1939 
•GARDENERS WILL UNDERSTAND 
It has always seemed more fun to do my gardening with a spade or a 
hoe than with a typewriter. So I keep the weeds out pretty well and ship 
orders on time but am a terrible correspondent. Just now I have re-read the 
copy for the catalog to follow and it seems to be a pretty perfunctory job and 
I am ashamed of it. But it was the best I could do with the little time avail¬ 
able. So much garden work had to be done. And, in such a perfect year for 
transplanting as this, so much more garden work was too enticing. And I am 
afraid the catalog suffered. 
Now that it is too late, I regret that I haven't done a better job. For it is 
my only chance to talk to a good many of you and to tell you many things. 
I want to talk about the new irises I have seen and admired and the old ones to 
which I am still faithful and why. I want to find out what you plant with 
what and tell you of some of my experiments. But now there isn't time. The 
printer wants the copy tomorrow morning. 
•PERSONAL LETTERS 
There are so many of you to whom I wanted to write personal letters 
last year—and didn’t. Probably there will be many of you this year who 
will write to me piquing my imagination or my sympathy or my interest. But, 
unless you have some bitter complaint, your letter will probably go unanswered. 
I’ll just answer it in my head and proceed with desperate haste to heave out 
some plants for somebody else or to do some planting for myself. This must 
be my personal letter. I must say: I do so enjoy hearing from you and thank 
you, but the summer is short and there is so much work to do . . . 
• NEW VARIETIES 
There are some twenty varieties in my garden that I shall see for the 
first time this year, in common with those of you who are able to come to 
the garden. They include Ming Yellow, E. B. Williamson, Wabash, Morocco 
Rose, Piute, Sunburst, Itasca, Destiny, Mohrson, Red Cross, Moonglo, etc., etc. 
To me the prospect is thrilling. 
• GREETINGS AND WELCOME 
So, do come to see me and my garden if you can and, if you can't, do 
try to get more out of my catalog than I have put in. The bare bones are 
here and, if you furnish the imagination, we shall get along alright. Come 
if you can, though; seeing is better than believing. And best of luck for your 
own bloom. 
(TW^) 
DORDTHY STONER 
THE IRIS GARDEN PLAINFIELD 1546 MERRIAM, KANSAS 
