Stephanie Lee
What started my interest in hybridizing iris? I thought it would be cheaper to hybridize my own iris instead of paying out the "big bucks" to buy them from the catalogs. It doesn't seem to work that way though - you see new introductions by famous hybridizers and you can envision crossing that perfect one of theirs with one of yours, and before you know it you have ordered seven or thirty(ish) new ones. Once you get one of your own creations to bloom, you're hooked. There it is (after two or three or four years of taking care of it); you spot it; that very first bud on your very own fantastic creation, you see it start to form, you try to "help" it open by peeling a little of the bud casing away. Just like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, it is magical, and you want to see it NOW. You blow on it trying to convince it to open immediately... and you find yourself wondering if you can find an extension cord long enough to get the hairdryer outside to use on it... There is nothing like parenthood - and there are no ugly children - well, there will always be a few Frankensteinian offspring, but it might look better next year so you keep it anyway!!
Stephanie Lee
To see Stephanie's seedling pictures click here.