Ben Lomond Garden Club: Russell Watson gives program on irises
Watson, whose teaching career in Warren County spans 35 years, has been growing irises since he was 17 years of age. He has at least 100 varieties of historical irises along with 847 other different varieties. He said about 100 new varieties are introduced each year, making a total of over 20,000 different types of irises.
Complimenting his talk, Watson displayed several irises at the meeting to illustrate all that is involved in showing and judging the state flower.
The award-winning flower grower shared the following gardening tips with club members:
The iris needs to be divided and moved every three to four years. Irises should only be moved in July and August when they are dormant. Moving them at other times disturbs blooming. When dormant, the foliage should be cut back to six inches. It takes the iris two years to recover and bloom again.
Nona Stein from the Urban Forestry Department asked for assistance from the Ben Lomond club in judging the gardens for the Chamber’s Beautification Awards this summer. Volunteering their services were Eulalia Jones and Chitra Mukherji.
The District II spring meeting was held April 10 at Opryland. Joletta Dean, Juanita Phillips, Eulalia Jones and Nancy Purdue were in attendance.
Eulalia Jones received a blue ribbon in the arrangement category, “Heaven, Man and Beauty.” Mrs. Jones also won blue for her arrangement, “Beauty in Solo,” while Connie Mullican received red. In the “As You Like It” category, Mrs. Mullican earned blue.
Those receiving blue ribbons for horticulture entries were: Pat Bigbee, nine; Bette Myers, five; Joletta Dean, five; Emily Haston, five; Charlotte Boyd, three and Robin Phillips, three.
Red ribbon winners were: Bette Myers, four; Charlotte Boyd, four, Robin Phillips, three; and Pat Bigbee, one. Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Haston and Mrs. Boyd each received one yellow ribbon.