Dew ees 
For many years now I have been trying to breed 
small irises in new and clear colors that would be 
somewhat taller and bloom a little later than the 
dwarfs. Here in Tennessee the commonly grown dwarf 
bearded varieties bloom when it is too cold and wet 
to enjoy flowers in the garden and their stalks are so 
short that the flowers become mud-splattered from our 
hard spring rains. 
Poor germination and sterility were the great stumb- 
ling blocks as I seemed to be stymied at every turn. 
Finally, however, the “break” has come. 
From the pollen of true pumila, crossed on to vari- 
ous tall bearded varieties I now have a series of seed- 
lings which are obviously different from anything we 
have had in the past. To distinguish them from other 
miscellaneous small bearded irises, I call them my 
“Lilliput Hybrids.” 
Some are fertile, some have pollen. The plant, the 
height of the stalk and the size of the flower are in 
good proportion. They have good substance, closed 
standards and flaring falls. 
There are selfs, bitones and new color patterns of 
velvety spots and deep overlays on the falls. The 
beards are usually conspicuous and vary greatly in 
color. 
The plants are floriferous and very hardy. They 
grow fast and soon make a clump literally covered with 
blooms. They bloom in the period between the early 
dwarfs and the early tall bearded, roughly a period 
of about thirty to forty days. In this “intermediate” 
period some will be early, others will be midseason and 
still others will come almost with the talls. Thus, I 
have marked the several varieties Early, Midseason and 
Late, referring only to this “intermediate” season. 
Try them for the rock garden. They will make 
compact, round clumps which bloom in tulip-time. 
Try them for edgings. They will make a solid ribbon 
of color around a bed. Try them, especially the taller 
ones, as specimen plants for the front of the perennial 
border. They bloom in that difficult period after the 
daffodils have passed and when the border needs color. 
I am pricing these things very low so that everyone 
may enjoy them. Also, I plan to introduce a rather 
large number of varieties so that their great variety 
may be the sooner appreciated. 
Sincerely yours, 
Geddes Douglas 
