………………………………………………………..…………..49 Iris Society of Dallas………………………………………..……………………………...50 Johnson County Iris &Daylily Society…………..…………………………….......51 Lone Star Iris Society….…………………………………………………..……………...52 North Plains Iris Society……………………………………………..…………………..53 Permian Basin Iris Society………………………………………..……….…………….54 Piney Woods Iris Society………………………………..………….…………………...54 South Plains Iris Society……………………………………..….…………………..55-56 Texoma Rainbow Iris Society………………………..………………………………...57 Waco Iris Society …..……………………………………………………………………....58 West Texas Iris Society…………….………………………………..…………………...59 Texas Commercial Iris Gardens……………………………………….……..……….Back Cover

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Region 17 Officers & Chairs

RVP–Peggy Cathey 1115 HCR 1414 Covington, TX 76636 254-854-2558 [email protected] Assistant RVP–Bonnie Nichols 3365 Northaven Rd Dallas, TX 75229 214-352-2191 [email protected] Secretary–Jerrie Cage 2522 County Road 622 Hamilton, TX 76531 254-372-3165 [email protected] Treasurer–Connie Ford 17391 Mary Martin Dr. Flint TX 75762 903-571-0777 [email protected] Judges Training–AL Elliott 104 Saddle Trail Georgetown, TX 78633 512-943-0687 [email protected] Youth Advocate–Vicki Howard PO Box 113 Rio Vista, TX 76093-0113 817-933-1057 [email protected] Membership–Bill Pittman 4211 S Washington Amarillo TX 79110 806-679-7351 [email protected] Newsletter–Dell Perry 800 Purcell Dr. Plano, TX 75025 972-816-3418 [email protected] Historian–Jim Landers 710 N 11th Temple, TX 76501-3016 254-773-5017 [email protected] Web Page–Jaime Hadley PO Box 143417 Austin, TX 78714-3417 512-731-4621 [email protected] Past RVP–Parliamentarian Dawn Boyer 1900 Daws Dr. Amarillo, TX 79124 806-881-9775 [email protected]

Region 17 is a 501(c)3 non-profit affiliate of The American Iris Society http://www.aisregion17.org/

Newsletter Submission Deadline: Spring—February 15 Fall —September 15

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AIS Region 17 Texas Local Affiliates

Belton (BIS) Karen Woods – President 3306 E Munroe Ave. Temple, TX 76501 254-217-1750 [email protected]

Benson (BIS) Mary Rhoads – President 16012 FM 1954 Wichita Falls, TX 76310 [email protected]

East Texas (ETIS) Connie Ford – President 17391 Mary Martin Dr. Flint, TX 75762 903-571-0777 [email protected]

Fort Worth (FWIS) Happy Carver – President 448 Azle Hwy Weatherford, TX 76085 817-946-8473 [email protected]

IS Of Austin (ISA) Donna Little – President 1005 Shinnecock Hills Dr Georgetown TX 78628 512-869-0683 [email protected]

IS Of Dallas (ISD) Hooker Nichols – President 3365 Northaven Rd Dallas TX 75229 214-352-2191 [email protected]

Johnson Co Iris-Daylily (JCIDS) Vicki Howard – President P0 Box 113 Rio Vista TX 76093 817-933-1057 [email protected]

Lone Star (LSIS) Laura Smargiasso – President 4168 Saint Leger Fr. Cleburne, TX 76033 817-846-5359 [email protected]

North Plains (NPIS) Dawn Boyer – President 1900 Daws Dr Amarillo TX 79124 806-881-9775 [email protected]

Permian Basin (PBIS) Debbie Strauss - President 2213 Hereford Blvd Midland TX 79707 432-352-5483 [email protected]

Piney Woods (PWIS) Jeana Christian – President 941 CR 1233 Omaha TX 75571 [email protected]

South Plains (SPIS) Ramona Howard – President 3604 43rd St Lubbock TX 79413 806-792-1878 [email protected]

Texoma Rainbow (TRIS) Dell Perry – President 800 Purcell Dr. Plano, TX 75025 972-816-3418 [email protected]

Waco (WIS) Dan Cathey – President 1115 HCR 1414 Covington TX 76636 254-854-2558 [email protected]

West Texas (WTIS) Marie Pate – President 4709 Knights Place Midland TX 79705 432-553-5302 [email protected]

April 7, 2018 Iris Society of Dallas Holy Cross Lutheran Church 11425 Marsh Ln Dallas, TX

April 21 , 2018 Belton Iris Society Iris Society of Dallas Holy Cross Lutheran Church 11425 Marsh Ln Dallas, TX Johnson County Iris and Daylily Society Texoma Rainbow Iris Society April 22, 2018 Lone Star Iris Society “Hats Off To Irises” Hico High School 901 Cedar St Hico, TX

If you want your show listed in the Fall Newsletter, Submit your information to the Newsletter Editor before September15th.

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2018 Scheduled Iris Shows

2017 Show Results

Benson Iris Society Best of Show Blue Starlight Deborah Rutledge Silver Medal Arlene Childress 11 blue Bronze Medala Karen Lawler 8 blue Best Design of Show Mary Rhoads Artistic Sweepstakes Arlene Childress Iris Society of Austin Best of Show Bayou Tiger Jaime Hadley Silver Medal Don and Pat Freeman 6 blue Bronze Medal Jim Landers 5 blue Iris Society of Dallas Best of Show Gulf Coast Sunshine Hooker and Bonnie Nichols Silver Medal Hooker and Bonnie Nichols Bronze Medal Dell Perry Johnson County Iris and Daylily Society Best of Show Alpine Harmony Glenn Huddleston Silver Medal Glenn Huddleston 34 blue Bronze Medal Mary Keeth 28 blue Youth Best of Show Saint Patrick’s Gold Abbie Howard Youth Silver Medal Jacky Howard 2 blue 1 red Youth Bronze Medal Abbie Howard 2 blue Best Design of Show Jacky Howard (youth)

If you want the results of your show printed in the Fall newsletter, send tthen to the Newsletter Editor before September 15th.

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Permian Basin Iris Society Best of Show Dark energy Debbie Strauss Silver Medal Debbie Strauss 8 blue Bronze Medal Muff Fregia 3 blue Youth Best of Show Bold Encounter Faith Donnell Youth Silver Faith Donnell 2 blue Best Design of Show Pat Jones Artistic Sweepstakes Pat Jones South Plains Iris Society Best of Show Orinoco Flow Jennifer Zapate Silver Medal Edna Rice 4 blue Bronze Medal Mary Wilber 3 blue Best Design of Show Valerie Walker Texoma Rainbow Iris Society Best of Show Inky Icon Judy Schneider Silver Medal Judy Schneider 10 blue Bronze Medal Martha McDowell 4 blue Best Design of Show Jerry Ware Artistic Sweepstakes Jerry Ware West Texas Iris Society Best of Show Marilyns Skirt Kay Montgomery Silver Medal Petty Wennerlind 9 blue 5 red 3 white Bronze Medal Debbie Strauss 9 blue 5 red 2 white Best Design of Show Peggy Wennerlind Artistic Sweepstakes Peggy Wennerlind

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I would like to thank the Iris Society of Dallas for being

the host of the 2017 Region 17 Meeting held in Dallas

August 4-5 of this year. They did a great job. I also want

to thank everyone who attended. You are what keeps

our Region going.

During our annual business meeting, several items were recommended by the

Region 17 Executive Board and approved during the General Business

Meeting. These included the new Region 17 Hybridizer Award which will be

given to the Texas Hybridizer with the most Award of Merits each fall after

the annual Awards are announced by the American Iris Society. The Iris Soci-

ety of Dallas will be sponsoring the award each year there is a winner. The

Iris Society of Dallas will also sponsor the Region 17 Distinguished Service

Award which will publicly recognize and honor a member of our Region for

outstanding service to AIS and Region 17. Nominations are to be submitted to

the RVP and a panel of 5 will determine the winner. A big thank you to the

generosity of the Iris Society of Dallas for sponsoring these awards.

We are currently in search of a host for next year’s Region 17 Meeting. Our

ultimate goal is to always have at least 3 years of Region 17 Meetings sched-

uled so we know well in advance of where and when the meetings will be.

This will also give the host clubs plenty of time to plan for their big event.

In order to make hosting easier and not so scary for some of our smaller

clubs, the Assistant RVP, Bonnie Nichols, has been appointed as the Region 17

Meeting Liaison. Bonnie has all the information you need to make hosting a

Regional Meeting as easy as possible. She is available to do club programs on

the subject so I hope many of you will schedule Bonne to come talk to your

club.

To make this project even more appealing, especially to the smaller or less

funded clubs, Region 17 will give any host club who re-

quests it, $500 in “seed” money to help get started. If

the club makes money at their Regional meeting, they

would pay this money back to the Region. We also voted

to increase the money Region 17 gives the host club to

purchase irises for the Regional Meeting auction to $600. All proceeds from

the auction go back to the Region for expenses incurred in the printing and

mailing of the Region 17 Newsletters. I would also encourage all clubs in

RVP Report By Peggy Cathey

9

our Region to help the host clubs with expenses. Monetary

donations are always welcome. You could also help fill the

boutique by providing a club basket for a raffle or silent auc-

tion or donate iris items and other garden goodies for the

boutique. You could also dig and donate irises for the auc-

tion or to use as table favors. We all love to get free irises!

Region 17 Tall Bearded Symposium

I want to thank everyone who voted in this year’s TB Symposium. The votes

have been tallied and the top 10 places for favorite irises in Region 17 are:

1st place—Glitter Gulch

2nd place—Gloriafied Glenn

3rd place (tie)—Queen’s Circle & That’s All Folks

4th place—Sharp Dressed Man

5th place—Thornbird

6th place—Jesse’s Song

7th place (tie)—Double Platinum, Notta Lemon,

Snapshot, Tobacco Chew

8th place (tie)—Casino Cruiser, Cow Patty, Dar-

ing Deception, Drama Queen, Mesmerizer

9th place (tie)—Acoma, Beauty Becomes Her,

Broke Again, Daughter of Stars, Haunted

Heart, Insaniac, Stairway to Heaven, Tiger

Honey, Volcanic Glow

10th place (tie)—Beyond Borders, Bombay

Eyes, Oil Painting, Skating Party, Trumped

Glitter Gulch, Burseen 2009 Region 17 winner (15 votes)

Gloriafied Glenn, Burseen 2009

Close 2nd (14 votes)

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AIS Region 17

Annual Meeting Minutes of General Business Meeting held August 5, 2017

Peggy Cathey, Region Vice President, convened the Region 17 Annu-

al Meeting on August 5, 2017 at 1:30. Registered members to attend

were 43. The annual meeting was held at the Holy Cross Lutheran

Church in Dallas. Meeting was hosted by Iris Society of Dallas.

Peggy Cathey recommended we not include all reports in the

minutes as they are included in the newsletter. A copy of all reports

will be kept with the minutes. Board members agreed with this rec-

ommendation at the Executive Board Committee Meeting on August

4, 2017.

Peggy Cathey asked for any corrections to the minutes of the annual

meeting held on August 20, 2016 that was held in Waco. The gen-

eral business minutes from last year’s meeting were not read at this

year’s meeting since they were included in the AIS Region 17 Fall and

Winter 2016 Newsletter that was distributed to all members. One

correction that was noted from the minutes of the special Board

meeting of Saturday, August 20, 2016 which follows: Peggy Cathey

not Debra Strauss purchased the badges, and Peggy was reimbursed.

Connie Ford, Treasurer, presented a detailed treasurer’s report. We

have two Certificates of Deposit that are earning interest of 1.10%

per year. Both Certificates of Deposit renew on September 17, 2017.

Total savings as of July 17, 2017 is $15,992.12. The checking account

balance as of August 1, 2017 is $3,052.40.

Al Elliott presented the Exhibition/Garden Judges report. At this

time there are no new candidates. There are 17 Garden/Exhibition

Judges; 6 Master Judges; and 2 Emeritus. There are also 2 Appren-

tice Judges.

Vicki Howard presented the Youth report. There are currently 16

youth members. Vicki is requesting each club let her know when a

youth enters in the shows and how they placed.

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Bill Pittman presented the membership report. Region 17 placed in

third place with membership of 334; Region 4 is in 2nd place with mem-

bership of 368; and 1st place is Region 14 with 616. With members lost

and members added, we gained a positive of two.

Ken Fuchs presented the Historian report in the absence of Jim

Landers. Jim could not be at the meeting due to a family illness. In

2017 there were 14 shows in the region with 148 people entering

1,075 blooms.

Dell Perry presented a report on the Newsletter. Dell saved the Region

a significant amount of money by finding a different printing company

to print our Spring 2017 newsletter. The cost this year was $453.16

which was considerably less than the fall 2016 printing cost. Greater

cost savings can be obtained by distributing the newsletter via email in

lieu of U S postal mail. The Spring newsletter requested a response

back from those that would prefer to receive future newsletters via

email. Dell will send an email out to membership requesting they re-

spond back to her if they do not wish to receive the newsletter via

email. The deadline to respond back will be a date prior to the distri-

bution of the Spring newsletter of 2018.

Jamie Hadley reported on the Region 17 website. Website is up and functioning as a resource for all Clubs. Will take two or three mem-bers to get trained and these members will serve as back up for ad-ministrator. It was encouraged all clubs send pertinent information about their club activities, i.e. show dates, sale dates, youth activities, meeting information, etc.

OLD BUSINESS:

Annual Meeting or Convention: Board agreed the name of our annual event should be Region 17 Annual Meeting.

Awards-Medals or Pins for officers: This item was basically asking for input from Regions to the National level on preference.

Host of 2018 Meeting: Belton is considering hosting the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

Bank CD Renewal: Connie Ford recommended investing the funds in

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multiple Certificates of Deposit that staggers the maturity dates and investing the funds into more than two CDs. The goal is to meet the Region’s needs to have more immediate access to the funds. The Board agreed this would be left to the treasurer’s discretion on how to set up multiple CDs. Additionally, it was agreed to move the funds from Lubbock National Bank and invest in CDs at Texas Security Bank. As treasurer, Connie will move forward in completing these invest-ment objectives.

Region 17 Service Award proposal was made by Bonnie Nichols to be sponsored by the Iris Society of Dallas. There are two parts to this pro-posal. The first award introduced is to recognize Region 17 hybridizers and the second is the Region 17 Distinguished Service Award to recog-nize a member that volunteers significantly to the success of Region 17 and American Iris Society. Members voted to unanimously accept this proposal.

Region 17 Annual Meeting Liaison . Peggy Cathey has asked that Bon-nie Nichols serve in this role in an effort to get member clubs to volun-teer to host the annual meeting. Bonnie will request clubs to add her to their program and she will outline what is involved in hosting a re-gion meeting.

Peggy Cathey asked the Board for input on providing “seed money” for the host club to host the annual meeting. The Board did agree seed money would incent clubs to host a meeting. Region 17 will provide $500 “seed money” to host club who requests it. This money will be reimbursed to the region if the club makes money hosting the Annual Meeting. Auction plant money allotment for clubs hosting an annual meeting would be set at $600. All money raised from this Auction goes back to the Region. Members voted unanimously to accept this recommendation by the Board.

AIS 501(c)(3) information is available for clubs use as needed. Affiliate Reports were read at Roll call. Reports submitted will be in-

cluded in the next newsletter.

Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.

Jerrie Cage, Secretary

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Region 17 AIS Treasurer’s Report Submitted by Connie Ford, Treasurer

As you will note in the minutes of our meeting on Aug 4, 2017, permission was given to me to put the 2 CD's into a more convenient place like Texas Security Bank. On August 21, 2017, I closed out the CD's at Lubbock National Bank

and on August 22, 2017 placed the amount of the CD's into a savings account with JPMorgan Chase Bank. Hopefully before the next meeting I will have investigated enough to find the best deal whether it be TSB or Chase. But for now, the funds are safe, secure and growing. Thank you for your pa-tience as I find the best for our needs.

Please remember our beloved and departed irisarians with a gift to AIS and a mention in the AIS bulletin.

“Grow more and spend less and you shall reap your reward" is my motto.

As of August 1, 2017 Texas Security Bank (free checking and non-interest bearing)

Savings Accounts:

CD# 200007808 @ LNB balance on hand 7/17/2017 $3,015.22

CD# 200007794 @ LNB balance on hand 7/17/2017 $12,976.99

Total in Savings 7/17/17 interest paying 1.10% per month $15,992.12

(both CDs will renew in September 2017)

Checking Account:

Credits Debits Balance

Beginning from 3/1/17 $4,041.50

3/1/2017 ck# 99 Dana Brown-Web 8/16-1/17 $55.94

3/19/2017 ck#100 Dell Perry-Spring 2017 Newsletter $453.16

5/3/2017 ETIS memorium for Eileen McKnight $25.00

5/3/2017 JCIDS memorium for Micki Nellis $25.00

7/10/2017 ck#1101 to ISD for Auction irises $600.00

7/17/2017 ISD refund on total auction irises $20.00

7/17/2017 ISD memorium for Jane Vrabel $50.00

Checking totals March 1, 2017 to August 1, 2017 $120.00 $1,109.10 $3,052.40

In 2017 there were 14 shows in the Region, with

148 people entering 1075 blooms.

Cleburne had the most blooms with 201.

Midland had the most people entering with 19.

In 2007 there were 11 shows with 159 people and 1490 cultivars.

In 1997 there were 13 shows with 201 entries and 1655 blooms.

Four people appeared on all three of the 1997, 2007, and 2017 Show

Winners Lists. They were Hooker and Bonnie Nichols, Jim Landers,

and Dell Perry.

On both the 2007 and 2017 lists besides the four listed above were

Dawn Boyer, Connie Ford, and Glenn Huddleston.

And on the 1997 and 2017 reports with the four listed above were

Don and Pat Freeman and Mary Wilber.

In 2017 and 2016

Hooker and Bonnie Nichols won Best of Show in Dallas

Muff Fregia won Best of Show in Midland

Glenn Huddleston won Best of Show in Cleburne.

Those Winning a Top Show Award for the First Time in 2017:

Jennifer Zarate Lubbock Orinoco Flow Best of Show

Nancy East Chandler Venetian Glass Best of Show

Edna Rice Lubbock Silver Award

Michael Reed Farmers Branch Bronze Award

Mary Keeth Cleburne Bronze Award

In the last thirty years 10 people have each won Best of show in Dal-

las one time.

Linda Thornbrugh and Dorothy Evans have each won twice. Annette Brown and Marie Caillet won three times each. Dell Perry has won BOS six times.

Hooker and Bonnie Nichols have earned BOS 10 times, but Bonnie

(Devenport) got BOS one time before she married Hooker there-

fore she has won Queen of Show eleven times in thirty years.

HISTORIAN REPORT Jim Landers

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There have been thirty-seven shows in Dallas in the last thirty years.

Taking the honors at those shows were:

One Standard Dwarf Bearded One Spuria Two Intermediate Bearded Irises Thirteen Louisiana irises Nineteen Tall bearded irises One Arilbred

Boogie Woogie, Queen’s Circle, and Watermelon Wizard have each won Dallas‘ Best of Show two times

“Boogie Woogie”

“Queen’s Circle”

“Watermellon Wizard”

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THE JUDGES CORNER Al Elliott—R17 Judges Training Chair

This has been another banner year for Region

17 Judges. We have, as of September 1, 2017,

two Emeritus, six Master, 21 Garden/

Exhibition and two Apprentice Judges. We

started the 2017/2018 Year with a bang of the judge’s gavel as we

received a three hour class on Ethics in the Garden and on the Show

Bench presented by Cheryl Deaton from California at the August

2017 Region 17 meeting in Dallas – excellent class.

Region 17 sponsored seven judges training classes in 2017, starting

with Perry Dyers’ Medians at the 2016 Region meeting, followed by

Collections and English Boxes, Arilbred, Louisiana Iris (two classroom

and one garden class), and Spuria Iris (classroom and garden). Re-

gion 17 Judges also attended seven out-of-region classes. Classes

were also attended as part of the Median Convention and AIS Con-

vention. Our Dawn Boyer presented a class on Design Basics at the

AIS convention in Iowa.

SHOW CHAIRS: Please review the listing of the Region 17 accredited

judges and ask some of the newer judges for your shows. We had at

least two fully qualified judges that were not asked to judge last year.

Maybe you did not know they were on the list or wanted to utilize

the experienced ones you are comfortable with. All of the Region 17

judges are qualified and have worked hard to meet the required

training. A combination of a 40 year experienced judge with three to

five year judges will provide an educational experience for the judges

and add more credibility to the awards given. Help us learn from

each other. They and you love irises.

JUDGES: Any judge can give in-garden training. The only require-

ment is that at least two are in attendance and both do not have to

be in-judges training (example: one judge and one club member). I

encourage all the judges to conduct in-garden training for your

peers. You will need a written test of 10 questions for each hour of

credit. Document on the Region 17 forms and forward them to me,

along with the test, so I can give proper credit. 17

Please work with the Region 17 Home page guru, Jaime Hadley,

[email protected] , to post a current picture and your short bio

on the judge’s page. This will help the show chairs in the selection

process of judges for their respective shows as they put a face with

the name. I also encourage you to list the programs or judges training

classes that you are willing to present at the Region 17 affiliate

meetings or out of region meetings.

The Judges Activity Report is your resume or bio to delineate what you

have done for AIS in the past year. It is your honor roll and should

reflect all your activities. A few of the past year reports were missing

information on classes attended or judges training classes given. Thus

your personal copy, assuming you keep a copy, would not accurately

reflect your efforts. The form that I use to keep track of my AIS activi-

ties, conventions, gardens visited, shows judged, training conducted,

etc. is posted on the judges home page. I suggest you add this form or

a hybrid form, to the back of your Judges Training Handbook where it

is easy to keep it current as you complete activities. Be proud of your

judging on behalf of AIS and Texas. I do cross reference your activity

report with the judges training records provided to me. I only give

credit for in-region training if you SIGN-IN on the Region 17 roster

AND I have your completed test submitted by the sponsor!

Region 17 Judges Lap Quilt: I will raffle an iris lap quilt (for judges on-

ly) at the next Region 17 meeting. I will put the following number of

tickets into the “Judges Raffle Bowl” for each accredited judge:

Being a G/E judge – 1, Master – 2, Emeritus – 3;

Attend Region 17 2018 Meeting – 2;

Attend AIS Convention – 5

Each show judged – 2

Present a judges training class – 3 per hour

Present general program – 2

Attend judges training class – 1 per hour

Attend out-of-region judges training class and/or convention – 2

I will use the information in your 2017-2018 activity report to help de-

termine the number of tickets earned.

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The following questions will be answered in the next Region 17 news-

letter:

Question 1: Why should you establish a system or process to en-

sure you grow some of the 2017 Dykes, Wister’s,

Cooks, and Etc. candidates?

Question 2: As a judge, you note that there are not enough en-

tries in either the Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB)

or Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) sections to war-

rant a Best of Section Award. What actions would

you take, if any?

Question 3: What is the purpose of the preliminary walk around

before commencing judging at an Exhibition?

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2018 AIS REGION 17 JUDGES & APPRENTICES

Emeritus Judges BONNIE NICHOLS 3365 Northaven Rd Dallas TX 75229 214-352-2191 [email protected]

HOOKER NICHOLS 3365 Northaven Rd Dallas TX 75229 214-352-2191 [email protected]

Master Judges ELMER ADDINGTON 2406 28th St Lubbock TX 79411 806-785-5224 [email protected]

DR L M BEGLEY 1930 Wilkinson Rd Mesquite TX 75181 972-289-7107 [email protected]

PAT BYRNE 1102 Aster Dr Katy TX 77493 81-391-6190 [email protected]

CONNIE FORD 17391 Mary Martin Dr Flint TX 75762 903-571-0777 [email protected]

RAMONA HOWARD 3604 43rd St Lubbock TX 79413 806-792-1878 r [email protected]

DEBRA STRAUSS 2213 Hereford Blvd Midland TX 79707 432-352-5483 [email protected]

MARY WILBER 4913 71st St Lubbock TX 79424 806-794-2512 [email protected]

Garden DAWN K BOYER 1900 Daws Dr Amarillo TX 79124 806-881-9775 [email protected]

GORDON CARVER 448 Azle Hwy Weatherford TX 76085 817-946-8473 [email protected]

HAPPY CARVER 448 Azle Hwy Weatherford TX 76085 817-946-8473 [email protected]

PEGGY CATHEY 1115 HCR 1414 Covington TX 76636 254-854-2558 [email protected]

AL ELLIOTT 104 Saddle Trail Georgetown TX 78633 512-943-0687 [email protected]

ALEX HARDING 448 Azle Hwy Weatherford TX 76085 817-946-8473 [email protected]

CLAIRE HARDING 448 Azle Hwy Weatherford TX 76085 817-946-8473 [email protected]

VICKI HOWARD P0 Box 113 Rio Vista TX 76093 817-933-1057 [email protected]

PAM LAMB 3610 Chickadee Rd Levelland TX 79336 806-297-3248 [email protected]

JIM LANDERS 710 N 11th St Temple TX 76501 254-773-5017 [email protected]

RICH MILLER 945 Goodwin Plano TX 75023 972-423-4901 [email protected]

DELL PERRY 800 Purcell Dr Plano TX 75025 972-816-3418 [email protected]

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BILL PITTMAN 4211 S Washington Amarillo TX 79110 806-679-7351 [email protected]

MICHAEL REED 3425 Apple Valley Dr Farmers Branch TX 75234 972-484-5449 [email protected] JUDY SCHNEIDER 1778 CR 107 Whitesboro TX 76273 940-594-5557 [email protected]

SHELIA SENGHAS PO Box 174 Concan TX 78838 830-275-9409 [email protected]

LAURA SMARGIASSO 4168 Saint Leger Dr Cleburne TX 76033 817-202-9808 [email protected]

KATHY WADE 4303 Vista Ridge Lane Alvarado TX 76009 682-300-6943 [email protected]

Apprentice (apprentice judges cannot judge shows)

None

UPCOMING REGION 17 JUDGES TRAINING

January 20, 2018 Median Iris—Classroom Instructor: Debra Strauss Credit: 2Hr Cost $5 Time: 10:00 A.M. until 12:30 P.M. Location: Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church 7127 Bee Caves Road Austin, Texas 78746-4102 Hosted by: Iris Society of Austin Contact: Nelda Moore 607 Westlake Drive West Lake Hills, TX 78746-5311 512-327-0401 OR 512-327-0401 [email protected]

February 17, 2018 Are These Really Rules?—Classroom Instructor: Dell Perry Credit: 2Hr Cost $5 Time: 10:00 A.M. until 12:30 P.M. Location: Crestview Church of Christ Community Center 7129 Delhi Rd. Waco, TX 76636 Hosted by: Waco Iris Society Contact: Peggy Cathey 1115 HCR 1414 Covington, TX 76636 254-854-2558 [email protected]

21

Judges Training on Spurias South Plains Iris Society

On Saturday May 6th, the South Plains Iris Society hosted an approved

AIS 2 hour judges' training on Spuria Irises. Instructors Ramona How-

ard and Dr. Elmer Addington skillfully shared teaching duties.

Mrs. Howard tutored the attendees

in a classroom setting at the Lubbock

Garden and Arts Center for one hour.

She used as examples several well-

grown Spuria stalks from her garden.

This session was followed by in-

garden training at Dr. Adding-

ton's residence, which he con-

ducted among his Spuria clumps

and beautiful antique roses.

The trainees were

pleased to still be able to

have clumps of Spurias to

view and point-score as

our iris bloom season

began very early here on

the Llano Estacado.

During this hot and humid in-garden ses-

sion, the attendees found the most out-

standing clump of Spurias to be "Imperial

Bronze" hybridized by Eleanor McCown,

introduced in 1971.

22

23

Region 17 Newsletter Report Dell Perry

Better late that never. Time was non-existent from July thru the first week in October… the Fall Regional, club digs, club sales, doing JT train-ing and programs for out of region clubs...and

the list goes on and on. . Must learn the word “NO”.

At the 2017 R17 board meeting, it was decided to accelerate the move to a more “paperless” newsletter. Emails are free. A printed copy of the newsletter runs from $3 to $6 each depending on the number of pages

Beginning with the 2018 Fall R17 Newsletter: IF you have already requested to receive the newsletter by mail you will receive a hardcopy of the newsletter by mail.

IF you do not have an email address on file with AIS or Region 17, you will receive a hardcopy of the newsletter by mail.

OTHERWISE you will receive the newsletter via email as a PDF file. It is your responsibility to keep the R17 Newsletter Editor and the AIS membership chair updated whenever your email ad-dress changes.

Affiliate clubs will receive a hardcopy mailed to their president

All AIS Board members & Directors and all AIS RVPs will receive the newsletter via email. (this is a separate copy from your indi-vidual copy)

You can change your delivery at any time by sending your request to the Newsletter Editor.

CLUB PRESIDENTS—please help make this easier on your

members by polling those who are AIS members and any non AIS members who are paying the $7 newsletter subscription fee to get their election of mail or email, and send that list to me. If they elect email, please get their email address so it can be up-dated if the one on file is not current. This will relieve everyone of having to let me know independently, thus saving time and postage. Members can let me know individually if they prefer.

Non-AIS members who elect email will no longer pay the $7 fee.

Region 17 Youth Report By Vicki Howard

Lots of Youth Activities are taking place. Check them out below and get more information by visiting the AIS Youth webpage at

http://www.aisyouth.com/

Nomination Guidelines for Clark Cosgrove Award

The Dr. J. Clarke Cosgrove winners are announced at the AIS National Convention. The cash award is made possible by donations to the Clarke Cosgrove Fund of the AIS and also by the support of the South-ern California Iris Society whose member, LaVerne Conrad, was the sister of the late Dr. Cosgrove for whom the Award is named.

Each fall AIS members are encouraged to nominate active youth in their Regions for the Clarke Cosgrove Memorial Award for Youth Achievement. Any AIS member may nominate any AIS youth member.

A youth may be nominated by more than one person, or by someone from another region. With the nomination, please include the youth's age and region of membership.

The Youth committee will code the entries to conceal identities and send them to a carefully selected panel of judges. The winner will re-ceive a trophy and cash prize that is presented at the National AIS Con-vention.

Outline his/her activities following the guidlelines below. If you need a list of the youth's activites, call a club officer, your club's Youth Advisor,

Deadline for Nominations is January 31, 2017

24

a close relative, or the youth themselves.

-- Growing a fine iris garden

-- Actively hybridizing

-- Writing for an iris publication

-- Helping an iris organization through a commitment or activity

-- Visiting local iris gardens

-- Attending regional or national conventions

-- Studying to be an AIS judge

-- Promoting irises and/or the AIS to others

-- Signing up new AIS members

-- Competing enthusiastically in shows

-- Experimenting with irises

-- Showing an interest in the various iris classes and sizes

-- Demonstrating leadership skills

End with some of your nominee's personal attributes. Typed or hand-written nominations are acceptable. Please limit text to two pages.

Youth do not need to be active in ALL of the above activities to be nominated.

Cosgrove Awards are $550 for the winner, $350 for the first runner up and $250 for second runner up. There is also a "travel" stipend of $100 to help the Cosgrove winner attend the convention.

Mail or email your entries to: Cheryl Deaton 27218 Walnut Springs Canyon Country, CA 91351 You may email your nominations to: [email protected]

NOTE: . Please send it as an attachment.

25

The 2018 topic: The first president of the American Iris Society, John C. Wister said, "The iris is the mainstay of the hardy garden". Write three examples of why you agree with him.

The Ackerman Essay Contest Award winners are announced at the AIS Nation-al Convention.

The Essay Topic for the Ackerman Essay Contest is printed in the January AIS Bulletin Issue by Cheryl Deaton, the National Youth Director.

Essays should be written in 500 words or less. Mail the Essay to: Debbie Strauss 2213 Hereford Blvd Midland, TX 79707-5012 Email: [email protected] 432-352-5483

Or send as an attachment to the email address above.

The Ackerman Youth Essay Contest is sponsored by the AIS Founda-tion and there will be two prizes of $100 each for the writers of the win-ning essays in two separate age categories: 12 year and under category 13 through 18 category.

Have questions? Contact Cheryl Deaton at [email protected]

Deadline for Entries is February 15, 2018

Ackerman Essay Contest

Youth Coloring Contest

The picture for the 2018 Coloring Contest will be available in the sum-

mer issue of the youth newsletter. The Iris Fan, which is due out in

June, right after the National Convention.

Make sure you put your name, address and birthdate on the back of

your entry so it can be placed in the correct age division.

Send entries to:

Cheryl Deaton 27218 Walnut Spring Avenue

Canyon Country, CA 91351-3314 26

WORD SEARCH

IRISES WITH ANIMALS IN THEIR NAMES

T R V U M K W W P I V G G E M W W V W Y O A H B

W T S T X B A H R Y T T I K Y T T E R P U W H C

K M U I N T L R V U N S M C Z T A M G O Z E P O

N L B D N C W U W E Y F Q T V C W K Y T V S V Y

G O X R I G P R M Y F N L U O B C X E E S O F O

O S C L H O S R M O B R W O D A M W N G V M B T

L V G L U I K W U I I E F Q R I E B O Y U E L E

D U X Y A O P A I G K R A D Y D N D H V G P U U

E E S H D F N P N T E N I R L V D P R V N O E G

N N C D Z K M E O G H N U L Y N U O E P I S B L

P N L P A H V U I Z A F E K A B I E G E K S I Y

A E Y C V A X T I L T W R S S D E T I I N U R S

N Y D X R C G A R N E U T O R K T A T L O M D G

T W E O O N G U O J N A T I G K N W R H G E O E

H M S I I V L H K D C E B U C S C U R Y A Y F J

E O D S A E C T S G Z N L U Z Y D O R Y R T H E

R W A G Q E H I N A R O G L V J I X D D D T A A

E E L P O B B I L O V G I F I S A A U Q E A P R

T M E K U I N O H Q P A H R D M M S L H V P P V

F B C G X I C T Q E A R D Y Q V V C L C R W I C

M E E E A I E Q B I Q T M V Z M S I B O R O N U

G T B R C A T W A L K Q U E E N L B H T B C E R

Z I D F X M O R A N G U T A N O R A N G E M S X

C H E E T A H C H E E S E P Y Z T T J J S I S K

AWESOME POSSUM DRAGON KING DRAGON KING

BEARY BEARY DRUNK SKUNK RAINING CATS AND DOGS

BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS EWELL DEW RAVEN GIRL

CARDINAL RULE GECKO ECHO SINGS WITH FROGS

CATWALK QUEEN GOLDEN PANTHER TEASING TIGER

CHEETAH CHEEZE HIPPOZ TUTU THORNBIRD

CLYDESDALE IBEX IBIS TIGER HONEY

COW PATTY MILLENNIUM FALCON

COYOTE UGLY ORANGUTAN ORANGE

27

Hello Region 17 iris members of the Ameri-

can Iris Soc. Thanks you for keeping your

memberships current. If you get a letter from

me your dues are due. I would like to make

sure all of our e-mails are current. If you have changes please get with

your local club president and get the corrections updated.

Now a report from the National Membership update on Region 17

membership. This is current as of 10-14-2017, Region 17 has 320

members, we are 3rd place now. Region 14 has 605, region 4 has 368,

and Region 18 is close to us at 318. So with these numbers we will be

making a push for more new memberships in our Region. We have

more news on this coming out very soon. Club membership awards

will be coming to lots of clubs. They must have 50% of the club AIS

members. We will have a new push to get more club members AIS

members.

Thank you for the hard work and time you have given Region 17. We

want our #2 spot back.

UPCOMING AIS and AIS Affiliate Events

April 6-7, 2018 ASI—Aril Society International Aril Trek - Las Cruces NM Chair: Howie Dash 575-652-7550 [email protected] Hosted by Mesilla Valley Iris Society

April 8-13, 2018 AIS 2018 Convention—New Orleans LA Chair: Paul Gossett 918-853-6204

[email protected]

April 11-14, 2018 SLI 2018 Convention—New Orleans LA Chair: Joe Musacchia 985-209-2917 [email protected]

The American Iris Society Contact Info: Web: http://www.irises.org/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ Twitter: @TweetAIS

Region 17 Membership Report Bill Pittman, Membership Chair

28

Has your iris society hosted a Region 17 meeting? Have you pondered the idea of hosting a Region 17 meeting? Ever won-dered what is entailed with hosting a Region 17 meeting?

I would love to talk with your iris society about hosting a Region 17 meeting. Yes, planning for the meeting takes time; however, it is a wonderful rewarding experience. Annually, Texas irisari-ans come together for judges training, hear a guest speaker, bid at iris auctions, enjoy great food………….and most important is the “GREAT FELLOWSHIP”.

Please consider asking me to provide a program for your iris club. I would like to encourage you to host a Region 17 meeting.

Contact me by mail, phone or email:

Bonnie J Nichols 3365 Northaven Road Dallas, Texas 75229 214-676-9892 [email protected]

HOSTING A REGIONAL MEETING

29

The Mesilla Valley Iris Society will be

the host club for the Aril Society Inter-

national’s 2018 Aril Trek, to be held in

Las Cruces, New Mexico on April 6-7,

2018. This will be the first Aril Trek in

many years. The convention will end before the AIS

National Convention begins in New Orleans, giving you plenty of time

to get from New Mexico to Louisiana.

The Trek hotel is the historic luxury Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces,

offering luxury hotel accommodations at economy hotel rates.

Friday evening will feature a panel discussion on

“Growing Arilbreds” and a fun game of Aril Bingo.

Saturday will be a tour of 4 gardens each featur-

ing 100-200 aril and arilbred irises, many of which

are Sharon McAllister introductions donated/

rescued from Dana Brown’s now defunct Malevil

Iris Gardens. There will also be an optional in-

garden judges training. The Saturday evening ban-

quet’s keynote speaker will be Pete McGrath, a

noted hybridizer of aril and arilbred irises from

Albuquerque NM.

For more information contact Cynthia or Wes Wilson at 303-910-7765 OR email [email protected]

ARIL TREK 2018 LAS CRUCES, NM

April 6-7

Full Of Surprises

McAllister 2007

OGB+

30

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32

There are many steps toward winning the Dykes Memorial Medal. Number 1 is that an iris must be introduced first in North America. Award ballots are voted each year and only AIS registered judges may vote.

Honorable Mention (HM) awards are awarded each year to irises of each classification. Registered bearded irises are eligible the second year after introduction. Registered beardless irises are eligible the third year after introduction.

Award of Merit (AM) awards are given to irises from each classifica-tion each year. Any iris is eligible the second year after previously win-ning an Honorable Mention (HM).

Medals: Each year there are medals awarded to irises of each specific classification type. This is the top award for each AIS iris classification type. Irises are eligible as a candidate for a medal the second year after they receive an Award of Merit (AM). One medal for each classifica-tion is given each year (except for the very popular tall bearded which awards 3 Wister Medals each year).

Dykes Memorial Medal: First awarded in 1927, the Dykes Medal is the highest award of the AIS. Awarded to no more than one iris per year. Irises are eligible as a Dykes Medal candidate for three years following the win-ning of a classification medal.

The winners of the 2017 awards was announced in mid August. Congratulations to Keith Keppel, win-ner of the 2017 Dykes Medal for his 2008 tall beard-ed introduction of Montmartre.

We are proud to have two of our Region 17 hybridizers win Honorable Mention (HM) awards this year—the first step toward the coveted Dykes Medal. Congratulations to Tom Burseen for winning 5 Tall Bearded HMs for:

Ayes Alert Salsa and Chips

Cow Palace Izitme Orizitu

and Don’t Doubt Dalton.

Congratulations also to Hooker Nichols for winning an HM for his Louisiana Iris introduction Reverchon Snowfall

The Road to the Dykes Medal By Peggy Cathey

33

Your Invitation to Attend the

2018 AIS/SLI Conventions

in New Orleans.

Votre Invitation à Assister

Aux Conventions AIS / SLI

de 2018 à New Orleans

AIS—April 8-13 SLI—April 11-14

The American Iris Society, The Greater New Orleans Iris Society, and

The Society For Louisiana Irises are glad to be the hosts for the 2018

AIS/SLI Conventions in New Orleans, LA. New Orleans “The Big Easy”

is the largest city in Louisiana. It was established by French colonists

and strongly influenced by their European culture.

Attendees will have the opportunity to tour 6 beautiful gardens for

three days. Wednesday we will tour Longue Vue House & Gardens,

and NOMA Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Thursday

travel to and tour “A Louisiana Pond” in Madisonville and Hammond

Research Station of the LSU Ag Center. Friday travel to Baton Rouge

to tour Burden Museum & Gardens and The Baton Rouge Botanic Gar-

dens.

The Hilton New Orleans Airport Hotel located in Kenner, LA with free

shuttle service to and from the airport. Also, the hotel is offering our

attendees ‘Complimentary’ Free Parking as well as ‘Complimentary’

WIFI in the guest rooms and meeting rooms.

Watch for more information on the AIS web site as well as in upcom-

ing issues of “IRISES” and “News and Notes”.

You are invited to Come to New Orleans and

enjoy two wonderful conventions and see the

city of New Orleans.

Paul W. Gossett, 2018 Convention Co-Chair

Joe Musacchia, 2018 Convention Co-Chair

Check out the Conventions’ Website www.2018irisconvention.org

34

35

36

It’s important to report all irises that

rebloom in each region/area so garden-

ers will have more information when

selecting which irises to plant in their

gardens. Also, this helps everyone in

the iris community to know what re-

blooming irises are reblooming. It is

very disappointing to add a reblooming

iris to your garden and then find out it

does not or has not rebloomed in your area. Then on the other

hand, to discover an iris that is not registered as a rebloomer, but

reblooms in your garden is wonderful. Due to our mild winter in the

Dallas/Fort Worth area there have been many irises reported that

rebloomed this year. Peronally I have had irises reblooming in June,

July and August, and they’re not even the ones that usually rebloom

for me. My two most loyal rebloomers - ‘Autumn Tryst’ and ‘Lo Ho

Silver’ - have not rebloomed so far this year.

Please report any reblooming iris to me and include your full name

and the city where your garden is located. Mail, email , text or leave

a message.

Gailmae C. Suite

2634 Ellis Street

Lot A-1

Venus, TX 76084

[email protected]

817-477-4454

REPORTING YOUR REBLOOMING IRIS Gailmae C. Suite

Southern Director for the Reblooming Iris Society

37

In June, I had the opportunity to sit in on a 2-hour open forum on Ener-

gizing Clubs During an Era of Changing Times. The speaker started off

with 3 questions for the attendees (I have changed some of these to

apply to AIS and Irises):

1. What does the club offer members?

2. What is the club doing for the community?

3. What is the club doing for AIS?

Discussion of each of these questions followed. Some of the sugges-

tions for what the clubs can do for their members were to have knowl-

edgeable members act as mentors for new members – someone who

will help guide new members in how to grow

irises, how to groom for exhibition, how to

show their irises in the club’s iris show and to

answer any questions the new members

might have. Keep the membership informed

by publishing a club e-newsletter. You could

provide a sign-up sheet at all your events so others in the community

can receive the newsletters and will know of club meetings, shows and

sales. Plan informative programs for meetings and invite interesting

speakers. The club could offer a free AIS membership to new mem-

bers after they have attended 6 (or whatever you determine appropri-

ate) meetings or have raffles or drawings for AIS memberships, have

door prizes at meetings for all who attend-could be for membership,

irises, plants, anything members would be interested in receiving if

they win. Have Iris giveaways and exchanges-ways to add to members’

iris gardens, hold club sales so members and the public can get quality

irises without spending a lot of money for the newer introductions.

What does your club offer members?

For the second question, suggestions for getting in-

volved in the community included scholarships for

students of any age wanting to continue their educa-

tion in some form of horticultural field and presenting

programs on irises for FFA, 4-H, Scouts, Master Gar-

Energizing Our Clubs By Peggy Cathey

38

deners, local garden clubs, etc. Plant an iris gar-

den in the community or donate irises for a

church, civic building or nursing home landscape.

Host iris shows and displays, take iris blossoms or

bouquets to nursing homes, chamber of com-

merce, city hall or other public places, write arti-

cles on irises and club activities for your local pa-

per. Get to know your newspaper’s garden edi-

tor. Give them a membership to AIS and watch how much more will-

ing they will be to publish your club’s arti-

cles. Start Facebook pages and groups for

your club, get on local garden center cal-

endars with your meeting dates and activi-

ties and help your local garden centers by adding their events to your

club’s calendar. Put up club show, sale, and other activity flyers

around your community to generate more interest. Host a luncheon

for gardeners in the community and have interesting speakers. What

does your club do for your community?

The last question is what is your club doing for AIS? Membership has

been on a steady decline in AIS and in

most similar organizations for the past 15

years. A lot of this is due to the econo-

my, but even more significant is the in-

troduction of Social Media. The best way

for your club to support AIS is to encourage your club and its members

to become AIS members. With an AIS membership, you will receive

four issues annually of IRISES, The Bulletin of the American Iris Socie-

ty. These colorful magazines are fabulous tools

for learning more about irises, their culture,

hybridizing, gardens, new introductions and

trends in colors and forms of the different

types of irises. You will also learn more about

the national conventions and see full color

photos of beautiful iris gardens. There are ads

for iris hybridizers and vendors where you can

buy irises, plant markers, books, and other

39

things to make your iris gardening experience easier and more fun.

With your AIS membership you automatically become a member of

our region and you will receive 2 issues per year of the Region 17

Newsletter (Fall and Spring). Find out what the regional officers are

doing to promote AIS and our region, read reports from each of our

Region 17 clubs and interesting articles from members. Have fun with

puzzles on our Youth Activity Page, they are not just for the young,

but also for the young at heart. Support AIS by attending the national

conventions. These are always fun as well as educational and you will

have the opportunity to tour fantastic iris gardens, drool over some of

the latest and greatest irises and have a chance to bid on many of

them at the auction. You will also have an opportunity to meet iris

hybridizers from all over the country and even from foreign countries

and hear amazing speakers.

Attend our regional fall meetings. There is always an auction where

you can purchase newer irises at below retail cost and all the money

earned from the auction goes toward publishing our Region 17 News-

letter. You can attend a Judges Training class. Whether you are inter-

ested in becoming an iris judge or not, you will always learn some-

thing new from the classes. Attend the annual Region 17 Business

Meeting and learn what the Region is doing to help you and your club.

Hear reports from each of the Region 17 officers and each club in our

region. There is always plenty of food, fun and fellowship.

Hosting an iris display or having

an accredited Iris show helps

AIS by making the public more

aware of irises and AIS and is a

good time to recruit new mem-

bers to your club. What is your club doing to support AIS?

Here are a few of the things AIS has to offer members and clubs. AIS

holds a Commercial General Liability policy and AIS member clubs may

request a certificate of insurance when hosting a national convention,

regional meeting, accredited show or other event. Each club is enti-

tled to 25 free AIS “Invitation to Join” full color flyers each year to

40

have on hand during shows and sales. The AIS web-

site http://irises.org and the AIS “Wiki” or Iris Ency-

clopedia http://wiki.irises.org/ are both easily ac-

cessible online and contain a wealth of information

available for everyone. AIS offers, through each of

the 22 Regions, Judges Training programs and

Youth Programs. New members or those upgrading

from a single membership to a triennial or dual

membership will receive a voucher for $25 in free irises from a list of

vendors. The AIS Storefront has books on Irises, calendars, notecards

and more available for purchase. There are many digital programs

available as either a CD or download on past conventions, Iris intro-

ductions, awards, and many other topics which would make great

programs for meetings.

As you can see, we are all part of a great organization and we need

their support as much as they need ours. We should pull together as

a team. Do your part by volunteering. Bring food to a meeting, help

with a show or sale, enter shows, become an AIS Garden/Exhibition

Judge, vote in the Tall Bearded Symposium each year so everyone will

know which irises do best across the country as well as in your region.

Volunteer or accept a request from your club’s nominating committee

to take a club office. Has your club ever thought about having co-

officer positions so if one can’t be at a meeting, the other can fill in to

take some of the load off of just one individual? Our club members

and officers are all volunteers. Help them by raising your hand if

something needs doing instead of looking at the floor. We should

work together for the benefit of all. If your club has a large bank ac-

count, use some of that money to support community functions,

sponsor scholarships, host garden meetings, purchase books from the

AIS Storefront and distribute to benefit others and to teach them

more about irises. Offer to host a Regional meeting. Be a mentor to a

new member. Attend local meetings as well as regional meetings and

national conventions. Your club could hire a bus or rent a passenger

van and go to the meetings and conventions as a group to cut down

on travel expenses. There are a ton of ideas and ways to make your

41

clubs more efficient and productive. Have a brainstorming session

with your members to see how you can make your club more attrac-

tive to increase membership. Whatever you do, keep in mind the

most important thing for you, your club and all its members is to

MAKE IT FUN!

I challenge each of you to be thinking about these questions and how

you would answer them. Let us know what your answers are. How

can we energize our clubs and make them more fun? I am sure each

of your club presidents would love to have your input.

In closing, I would like to ask 2 last questions.

1. What are YOU doing to support your local club, our region,

and the AIS?

2. Could you be doing more?

42

Region 17 AIS Membership Club Recognition Program

By Peggy Cathey

Our Region 17 Membership Chair, Bill Pittman, and myself have been

working on a recognition program for our clubs who have 50% or

more of their membership who are also AIS members. To qualify, we

will need a copy of your membership roster to compare to the AIS

Region 17 membership roster. Once verified, if your club has 50% AIS

membership or better, you will be recognized as a Region 17 AIS

Membership Award winning club. Your club level will appear in the

Region 17 Newsletters and on the Region 17 website. If we get good

participation, we will look into what else the Region can do to honor

your club’s participation and commitment to AIS and to Region 17.

Let’s make Region 17 number 1 in the nation. With your help we can

do it!

Region 17 Platinum Medal Club 100% of members must be AIS members

Region 17 Gold Medal Club 90% of members must be AIS members

Region 17 Silver Medal Club 75% of members must be AIS members

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members must be AIS members

Region 17 Pewter Medal Club 50% of members must be AIS members

43

Belton Iris Society (BIS) held its first meeting of the 2017-2018 year on

September 11, 2017, our usual meeting and show location, at Saint

Paul’s United Methodist Church, 2407 West Avenue P, Temple, TX.

Our meetings are at 6 pm on the second Monday of Sep, Oct, Nov,

Feb, Mar, Apr, & May. Our first potluck, in a very long time, was held

and the membership decided to continue potlucks for the rest of the

year. Ken Fuchs wowed us again with a video slideshow presentation

of the 2017 AIS Convention held in Des Moines, Iowa. Google: “Belton

Iris Society” for more information on us.

Our BIS Rhizome Sale will be Saturday, September 30, 2017 from 8

am to 1 pm in conjunction with the Bell County Master Gardeners Fall

Plant Sale, at the Learning Center next to the Bell County AgriLife

Building, 1605 North Main, Street, Belton, TX. Our sale listings

(pictures and descriptions) will be on our website and the Master Gar-

deners listings can be viewed at: https://txmg.org/bell/welcome/2017-

fall-plant-sale-flyer-back. Come by to purchase your fall vegetables,

fruit/nut/shade trees, berries, vines, grasses, shrubs, flowers, succu-

lents, herbs and our IRISES all in one place at very reasonable prices.

Cash, checks, credit cards are all accepted.

Our annual Social/Christmas Party (Who has time for Christmas par-

ties in December.) will be Monday, January 8, 2018 at 6 pm at the

Cotton Patch Café in the Temple Mall, 3111 South 31st Street, Temple,

TX. We are always a festive group! Expect to find members, families,

friends, co-workers, and potential iris lovers. Guests are encouraged,

so don’t be shy. Bring a potted, named iris (picture/description, if

available) to play in our optional “Chinese” gift exchange. The party is

“Dutch Treat” and reservations are not required.

The BIS Iris Show will be Saturday, April 21, 2018. Doors open at 7

am, all entries have a deadline of 10 am, public viewing is between 1

44

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members are AIS members

Belton Iris Society Karen Woods, President

and 3 pm, and the potted iris sale starts at 1 pm and sells out very

quickly. Categories are: Artistic Design A) Stars and Stripes Forever &

B) For My Father. Educational Exhibits: A) Iris Culture & B) Planting/

Growing Irises. Photography: A) Critter on My Iris & B) Irises in a Natu-

ral Setting. The approved Show Schedule (instructions/rules), Exhibi-

tor’s Sheet (cheat sheet for horticultural entries), “Criteria for Judging

Photographs” by Mr. Bob Renker (hints), and Luncheon information

(price and payment deadline) are all available on our website.

BIS Officers for 2017-2018 are: President Karen Woods TEXT 254-217-

1750 & [email protected], Vice President Jim Landers 254-773-

5017 & [email protected], Secretary Shirley Anderson, Treas-

urer Nita Culp, and Web Master Ken Fuchs.

The Benson Iris Society celebrated its 48th year this year. Our show, held April 22, “Around the World in Irises”, was a re-sounding success, despite a bloom season which was two-three weeks early. The week before the show we were polling members to be sure there would be enough specimens for a recognized show. Amazingly, we ended up with some 99 specimen entries, the second-most in the region, and nine artistic entries. Karen Lawler, our three-time show chairman, has done an outstanding job making sure the show runs smoothly.

Due to the early bloom season, we actually had a class of spurias this year, and the spuria Blue Starlight won queen of the show.

Our club has experienced dramatic membership increase the past two years, going from 17 members in 2015 to 34 members in 2016 and 53 members in 2017. We attribute this to publicity about the show and the fact that the show location is easy to reach (on a major road just

BENSON IRIS SOCIETY Mary Rhodes, President

45

north of the football stadium). We have 4x8 cards printed with a pic-ture of an iris giving the show date and location, staging time, and public viewing time, stressing that the show is free. These are distrib-uted at the Wichita Falls Home and Garden Show held the end of Feb-ruary and also placed at area nurseries. We also have received good publicity from the newspaper and local television stations due to our publicity person John Yates.

Another draw for interest in iris is the fact that they are extremely

drought hardy, and since Wichita Falls was in a record five year

drought from 2011-2015 (it broke in 2015), many people are putting

iris in their gardens to reduce water consumption. To put the drought

in perspective, our combined lakes were at 19% capacity; at 15%

there would be mud only. Everyone was asked for an 80% reduction

in water consumption—making the 20% requested of California resi-

dents look paltry to us.

We have four meetings per year and have programs at three (the

fourth is spent planning our show). We have had increased interest in

the artistic division of the show, and the public seems to really enjoy

this. A local florist conducts a class (not at a regular meeting) for all

members interested.

We conduct a potted iris sale at the

show at $5 per pot, which netted us

over $800 this year. We also have one

sale at the city’s Farmers Market. This

sale held in conjunction with our local

Peach Day celebration netted us almost

$500—and we were selling iris from $.50

to $3.00.

We are blessed with friendly, active

members who pitch in and help. This

really makes a difference.

Clarissa Carter

Show Sales Chair

46

We have about a dozen members after loss of one to death and two for moving out of state.

We had a qualifying show on April 8 and a very new member Nancy East won queen of Show with Venetian Glass.

We will have our rhizome sale at Canton Trade Days Sept 29-30.

Below is snapshot of the very new Variety Iris Garden planted just east of the water fountain at the Tyler Rose Garden Center. This bed in-cludes at least one or more of the varieties of Iris that grow and bloom in the east Texas region and well into Louisiana. They are marked and the East Texas Iris Society will be responsible for regular waterings until they become established.

On or before Saturday November 18 ,the ETIS will return to plant 30-40 tall bearded irises (growing in pots now) in another bed leading to the Idea Garden. Perhaps after the Rose festival we would appreci-ate some assistance in clearing that particular area for the planting especially if it is heavily rooted with something evasive. Thanks again so much for allowing the public to enjoy irises especially in early spring.

47

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members are AIS members

East Texas Iris Society Connie Ford, President

Ft Worth Iris Society lost its last Charter member, Carlos Kessel. Carlos was always so generous in sharing plants, seeds or just about anything else. The last three plus years he had been living with his niece. It was just too far to attend the meetings. I know he was always there in spir-it. He loved all plants but iris and orchids were his favorites.

We have maintained two Iris collections at the Ft. Worth Botanic Gar-den. These Iris are looking pretty good. Some limbs were trimmed to give them more sunlight. In August we added a collection of Medians to the Rose Garden there. They are taking hold. Many thanks to the Irisarians who donated Medians for these plantings.

Our meetings are the first Thursday of each month at the Botanic Gar-

den at 7:00 PM. Please come a little earlier for fellowship and inter-

esting programs.

Region 17 Pewter Medal Club 50% of members are AIS members

Fort Worth Iris Society Happy Carver, President

Carlos W. Kessel

Oct. 10, 1921 – Sept. 7, 2017

Carlos was born near Cushing, Oklahoma to Harold & Charlotte Kessel. He graduated from high school in Seminole, OK and started attending a metal trade school. World War II interrupted his plans. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp on Sept 17, 1942. He had to sign a waiver because he was blind in his right eye. He was not required to enlist, but he wanted to serve his country. He was trained as radio operator/radio mechanic and airplane gun-ner. He performed these duties in a B-24, liberator. He served with the 5th Air Force, 403 Bomb Squadron in the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan. After the war, he served in occupied Japan. He received a purple heart and sever-al other citations.

He married Pat Asher in 1943. She preceded Carlos in death in 2002. Their son, Carlos, Jr. served in the Air Force with tours in Viet Nam and Europe. He also preceded Carlos, Sr. in death in 2014.

Besides his family, Carlos loved animals and plants. He was a founding

member of both the Ft. Worth Iris Society and the Ft. Worth Orchid Society

48

Our Iris Society of Austin started as an extension of the New

Braunsfels Iris Society. ISA’s first meeting was held July 1983

with just 8 iris lovers. Our meetings are held the second Tues-

day of each month in the garden center at the beautiful Zilker

Park of Austin. We share and educate the public on Iris cul-

ture whenever and wherever we can. Generously our club

members introduce, build, plant, tend and sustain iris gardens

throughout the Austin area and more. Many of our members

actively belong to other garden societies and different area /

variety chapters in our National Iris Society.

Our elected officers for 2017-18:

President: Donna Little

First Vice President: Pat Byrne

Second Vice President: Jamie Hadley

Secretary: Dara Smith

Treasurer: Marney Abel

Historian: Tracey Rogers

Our annual rhizome was held September 9th at the Norris Cen-

ter in Austin. We conduct a second potted rhizome sale Octo-

ber 28th, with the Porcelain Arts, Herb, Daylily and African Vio-

let Societies, at the auditorium in Zilker Park.

We proudly spread the iris love.

49

Iris Society of Austin Donna Little, President

Region 17 Silver Medal Club 75% of members are AIS members

The Iris Socity of Dallas has had a busy year. In April we hosted the

Society for Louisiana Convention. The convention and gardens were

enjoyed by everyone. Several members of our Society attended the

national convention in Des Moines in May. In July, Kathy Wade provid-

ed our members with a program of beautiful pictures she took at con-

vention in May.

August 3-4th, the Society hosted the Region 17 Fall Meeting. Cheryl

Deaton provided judges training and a wonderful program. The silent

auction and live plant auction were enjoyed by everyone.

The Society had two successful iris sales in 2017. Left over irises will be

potted and sold at the spring 2018 shows (April 7th and 21st).

In October Lynda Miller from Oregon will provide a program and judg-

es training on median irises. November will be a busy month for the

Society. The Society is hosting the American Iris Society fall board

meeting. November meeting will be BINGO for irises and various gar-

dening items. We are traveling to east Texas to one of our member’s

home for a holiday party in December.

April 16-17 (Monday and Tuesday), 2018 the Society is hosting its an-

nual garden bus tours. We will tour gardens and have lunch. The Soci-

ety invites anyone interested in going on the bus tours to contact Bon-

nie Nichols for details and prices.

The Society maintains one of the 2013-14 AIS convention gardens. The

garden is in Addison and is continually updated with new irises that are

enjoyed by all. The garden is also the source of plants for one of the

fall iris sales.

Iris Society of Dallas Hooker Nichols, President

Region 17 Pewter Medal Club 50% of members are AIS members

50

Johnson County Iris & Daylily Society Vicki Howard President

Johnson County Iris & Daylily Society currently has 38 members, 35 of which we are happy to report are AIS members.

We also have 6 AIS Garden/Exhibition Judges among our membership.

We meet each month on the 2nd Saturday at 10.

Meetings are held at the United Cooperative Services community room in Cleburne and our show and sale are held at the JN Long Cul-tural Arts Complex. We enjoy programs on both irises and daylilies and look forward to Bonnie Nichols speaking to us in November about how to host a Regional Meeting and also all about novelty irises. In 2018, we will get a refresher on preparing irises for the show bench and creating artistic designs. We will also learn how to vote the Tall Bearded Symposium Ballot and why it is important to do so.

We enjoy getting irises anyway we can, so we have monthly auctions, an iris giveaway, auction and iris exchange in July, and Bingo for irises in August.

The youth hold a raffle each month to pay for their AIS membership. We also have a drawing each month for 1 AIS membership for the club members.

Our Iris Shows are held on the 3rd Saturday of April. We always have potted irises for sale at our shows and do very well at those sales.

Our annual rhizome sale is the 2nd Saturday in September.

We have a facebook page and a website . We have 3 public iris gardens in Cleburne, Texas that we maintain.

Region 17 Gold Medal Club 90% of members are AIS members

51

The Lone Star Iris Society of Hico has been in existence for 9 years

now. We currently have 31 members, two of which are youth mem-

bers. Our Club meets the first Saturday of each month at 10:00 at the

Hico Senior Activity Center. We do not meet January, July and Sep-

tember.

Our Club will hold its annual Iris Show on April 22nd at Hico High

School. Our 2017 Show had to be canceled due to the lateness of the

date which resulted in fewer blooms. In the future, we have agreed

in lieu of canceling a scheduled Show, we will hold an educational

Show event. June Hivnor and Naomi Nabors have agreed to co-chair

our 2018 Show and the theme will be “Hats Off To Irises”.

We have four sales scheduled for the year. We have already conduct-

ed one sale in April that was held in Hamilton at the Hamilton Exten-

sion Education Association annual Spring Fling. We held a successful

sale on August 26th. Despite the heavy rains in Hico, we had sales of

$883. We have two additional sales scheduled. The next sale will be

held in Stephenville at the By Gone Days Festival on October 8, and

Hamilton sale will be held in conjunction with the Dove Festival on

October 28.

We held our annual Auction/Giveaway meeting which was a success.

We had 62 Irises to auction off, and the club made a profit of $120.00.

We currently maintain 3 Iris beds: Hamilton, Hico and Dublin.

Our upcoming officers to be installed in December for the following

year will be as follows: President-Laura Smargiasso, Vice President-

Jerrie Cage, Secretary-Frances Peterson, Treasurer-Donnett Waight,

and Historian-to be announced at later date.

Please check our Club out on our Facebook page.

52

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members are AIS members

Lone Star Iris Society Jerrie Cage, President

The NPIS had a productive Spring and Summer, showing and selling

irises.

For the first time, our show was held in a blizzard, April 30, and we

had one of the best shows ever, as far as entries. The judges from

Lubbock and Temple, made it, and the members were smart enough

to pick their irises two days in advance, so they were in good

shape. Dawn Boyer won the silver medal and Bill Pittman won the

bronze medal. The Best of Show was Haunted Heart, grown and

shown by Dawn. It just goes to show that anything can be accom-

plished, if a group works hard enough. People actually ventured out in

the snow and wind to see the pretty irises, so we were pretty stoked

by the end of the day. Dawn was really relieved that she had her 4-

wheel drive Ram to plow through the drifts to get out of her acreage

and down the unplowed roads to the highway that morning, though.

Then, in July, we had our annual iris sale, and during the three and one

half hours of talking and selling to customers, we made over

$4200. That was our second best sale in the history of the society,

which I think is 55 years old this year. We had a couple of new mem-

bers join at the sale, and have more active members now than in a

long time.

In August, we distributed irises that the society bought as rewards to

members that worked so hard during the year, and I must say that Rick

Tasco and Tom Johnson were very generous, which we appreciate im-

mensely.

We will finish the year in November, and rest for three months now.

15

Region 17 Pewter Medal Club 50% of members are AIS members

North Plains Iris Society Dawn Boyer, President

Piney Woods Iris Society

Piney Woods Iris Society has 23 members this year.. We meet on the

third Monday at the Titus Country Extension Office (1708 Industrial

Road Mt. Pleasant) at 6:30 p.m. We did not have show this year but

we did have a plant sale with the Cypress Basin Master Gardener’s

plant sale, as we have done for the past several years. We are plan-

ning to have next year’s plant sale separate from the Master Garden-

ers.

We have had many interesting speakers this year including propaga-

tion with Roger Farr, bulb chipping with Noelle Hood, and bee keeping

and planting to encourage bee pollination with Jesse Wright.

Three new members joined this year.

Word Search Answer/Hints The words below are listed with their starting row and column

AWESOME POSSUM 1:22 DRAGON KING 17:21 PRETTY KITTY 2:20

BEARY BEARY 6:11 DRUNK SKUNK 17:20 RAINING CATS AND DOGS 22:4

BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS 6:23

EWELL DEW 13:11 RAVEN GIRL 13:5

CARDINAL RULE 5:17 GECKO ECHO 22:1 SINGS WITH FROGS 2:3

CATWALK QUEEN 22:5 GOLDEN PANTHER 5:1 TEASING TIGER 19:1

CHEETAH CHEESE 24:1 HIPPOZ TUTU 6:5 THORNBIRD 20:8

CLYDESDALE 10:3 IBEX IBIS 23:2 TIGER HONEY 13:19

COW PATTY 22:22 MILLENNIUM FALCON 19:16

COYOTE UGLY 2:24 ORANGUTAN ORANGE 23:7

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members are AIS members

Permian Basin Iris Society Debbie Strauss, President

No Report Received.

54

We are South Plains Iris Society and we've been affiliated with AIS since 1963. At present, we have about 20 members with several pro-spects that we enlisted at our sale last Saturday, Sept 9, 2017. We meet February through October on the fourth Monday evening of each month in the Red Zone Cafe at 7 p.m. It is located at 3602 Slide Road, Lubbock, TX.

Our officers are: President, Ramona Howard, Vice President, Mary Wil-ber, Secretary, Edna Rice, and Treasurer, Val Walker.

We had a garage sale in July that was very successful. We sold lots of irises and daylilies and then odds and ends that people brought, in-cluding hats, shoes, dishes and knick knacks, on the parking lot of Dr. Scott Howard's clinic. The traffic was amazing and we made over $1300. We just had our annual sale at the Garden & Arts Center asso-ciated with their Fall Fiesta and almost 100 booths with vendors selling all sorts of items, including food, plants, jewelry, wood products, baby items, Christmas decorations and fresh flowers. Since members had already dug irises in July we didn't have as many to sell at the second sale, but we made about $1100. We felt it was very successful.

Two of our members, Edna Rice and Terri Presley, posted on Facebook every day for weeks before our sale and we received many people at our sale as a result of those posts. Also, they posted pictures of irises each day of those we would have for sale at the event and people came looking for those specific irises. We had a sign up sheet for peo-ple interested in becoming members or attending meetings and we got a name and email address, so that we could send them an email to remind them of our meetings. Terri Presley had ordered business cards with all our information on them and postcards that had the same information, but offered a free iris to anyone that visited our so-ciety for the last two meetings in September and October. We passed those out to people who expressed an interest in becoming a member or visiting the society. We are hoping that this will help us to secure more new members.

Region 17 Bronze Medal Club 60% of members are AIS members

South Plains Iris Society Ramona Howard, President

55

Our iris show is usually the last weekend in April or the first weekend in May; it just depends on how the dates fall, but that is normally our peak season for the Tall Bearded irises. This year our show was on April 29th, and it was way past our peak bloom for Tall Bearded, but we had many Spurias in bloom for the show. Surprisingly, we even had a few of the medians to show as well. It was a strange season.

We usually have a Judges Training School once a year for our judges and those interested in becoming judges in our society and neighbor-ing societies. We had one in the classroom and in the garden this year on Spurias, which was taught by Ramona Howard and Dr. Elmer Ad-dington and held in his garden. He had several very nice clumps of Spuria irises in bloom for us to evaluate. We are hoping to have one next year on Arils and Aribred irises.

We encourage all of our members to become members in the Ameri-can Iris Society and have information about AIS at our shows and sales. We bring some of the Bulletins for people to see and to have the information about whom and where to send their dues. All of our officers are AIS members and many others in our club are also mem-bers. Bulletins are shared with those who are not members of AIS.

We have swap night as one of our programs during the year where members bring irises from their gardens that are not over five years old to swap with other members and it is a fun time. We have a ran-dom drawing where names are drawn from a hat to indicate what or-der we will distribute the irises. We also order a surprise package of irises from a well known hybridizer's garden to share with members and blue ribbon winners from our show. It is a good way to get new irises distributed into our society's members' gardens and then gives us newer irises to share and bring to the swap.

Everyone is willing to work and to do their part. South Plains Iris Soci-ety has had a very good year and are a great bunch of people with whom to work.

56

Texoma Rainbow Iris Society Dell Perry, President

Texhoma Rainbow Iris Society (TRIS) meets every month on the 4th

Sunday at the Grandy’s restaurant in Sherman Texas. Meeting starts

at 2:00 p.m. but many members come at 1:00 p.m. for food and social

hour.

We have 8 new members, all of whom are active – giving us a total

membership of 28.

Because we have so many new members, many of our meetings are

geared to helping them understand what and how things work. We

had a very successful hands-on Show Prep demonstration which im-

proved the quality of our entries in our spring show. Another meeting

will be a hands-on “How To Prepare For A Sale” where members will

get a chance to dig, divide, trim and label plants for our first sale on

October 7th at the Denison Fall Fest. Our second sale will be on Octo-

ber 21st at the Whitesboro Peanut Festival. Another meeting will cover

what it takes to put on an iris show. Each meeting also has a short ed-

ucational piece on basic iris information, like the part of the flower,

how to read an iris registration, what the color designators mean,

what the type (SDB, IB, etc.) means, Fertilizing, etc… small blocks of

knowledge instead of one big lump.

Other meetings include the annual May picnic, an ice cream social in

June, our “Christmas in August” rhizome gift/auction, at least 1 sale,

and the Holiday Party in early December.

We will have our 2018 show on April 18th.

57

Waco Iris Society Dan Cathey, President

The Waco Iris Society was founded in 1959 and we are currently in our

58th year. We recently honored our long term members with a lifetime

free membership for those with 25 or more years. There are currently

three such members: Bob Alexander, Hazel Haik and Becky Haik. We

are thankful to have been growing in recent years and our membership

currently stands at 35.

Meetings are held 5 times per year on the 3rd Saturday in Jan, March,

May, Sept and November, plus our annual show in April and our fall rhi-

zome sale the last Saturday in September.

We hold a drawing for a paid AIS membership at each regular meeting

giving away either a single or dual membership if both family members

belong to the club.

Our annual September rhizome sale is our main fund raiser but we also

sell potted iris donated by members at our Spring Show and at the an-

nual “Gardener’s Gathering” in Woodway which is suburb of Waco and

features Garden related vendors and speakers.

The spring show last April had 73 entries which was down considerably

from our normal of 200 plus. It seemed that the mild winter coupled

with abundant moisture resulted in a lot of unusually early bloom and

in many cases no bloom. We were gratified that the show was well

attended and we received many favorable comments from those

attending.

Region 17 Silver Medal Club 75% of members are AIS members

58

The West Texas Iris Society Marie Pate

West Texas Iris Society meets the first Thursday evening of the month

February thru October with the exception of July. We have 25 mem-

bers in our club including 2 new members.

We continue to maintain our public planting at the Senior Link facility

in Midland, Texas.

Our club participates in the Midland Farmer’s Market by selling Iris in

the market. Also, by demonstrating the proper planting, dividing and

fertilizing of Iris. This has been very encouraging to the public and

building interest in planting iris and our club.

We have had a variety of programs including “How to make Education-

al Boards” for displaying at the show, etc. presented by Judy Rusert. A

program on 2016 AIS Convention photos by Debbie Strauss, Proper Iris

Grooming for the Show by Patricia Jones and Pictures & information

on the Spuria Convention by Muff Fregia. We are looking forward to

Peggy Wennerlind presenting a program on Iris Labelling.

Our WTIS Show was April 8th and we enjoyed good participation by our

members and others.

The Queen of Show was the beautiful TB Marilyn’s Skirt entered by

Kay Montgomery.

Our sale will be held September 16, 2017 at LaCasa Verde nursery.

We are very thankful to all our members for making this a successful

year.

59

Hillcrest Iris Gardens 3365 Northaven Road Dallas TX 75229 214-352-2191

[email protected] www.hillcrestiris.com Bonnie and Hooker Nichols hybridize many outstanding iris and introduce exceptional new iris every year. Louisiana, Spuria and Bonnie’s space age rebloomers along with miniature tall bearded grace a garden location that is spaced out so visitors have a chance to walk among the plants with

ample space between the rows. Each row being over 200 feet long gives each person quite a workout when viewing the plantings. The Mesquite large garden has over 5,000 irises and over 1,000 new irises grow in the home garden at 3365 Northaven Road in Dallas. A journey to far northwest Dallas will find the home garden. The beautifully land-scaped garden uses most of the lot to grow over 1,200 bearded and beardless irises, day-lilies, roses, and various other types of flowers. Here you can evaluate the reselected Louisiana seedlings hybridized by Hooker Nichols. Through tried and true growing meth-ods, the Nichols' have successfully bloomed nearly 100% of their annual Louisiana seed-ling crop. Hillcrest Gardens will be selling Tom Burseen’s introductions and more. Check out their web site today.

Seandel Iris Gardens 800 Purcell Drive Plano TX 75025 972-816-3418

[email protected] https://www.facebook.com/Seandel-Iris-Gardens-

181912498519361/

Dell and Seann are growing a variety of interesting iris at their home in Plano. They started Seandel Iris Gardens in the early 1990’s. Over

1500 varieties are growing on her corner city lot including tall bearded, border bearded, intermediate bearded, standard dwarf bearded, spuria, Louisiana, species, aril and aril-bred irises. Seandel Iris Gardens is a display garden for the Aril Society International and the Median Iris Society. She is currently a member of three local iris societies, an AIS judge, and editor of the AIS Region 17 Newsletter. Color emailed catalog in PDF format available upon request.

The Shady Spot Judy Schneider 1778 CR 107 Whitesboro TX 76273 [email protected] www.theshadyspotiris.com

https://www.facebook.com/theshadyspot/

The Shady Spot is the result of a lifelong passion for gardening, flowers and animals. We are a small Texas farm located about an hour north of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area focused primarily on raising irises of many classes. We moved to this

location in 2008 and have been designing, building, digging and planting ever since. Now the iris collection features nearly 3,000 varieties from the newest introductions to many old historic varieties, including many rarities. Our iris varieties are interspersed in beds planted with shrubs, perennials and annuals that are drought tolerant and Texas tough. We are proud to be a Display Garden for both the Tall Bearded Iris Society and the Historic Iris Preservation Society. Each year we typically add several hundred different varieties so the scenery is always changing! The Shady Spot will be selling Tom Burseen’s introductions and more. Check out their web site today.

The garden is open to visitors during the iris bloom season, typically between April and mid May, or any other time of the year by appointment. Please phone 940-594-5557 for a visit. Are you a R17 commercial garden? Send Dell a write-up and it will be added to this list.