THE FLOWERS FOR THE MILLIONS—OR THE MILLIONAIRE 
Page 47 


“The iris I received from you last fall were so 
large and had such splendid roots! What large 
holes I dug to accommodate them—with a ridge 
in the center to hold the rhizomes close to the 
surface. I kept thinking of them all winter long 
when only tons of snow were visible and then, 
-when they bloomed we went out several times 
each evening with a flashlight and sometimes an 
umbrella too, to look at them. If nothing had 
bloomed, if they had all died of rot I should not 
have been surprised. Rain, day after day—the 
wettest spring in a record number of years. 
Fortunately we do have almost perfect drainage 
but not as much sun as I would like. Anyway 
they all came through and all but one bloomed 
and it’s such a fine healthy plant that I know it 
will do so next year. This spring I was sorely 
tempted. I received two catalogs with iris I wanted 
very badly at such cut-rate prices that it seemed 
foolish to hesitate a moment. But the thought of 
your iris and the quality I had received and en- 
joyed intervened—and I decided to order what I 
had to have from you and sit patiently while the 
others slowly but surely came within reach. So 
your beautiful iris are their own best salesmen 
and I shall continue to be a happy Edenwald cus- 
tomer.’’ NEW YORK 
“T gave my catalog to another so may I please 
have a second copy? All fifteen of the iris I 
ordered last year are in bloom and they are 
gorgeous.’’ CONNECTICUT 
‘‘Thought I was stumped for a place to add any 
more iris but just found a nice long stretch which 
will do very nicely after the sod is taken out. 
(That groan, you hear is my husband.) Have had 
quite some difficulty with borers but hope this new 
spray of Gray’s will knock them off. Anyway the 
blooms on your iris are out of this world!! People 
hang over our fence to stare and not a few hint 
broadly for ‘slips’—the chiselers! I should have a 
stack of your cards and hand them out, I guess. 
You’ve certainly turned me into a real iris enthusi- 
ast and even tho’ I don’t go in for the latest and 
most expensive, my garden is a real picture when 
these gorgeous flowers are in bloom.’’ 
PENNSYLVANIA 
“T need your 1948 catalog badly. I’m sort of 
making iris history here in this town with plants 
from your place and from Cooley’s—the only other 
grower I’ve found who begips to match the 
sturdiness of your plants. Local people have never 
seen such’ Iris. For that matter, neither have I. 
And a judge of the A. I. S. said he had never 
seen some of these varieties perform so well in 
any garden, coast to coast. So I’m all swelled up 
and you can be too, for many are from your 
place. Now I want more mainly to prolong the 
season. More power to you and I’m glad I found 
you.”’ NEW MEXICO 
“T have had four years of pleasure from your 
iris rhizomes.’’ CALIFORNIA 
“Sending a small order for more of your won- 
derful plants. My garden was gorgeous this year 
and there were many visitors. Their ‘ohs’ and 
‘ahs’ quite overwhelmed me but the flowers de- 
served it all. I spent many hours in the garden 
examining them closely. I look in the heart of 
them all and love them individually, and they 
respond way beyond my wildest dreams. I am 
quite sure it was ridiculous but I really wished 
YOU could see them. I hope my selection this 
year is good. I think Elmohr is one of my favor- 
ites but I haven’t a poor one or a disappointment 
in my garden. Thank you so much for the perfect 
plants you always send. Praise and more praise 
for Edenwald Gerdens.’’ VERMONT 
‘All of the iris I got from you last year 
bloomed this spring, some of them sending up as 
many as three and four bloom stalks. They have 
been a great pleasure to us and to all the neigh- 
borhood.’’ OKLAHOMA 
“The Iris I ordered from you in 1947 were the 
most beautiful blooms I ever saw and my neigh- 
bors marvelled over them.’’ NORTH CAROLINA 

“Once more we want to thank you for your 
trouble in showing us your fields and gardens— 
that 4 acres across the road really was a sight. 
The iris season got started earlier here this year 
with Wasatch opening first on May 24th. Each 
day brought more and more varieties until peak 
bloom was reached on Memorial Day, and the last 
bloom faded from Majenica yesterday, June 28th. 
Of the 38 varieties ordered from you last year 25 
bloomed. Some of the two-year clumps really out- 
did themselves beyond our greatest expectations 
with several producing 10 bloom stalks each and 
Cathedral Dome 12 and Indian Hills 13. On the 
other hand, well grown clumps of Crystal Beauty 
and Mt. Cloud showed no sign of bloom, perhaps 
due to winter injury. The winter damage did not 
turn out as serious as it looked at first and only 
Brunhilde was completely lost, but Red Douglas 
barely survived. We thought you might like to 
know these results.’’ MICHIGAN 
“The iris came through our hard winter in fine 
shape and most of them are blooming. Sable and 
Gloriole are full of bloom and beautiful. Ming 
Yellow is glorious but Golden Hind is the yellow- 
est thing in the garden. We are looking forward 
to getting the new shipment of rhizomes.’’ 
WISCONSIN 
““Most people are quick to complain when every- 
thing is not as they think they should be, but say 
nothing when things exceed their fondest expecta- 
tions. Guess I am somewhat guilty in that respect 
myself. I have been interested in Iris for over 
forty years. Had one failing—could not bear to 
discard a poor variety. I did quite a bit of hy- 
bridizing myself—a few results good, the vast 
majority, so-so. Four years ago I bought this 
place. Did not bring any Iris along, so I started 
from scratch with your iris. Right now they are 
at their best. Boy, oh boy! That best is beauty 
that is breath-taking. Your eyes grow misty and 
there is an ache in your breast that can only be 
caused by Iris at the peak of perfection. They 
come from Edenwald!’’ WiST VIRGINIA 
Irises I bought from you last year were the very 
nicest and largest Rhizomes I’ve ever received 
and ‘every one but 3 bloomed out of about 50 or 
60. I call that wonderful. I’ve bought iris at all 
the leading dealers for the past 15 years. Thank 
you for such fine rhizomes.’’ NEW YORK 
‘.. . . The plants looked so healthy and clean 
that I felt sure I should have the opportunity to 
make specific comment if I waited until this year’s 
blooming season. And I do. Every one has estab- 
lished itself and is growing vigorously, and every 
one except Queen Mary, has bloomed and is flow- 
ering profusely. Frankly I did not expect much. 
As you probably know, so many collections are 
not worth the price—common varieties, weak or 
unhealthy plants, or so small and undev2zloped 
that the buyer is discouraged. Or there is one 
choice variety and the rest fillers of little merit. 
After being ‘taken’ a time or two on this collec- 
tion thing, I resolved never again. eee LLOW= 
ever, with all prices as they have been, I had to 
spread my plant budget very thin, so I decided to 
take one more chance. And I am glad I did. The 
varieties were great. We were pleased with Marcus 
and Nebraska—really thrilled with the latter— 
which two ‘we had never seen before. So I know I 
am taking no chance this time in enclosing an 
order which includes two collections, one of 
bearded iris and another of hemerocallis. Thank 
you again.’’ OHIO 
‘‘The iris I got last fall were wonderful.’’ 
SOUTH DAKOTA 
“‘The nice hemerocallis plant you sent me of 
Ruby Supreme had two nice bloom stalks on it. 
We added several new hems to our garden this 
season and yours of Ruby Supreme, has about a 
season’s jump on all the others.’’ ILLINOIS 
“So far you have filled one of my two Iris 
orders for this year. The stock, as usual, was 
excellent. I appreciate your having sent me Snow 
Carnival as an extra. I enjoy your catalog more 
than the fancy ones from the Coast. I like to look 
at their color photos and then order from you!”’’ 
OHIO 
