2015 Close-up Winner J. Hinrichs

 

The 2016 AIS Photo Contest is in its final month.  There is still time for you to enter.  Entries will be received until July 31st midnight - California time.

Contest details, including prizes for the winners, can be found here.  That page also has a link to the entry form (PDF). Questions and entries can be emailed to Janet Smith at gbyp456@gmail.com or send your photo CD and form to the address on the form.

See the previous winners (2008-2015) from the links on this page.  Good luck to everyone!

	'Abee Babee'

 

The Aril Society International's annual plant sale began this month and continues through July 22nd - 9 p.m. CDT.  They began with 140 different cultivars as well as baskets with varying levels of difficulty to choose from.  All types of arils and arilbreds and they have photos for almost all of them to help you.

All the details for ordering and availability can be found here.  That list is updated daily so you can see which ones are no longer available.  While you must be an ASI member to order, you can join with your order!  Order by email or mail.

After wandering rows and rows of amazingly beautiful iris in full bloom at Presby Memorial Gardens, many of you came to loiter in the Silent Auction room to view rows and rows of beautiful iris items. We appreciate your dedication to bidding on all the wonderful items donated by our generous members, Regions and hybridizers.
 

A large thank you to anyone and everyone who has ever donated items to the AIS Silent Auction. Of course we could not do without all the convention attendees who come, look and bid and then bid again and again until they get their items. You are greatly appreciated!

Please consider the AIS Silent Auction for the place to donate your iris and garden items. Anything you have we can auction off to raise monies for AIS. Thanks for always remembering the AIS Silent Auction! Have a wonderful Summer!

Thank you also to Debbie and Nick Strauss for continuing to organize and lead the Silent Auction.  You can read more about this year's Silent Auction in Debbie's Thank You here.  See more photos from the Silent Auction as well.

 

Rhizomes are $6.50 each, which includes shipping, with a minimum order of four rhizomes.  For information and links to all the necessary lists, visit the HIPS Rhizome Sale Information Page .

 

The Median Iris Society has been busy on a number of fronts.  Thank you to the 14 local iris societies that donated to MIS and thank you to Paul Black for his generous donation of 2016 irises that made this happen.  Thank you also to those who donated rhizomes to the MIS silent auction at the recent NJ Convention and to those who bid on them.  More about both of these efforts here.

The other big news is next year's Median Iris Mini-Convention.  May 18-20, 2017 Lafayette, Indiana, shortly before the May 23-27, 2017 Des Moines, Iowa AIS Convention.  Learn more about the Mini-Convention here (PDF) and on their website.

 

One way to extend the iris bloom season is with bulbous irises.  There are some that bloom earlier than bearded irises and others that bloom later (in my limited experience).  This is one that bloomed with the last of the beardeds this year, Iris x hollandica - be sure to check out all the gorgeous photos in this part of the Iris Encyclopedia.  The Iris Wiki also has a section on bulbous irises under construction which you can see here.  It is another area on the wiki that would benefit from your help.

Again we have both the standard difficulty puzzle and the harder difficulty jigsaw for your enjoyment.