British Columbia Iris Society News
Our publication, “The Rainbow Goddess”, is a wonderful publication on our website https://www.bcirissociety.com/
2025 Region 13 Club Summaries
British Columbia Iris Society 2025 (by Richard Cypher):
The British Columbia Iris Society has 53 members from 43 household spread out over the 365,000 sq. miles that constitutes our province. With the changes in the executive and board which took place last June, we have undertaken initiatives to increase communication with and participation of our members. These include:
At present BCIS still maintains a display bed at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific and an official HIPS collection at Summerland Ornamental Gardens.
Columbia Basin Iris Society (by Phyllis Barnett):
Columbia Basin Iris Society meets the last Monday of the month, March thru September, at the Wenatchee Public Library, 2-4 PM. After the business meeting we have an educational time where we may learn the history of AIS, the Dyke medal winners and their hybridizers, the different iris classifications, what is new in the world of iris and the AIS Bulletin. There's always something to learn or share regarding iris. As President, my goal is to have more of our members visiting others iris gardens and submitting votes for the Lankow Award and voting in the new AIS Popularity Poll at the end of the year. Maybe, we'll even find someone wanting to enter the 2026 AIS Photo Contest. (Has there been an entry and winner from Region 13? I didn't see any mention of one in 2025. Let’s do it this year!)
Greater Portland Iris Society 2025 Review (by Chad Harris)
Last year was busy; however, it was not as chaotic as the prior year, as we did not host any garden tours. The year started out with us hosting Robert Treadway of Region 22, Arkansas, giving Judges Training on Louisiana Irises. Our in-house general meetings were fun, varied, and informative. At the first meeting, we welcomed the then-current National President of the Dahlia Society, Mark Oldencamp, speaking on the different forms of the dahlia. Show Prep was next, being right before our early show, and was given by me. That fall, Rita Butler did a recap with photos of the AIS 2025 National Convention in Billings, Montana. Our own Sue Piper gave a great, fun program titled “Exercising Tips for Mature Gardeners.” The last program of the year was “Historic Iris” by Will Plotner. Unfortunately, he was unable to give the program in person, but his wife, Lynn, stepped in. During the spring, we hosted three shows. The early show featured representatives from almost all iris classes. Missing were Aril, Spuria, Japanese, and Louisiana. The mid-show had almost the same number of entries. However, was more limited with the varieties showcasing Tall Bearded, Miniature Tall Bearded, and most of the Beardless classes. Unfortunately, our late show for Japanese Irises had to be canceled due to a lack of exhibitors and was not judged. We still had a lot of fun with some fantastic floral arrangements. I also brought in extra bloom stems of Iris ensata (Japanese iris), placing three stems in each show container to fill the room with color. We then had the general public place ribbons by their favorite blooms and floral arrangements. Our plant sales were busy and very
productive, with record receipts, allowing us to donate more to the Region. If only more of the general public would take more interest in joining an iris club.
King Country Iris Society News (by John Vacchiery)
In 2025 we cohosted a Judges Training with the Pierce County Iris Society in May. Gary White, a former AIS President, gave a training on Median Bearded Iris. The training was held at Ron Mendenhall’s garden in Olympia WA. In addition, we were able to visit Mike Unser’s garden, the same day. Mike has a great collection of historic iris. We also did two programs at Highline Botanical Garden. One in the spring on introduction to iris and then an in garden dividing demonstration on bearded iris in August. We have a lot of great programs for our meetings that are in person or via Zoom. Anyone is welcome to request to be added on our email list to enjoy the presentations. Zoom is a great tool to attract speakers that we normally would not be able to convince to give a program for us since they don’t have to travel during very busy times in their lives. Contact [email protected] if you would like to join our email list or better yet, our club. In 2026 we will have an Iris Exhibition at Kubota Gardens in Seattle in May. In June we will host a Judges training by Jody Nolin on Species Iris. The training will be at Cascadia Iris Gardens, in Lake Stevens, WA on June 20. We also are planning to do several programs at Highline Botanical Garden again this year.
Oregon Trail Iris Society Report for 2025 (by Lee Walker)
In March we had our plant giveaway of new plants for our membership. May, we held our show and Judges’ Training at Mid-America. August, we had our picnic and auction. The following week we had our sale, also at Mid-America. October, our speaker was Riley Propst on reblooming TBs and medians. November, we had our Holiday dinner and gift exchange. Fun had by all.
Pierce Country Iris Society 2025 in Review (by Maiya Heath)
Our PCIS 2025 was a busy, and productive year. Our monthly meetings included a couple of “Joint” ZOOM meetings with our sister club King County Iris Society, and a couple of great presentations from our own club members. We co-hosted a Judges Training on Median Iris taught by Gary White and picnic in May with KCIS, held at club member Rod Mendenhall’s and then had the privilege to tour Mike Unser’s Historic Iris Garden. It was a beautiful and enjoyable day. Two weeks later we hosted our “Iris Show” at Point Defiance Park’s Pogoda. It was another impressive year of member’s Horticulture specimens, Artistic Designs, and Photography entries. Thank you to everyone who participated. Our show is a great way to share the beauty of iris with all those who stop by the park to see us. Our public viewing of Iris Garden at the park was well visited this year and looked beautiful for the bloom season. Having a scheduled day of the month to volunteer and weed in the garden beds, it really helped us to keep the iris looking good all season. That is a program we will continue next year. We tried something new and hosted a couple of “Iris Clinics” out at our viewing garden at Point Defiance Park for the public and park goers, but they were not well attended. Our spring plant sale with Master Gardeners, and summer Iris Rhizome sale at Portland Avenue Nursery were successful and allowed us to plan some future projects for the club. One new project will be to add a Historic Iris bed at our public viewing garden located at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma WA. We had a fun club picnic/auction in July. In August, our club did a garden tour to Lakewold Gardens and then went to lunch, an event that is always well attended by our club members. Our year ended with a holiday party, food, fun, and good friends were all shared. It was a good year, and we are looking forward to more fun times in the garden with friends in 2026. Feel free to join us! Happy Gardening
Spokane Iris Society 2025 in Review (by Savannah Brommer)
2025 brought lots of growing pains for SIS. We got all the paperwork (or most of it anyway) completed to become an “official” club. We also participated in Spokane’s biggest plant event the Garden Expo at one of the local colleges. We had many visitors to our booth and had a great time talking to the public. We had several meetings with mostly beginner iris information, but we all had a good time visiting with each other. We also began progress on the iris beds of the Moore-Turner Heritage gardens and divided over 100 iris rhizomes which made up just 1/8 of the bed! Our roster did shrink by half in October once we started collecting dues but we have big plans for 2026 and hopefully we’ll grow and gain more new members!
Walla Walla Iris Society:
We hold both our flower show and rhizome sale at the same facility: Milton-Freewater Community Building, 109 NE 5th Ave, Milton-Freewater, OR 97862. Our show was in May and our sale was in August. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to call, Lucy Floren, 509-520-6192. Our show is open to iris and any spring blooming flowers. Some years we have tulips, other years peonies. Our small group of gardening enthusiasts work together as a well-oiled machine after all these years. Everyone pitches in to have a great show and sale. Our meetings run monthly from February through October. Our last meeting is a potluck, which is always enjoyed by everyone.
Our publication, “The Rainbow Goddess”, is a wonderful publication on our website https://www.bcirissociety.com/
2025 Region 13 Club Summaries
British Columbia Iris Society 2025 (by Richard Cypher):
The British Columbia Iris Society has 53 members from 43 household spread out over the 365,000 sq. miles that constitutes our province. With the changes in the executive and board which took place last June, we have undertaken initiatives to increase communication with and participation of our members. These include:
- Holding bimonthly general meeting via Zoom. The meeting features a guest speaker; a time for members to share iris gardening information, successes, photos and ask questions. We also cover items of business needing to be addressed.
- Creation of our Facebook group and Updating of our Facebook page.
- Updating our website. Changing the format of the Rainbow Goddess from a magazine format to a blog format on our website.
- Having an Iris sale fund raiser with members donating the irises.
- Featuring an Iris of the Month with one member receiving the iris through a random draw.
At present BCIS still maintains a display bed at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific and an official HIPS collection at Summerland Ornamental Gardens.
Columbia Basin Iris Society (by Phyllis Barnett):
Columbia Basin Iris Society meets the last Monday of the month, March thru September, at the Wenatchee Public Library, 2-4 PM. After the business meeting we have an educational time where we may learn the history of AIS, the Dyke medal winners and their hybridizers, the different iris classifications, what is new in the world of iris and the AIS Bulletin. There's always something to learn or share regarding iris. As President, my goal is to have more of our members visiting others iris gardens and submitting votes for the Lankow Award and voting in the new AIS Popularity Poll at the end of the year. Maybe, we'll even find someone wanting to enter the 2026 AIS Photo Contest. (Has there been an entry and winner from Region 13? I didn't see any mention of one in 2025. Let’s do it this year!)
Greater Portland Iris Society 2025 Review (by Chad Harris)
Last year was busy; however, it was not as chaotic as the prior year, as we did not host any garden tours. The year started out with us hosting Robert Treadway of Region 22, Arkansas, giving Judges Training on Louisiana Irises. Our in-house general meetings were fun, varied, and informative. At the first meeting, we welcomed the then-current National President of the Dahlia Society, Mark Oldencamp, speaking on the different forms of the dahlia. Show Prep was next, being right before our early show, and was given by me. That fall, Rita Butler did a recap with photos of the AIS 2025 National Convention in Billings, Montana. Our own Sue Piper gave a great, fun program titled “Exercising Tips for Mature Gardeners.” The last program of the year was “Historic Iris” by Will Plotner. Unfortunately, he was unable to give the program in person, but his wife, Lynn, stepped in. During the spring, we hosted three shows. The early show featured representatives from almost all iris classes. Missing were Aril, Spuria, Japanese, and Louisiana. The mid-show had almost the same number of entries. However, was more limited with the varieties showcasing Tall Bearded, Miniature Tall Bearded, and most of the Beardless classes. Unfortunately, our late show for Japanese Irises had to be canceled due to a lack of exhibitors and was not judged. We still had a lot of fun with some fantastic floral arrangements. I also brought in extra bloom stems of Iris ensata (Japanese iris), placing three stems in each show container to fill the room with color. We then had the general public place ribbons by their favorite blooms and floral arrangements. Our plant sales were busy and very
productive, with record receipts, allowing us to donate more to the Region. If only more of the general public would take more interest in joining an iris club.
King Country Iris Society News (by John Vacchiery)
In 2025 we cohosted a Judges Training with the Pierce County Iris Society in May. Gary White, a former AIS President, gave a training on Median Bearded Iris. The training was held at Ron Mendenhall’s garden in Olympia WA. In addition, we were able to visit Mike Unser’s garden, the same day. Mike has a great collection of historic iris. We also did two programs at Highline Botanical Garden. One in the spring on introduction to iris and then an in garden dividing demonstration on bearded iris in August. We have a lot of great programs for our meetings that are in person or via Zoom. Anyone is welcome to request to be added on our email list to enjoy the presentations. Zoom is a great tool to attract speakers that we normally would not be able to convince to give a program for us since they don’t have to travel during very busy times in their lives. Contact [email protected] if you would like to join our email list or better yet, our club. In 2026 we will have an Iris Exhibition at Kubota Gardens in Seattle in May. In June we will host a Judges training by Jody Nolin on Species Iris. The training will be at Cascadia Iris Gardens, in Lake Stevens, WA on June 20. We also are planning to do several programs at Highline Botanical Garden again this year.
Oregon Trail Iris Society Report for 2025 (by Lee Walker)
In March we had our plant giveaway of new plants for our membership. May, we held our show and Judges’ Training at Mid-America. August, we had our picnic and auction. The following week we had our sale, also at Mid-America. October, our speaker was Riley Propst on reblooming TBs and medians. November, we had our Holiday dinner and gift exchange. Fun had by all.
Pierce Country Iris Society 2025 in Review (by Maiya Heath)
Our PCIS 2025 was a busy, and productive year. Our monthly meetings included a couple of “Joint” ZOOM meetings with our sister club King County Iris Society, and a couple of great presentations from our own club members. We co-hosted a Judges Training on Median Iris taught by Gary White and picnic in May with KCIS, held at club member Rod Mendenhall’s and then had the privilege to tour Mike Unser’s Historic Iris Garden. It was a beautiful and enjoyable day. Two weeks later we hosted our “Iris Show” at Point Defiance Park’s Pogoda. It was another impressive year of member’s Horticulture specimens, Artistic Designs, and Photography entries. Thank you to everyone who participated. Our show is a great way to share the beauty of iris with all those who stop by the park to see us. Our public viewing of Iris Garden at the park was well visited this year and looked beautiful for the bloom season. Having a scheduled day of the month to volunteer and weed in the garden beds, it really helped us to keep the iris looking good all season. That is a program we will continue next year. We tried something new and hosted a couple of “Iris Clinics” out at our viewing garden at Point Defiance Park for the public and park goers, but they were not well attended. Our spring plant sale with Master Gardeners, and summer Iris Rhizome sale at Portland Avenue Nursery were successful and allowed us to plan some future projects for the club. One new project will be to add a Historic Iris bed at our public viewing garden located at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma WA. We had a fun club picnic/auction in July. In August, our club did a garden tour to Lakewold Gardens and then went to lunch, an event that is always well attended by our club members. Our year ended with a holiday party, food, fun, and good friends were all shared. It was a good year, and we are looking forward to more fun times in the garden with friends in 2026. Feel free to join us! Happy Gardening
Spokane Iris Society 2025 in Review (by Savannah Brommer)
2025 brought lots of growing pains for SIS. We got all the paperwork (or most of it anyway) completed to become an “official” club. We also participated in Spokane’s biggest plant event the Garden Expo at one of the local colleges. We had many visitors to our booth and had a great time talking to the public. We had several meetings with mostly beginner iris information, but we all had a good time visiting with each other. We also began progress on the iris beds of the Moore-Turner Heritage gardens and divided over 100 iris rhizomes which made up just 1/8 of the bed! Our roster did shrink by half in October once we started collecting dues but we have big plans for 2026 and hopefully we’ll grow and gain more new members!
Walla Walla Iris Society:
We hold both our flower show and rhizome sale at the same facility: Milton-Freewater Community Building, 109 NE 5th Ave, Milton-Freewater, OR 97862. Our show was in May and our sale was in August. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to call, Lucy Floren, 509-520-6192. Our show is open to iris and any spring blooming flowers. Some years we have tulips, other years peonies. Our small group of gardening enthusiasts work together as a well-oiled machine after all these years. Everyone pitches in to have a great show and sale. Our meetings run monthly from February through October. Our last meeting is a potluck, which is always enjoyed by everyone.