E. Roy Epperson's speech (FRANCIRIS 2005)
(French version published in: Iris et Bulbeuses n° 155 p 4-5. 2006).
E. Roy Epperson, Ph.D.
In the corner kitchen window of my home hangs the saying "Time began in a garden." From that garden First Woman and First Man were expelled to till the earth with the sweat of their brow. Then after the flood, the creator gave us the covenant of the rainbow and the palette of colors for the flower of the rainbow, the iris. And we are reminded to "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not neither do they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these." Many historians believe that these "lilies of the field" were actually aril irises growing in the wild. You and I, therefore, have a gardening heritage of many millennia and irises have walked through the ages with us.
Franciris®2005 is the culmination of several years of work in organizing the events, as well as preparing, planting and caring for the irises in the competition plantings here at TECOMAH. The French Society of Irises and Bulbs (SFIB) is to be commended for this deliberate effort to enhance the existing long-standing interest in irises in France, and, indeed, in the world at large. Franciris®2005 also lays the foundation for the future restoration of the awarding of the W.R. Dykes Memorial Medal to an iris originated by a French hybridizer. The Dykes Medal was earlier awarded in France but is currently awarded only in England, Australia/New Zealand, and North America. The premier award for irises in France, of course, carries the name of Philippe de Vilmorin. This current competition also gives a unique opportunity for student judges to learn the techniques of judging tall bearded iris in the garden.
We, the panel of judges, express our sincere appreciation to SFIB, to TECOMAH, and to all of the supporters of Franciris®2005 for this splendid dedicated effort on behalf of the genus Iris. And especially to Mme. Anne-Marie Chenais, Chairman of SFIB, and her committee for all of their work and the gracious hospitality that has been extended to us.
It was especially refreshing and reassuring to see so many young people and children visiting the competition garden and voting each for their favorite iris. Where we the jury evaluate over 15 different qualities/attributes of a good iris, the public will probably vote solely on the basis of the color of the flower.
The Franciris®2005 panel of judges: Valeria Romoli from Italy, Gisela Dathe from Germany, Sylvain Ruaud and Jerome Boulon from France, and I from the United States, arrived in the garden on Monday morning and since that time have spent approximately 20 hours each in the garden in evaluating each competition iris against a set of generally accepted criteria (a scale of points). There have been many discussions among the judges both within and without the garden. The judging is done blind, i.e., the competition iris are under number and the judges do not know the identity of the cultivar or the identity of the hybridizers. Our individual evaluations have now been tabulated to determine the winners of Franciris®2005 competition. And now the time has come to announce the results.
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