'Californian'

 

Region 14 will be hosting the  2019 AIS Convention April 23-27. 2019.  There will be 6 gardens on the tour.  They are accepting up to 3 plants per cultivar.  They are accepting Siberians, Louisianas, Spurias, and Pacific Coast Natives and other beardless that bloom with bearded. (Japanese irises do not bloom until too late for the Convention).

Send your beardless guest irises to Guest Iris Chair Riley Probst 2701 Fine Ave. Modesto, CA. 95355.  They will be accepted from through November 15. 2016.  PCNI will be accepted up to December 1, 2016.  Questions regarding guest irises contact Guest Iris Chair Riley Probst rprobst02@earthlink.net.  Email shirleyjtrio@gmail.com with questions regarding the convention.

Details of the request are in the Iris Bulletin Summer 2016, page 20.  You can learn more about the Convention gardens in the Region 14 Winter 2015 newsletter on pages 14-15.

Also remember to specify "AIS 2020 Centennial" for those seedlings you wish to have considered for Centennial Irises as described in this item.  They are accepting 3 of any beardless seedling to be entered into the Competition.

	'Meet You At Midnight'

 

The Regional Fall Meetings are underway.  You can find out where and when they are on this Iris Encyclopedia page.  So many opportunities to learn more about irises and irisarians.

They offer an array of speakers and topics.  And the judges training are opportunities for all of us to learn more.  And consider if we would like to become judges.

Be sure to check out the ones in your area and the others you might travel to.  You are not limited to one!

	'Swans In Flight'

 

The 2016 AIS Awards were the subject of our Special Issue of News & Notes in mid-August.  If you have not seen it yet, it is also available in the News & Notes Archives; this is the direct link to that issue.  The list is available with pictures and as a printable list (8 page PDF).

The Dykes Medal winner this year, 'Swans In Flight' by Robert Hollingworth, is the first Siberian Dykes Medal winner.  The AIS awards page has the story of how we almost did not have 'Swans In Flight'!  Congratulations to all the winners!

	'Council Meeting'

 

The AIS Board of Directors meets at the National Convention in the Spring and a second time in the Fall.  Members are encouraged to attend these meetings.  This Fall the meeting is in Sedona, Arizona on November 4th and 5th.  You can find information on all the upcoming AIS Conventions and Fall Board Meetings here.  That page is where I found this link to the meeting headquarters, the Hampton Inn Sedona Hotel.

Hope many of you can attend.  These are a great way to learn what is happening.

	'Frederick Douglass'

 

The Louisiana Iris Society created a Louisiana Iris Species Preservation Project in 2015.  Based on a proposal by Charles Perilloux, the work was begun in 2016.

You can learn more about the need and the plans, and see beautiful Louisiana iris photos, in this World of Irises posting.  The Greater New Orleans Iris Society has taken the lead in the project.  Find more details and photos here. 

Thank you to all the participants in this project.

	Adult Effects Winner - Susan Bailey

 

The 2016 AIS Photo Contest is over and the winners are now on the AIS website.  This page has links to photo galleries of the winners from 2008 to the present.  See the top photos in all six adult categories and the youth category.  This is a direct link to the 2016 Photo Contest Winners.

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who entered.  And thank you to the photo judges; I know it isn't easy to select from all the beautiful photos.

This also means it is time to begin taking photos for next year's contest.  Reblooming iris offer an opportunity this fall and there will be iris shows, the 2017 Convention, and all your gardens where you can photograph irises.  To get started in photographing irises, see these suggestions on HIPS by Mike Unser.

 

A flower we saw as a jigsaw last year.  And this year it is reblooming more than ever.  'Oxmoor Hills' by James Ennenga opened August 29 this year and has had blooms open every day since then.  Enjoy it again in the standard difficulty puzzle and the harder puzzle.

While you are thinking about rebloomers, head on over to the Reblooming Iris Society.  Learn more about enjoying these irises again and again.