MY MOTHER'S DAY OUTING

Well, I was all set to have a depressing Mother's Day without the boys home for the first time, then I decided to make the best of it and do something. My RHSS friend, Betty, had told me about an Iris Garden tour that was open on Mother's Day and asked if I wanted to go with her. Well, I told Harold about it, since he had to miss the Garden Tour, we decided to go to this, I called Betty and told her we were going and she was getting ready to go, so we picked her up for it. My RHSS friend, Bobbie, had called me that morning to wish me a "Happy Mother's Day!" and she had sounded a little depressed herself as her son was busy with his family and she would not be seeing him for MD, so I called her back and she joined us as well. The tour was being put on by the Fredericksburg Iris Society and there were 4 Gardens on the tour, we only had time to visit two and the first one belonged to another RHSS friend, Sue, in Stafford County. Below are the pictures taken of her garden and some beautiful Irises. The Indian Chief ones are from her father's garden originally and she donated quite a few to Virginia Tech to be planted at the Memorial for those killed in the shooting a few years ago, since they are the school colors, they were perfect.

While at Sue's house, both boys called us on our cell phone to talk and wish me a "Happy Mother's Day, so that made everything perfect, since I was not sure if they would be given phone privledges or not, as they are both entering crutial stages of the training they are in.

Indian Chief (donated to VA Tech)These Irises smelled like grapes.

I realize the rest of the pictures are not Irises, but they were too pretty to not include. Her entire yard was beautiful.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this ladybug and just as I did, this little ant ran onto the top of the bud (Peony). He was dashing all over the bud, while the ladybug just sat there resting.

The 2nd garden we visited belonged to Jack & Rosalie Loving, Edgehill Gardens, in King George County. He will have his garden open for viewing thru this coming weekend. So go by and have a look if you can, it is beautiful and you can place an order of the ones you like. They will be available for pick-up in late July (you must prepay). You can contact them at 540-775-4043.

This is what the flyer had to say about their garden: An impressive collection (1000+) of bearded irises, with some Japanese, Siberian, and Spuria. This is a beautifully landscaped garden. It is a real treat that shouldn’t be missed. One of four gardens in the Fredericksburg area included on the garden tour of the 2003 AIS National Convention. Directions: From Fredericksburg go east on Rt. 3 through King George Court House area to Rt. 205. Left on Rt. 205 to US 301 (approx. 1 ½ miles). Cross US 301 and turn right into 3rd driveway (Edgehill Lane). Go down lane to stone house on left.

Now here are a few pictures of some of my favorites at his place. Thanks to a hint from Mr. Loving, I took a picture of the tag after each, so I have the names of his irises. FYI: The first is the name of the flower, then the name of the hybrider and then the year of introduction, placed below each picture.

Taco Belle

N. Sexton 1978

MaMie

Cayeuz 1906

Different World

R. Ernst 1991 Snowed In

J. Ghio 1999

In Town

B. Blythe 1988

Melted Butter

Chun Fan 1994Southwest Sunset

H. Rush 2003World Premier

Schreiner's 1998

Welch's Reward

W. Welch 1988 (MTB)

Goodnight Kiss

Schreiner's 2003

Twilight Passage

T. Aitken 1998 (BB)

This one they received the Blue Ribbon for "Best of Show".

The following picture is not an Iris, but an Azalea bush. I thought the flower was so pretty it deserved a spot.

Martha Hitchcock