I is for…

…Iris. (I knew what this word would be back in January.)

I have had iris in every one of my yards since 1978. That was about the time my mother renewed her interest in iris. Her mother, my grandmother, traded ‘egg money’ for cutting edge iris of the time, through a Capper’s Weekly trading column under the pseudonym Reed Bird. (Her maiden name was Birdie Reed!) Momma took her edification of all things iris above and beyond that.

As a member of the Greater Kansas City Iris Society, she had opportunity to acquire varieties through a number of ways, and acquire them she did. There were member auctions, show garden specimens, sharing and bartering, inheriting (some of her fellow members were quite aged), and sometimes she even outright ordered some! A newly introduced iris was always a good birthday/mother’s day gift. Some of those puppies could run $25.00, and in her frugality, Mom (occasionally!) had a hard time spending that on one rhizome…unless it was a really good one! And actually, she found many ‘good’ ones. Purchasing iris through the society’s auctions was her favorite manner. Dearest Sister told me of her paying $50.00 in 1982 for one named ‘Kansas City’. At that time, only the mayor’s wife had one, and Mom was determined to have one, too.

Momma served in many offices in the society, becoming a judge. She hosted convention gardens for the American Iris Society, and with Dearest Sister, entered many local shows. As she collected specimens, she shared the rhizomes when it came time to dig and divide. Her offspring were the first benefactors of her generosity. However, there came a time when there were just too many. She and Dearest Sister started selling at the Farmer’s Market, and Momma became known as the ‘iris lady’ there.

When I first was getting to know Wonderful Guy in our divorce recovery class, we were sharing about our mutual interest in gardening, and iris specifically. That particular day, I had actually shipped a bunch of freshly divided rhizomes off to Dearest Sister for the market. I mentioned it to Wonderful Guy. Having moved here from the suburbs of KC, he asked me, ‘the Overland Park Farmer’s Market?’
‘Yes’
He said, ‘I bought iris there.’
‘When?’
He tells me in the early ‘90’s. I was floored! Dearest Sister and Mom were the only iris ladies there at that time! Could it be possible that Wonderful Guy bought iris from them?

When the community garden at Mother’s apartment building was paved for a parking lot, all of the iris moved to Dearest Sister’s yard. And a couple of years ago, when Dearest Sister relocated to the desert, I became keeper of the iris. I had many varieties already, and the inventory was added to, but most importantly, I was given the responsibility of the family heritage, as it were.

I know I don’t work with my iris without thinking of Mom, and I don’t believe Dearest Sister does either. While Wisest Sister doesn’t grow her own, I know the association is there for her, as well as for most everyone else in the family.

Yep! I is for iris in this family.