1946, Graves
'Helen McGregor' ( Robert J. Graves, R. 1943) TB. Midseason bloom. Color Class B1M . 'Purissima' X 'Cloud Castle'. Graves 1943. High Commendation 1943; Honorable Mention 1946; Award of Merit 1948; American Dykes Medal 1949.
Dr. Graves named this iris in memory of his wife's maiden name.
"As for Helen McGregor, the pale blue pod sister of Lady Boscawen, it was freely spoken of, both at Roanoke and in New England, as "the iris of the year." A bit slow to reach full height, it makes a magnificent clump when established; it is delightful in both color and form, and sheds rain superbly. Readers of the BULLETIN will doubtless grow weary of superlatives on the subject, and as 160 of them saw it in New England I shall omit further details." [John Dolman, Jr., “From Virginia to New Hampshire,” The Bulletin of the American Iris Society, No. 103 (October 1946): 14-15.]
HELEN McGREGOR (Graves, 1946): Its first flower gave no indication of its real worth. A clear pure blue of excellent form; good branching; good substance. Calif. [“Varietal Comments” The Bulletin of the American Iris Society, No. 103, (October 1946): 61.]
"I must, I fear, confess to a sense of disappointment in the highly praised Helen McGregor. There is no doubt but that it is a first class doer, but neither the form or the colour were able to stand up to the difficult conditions. The sun bleached the flowers as soon as they opened and the heat collapsed the standards to such an extent that they became limp and flattened. It was possible to appreciate the ethereal effect of the soft cream shading on the haft and also the free flowering qualities of the plant. I should like to see this variety grown in semi-shade." [Gwendolyn Anley, (England), “American Irises in English Gardens,” The Bulletin of the American Iris Society, No. 107, “Iris Ramblings” (October 1947): 7.]
"Helen McGregor (Graves '46) was in beautiful display at the Long's, the first time I had seen it. My instant reaction was "well no wonder," for Helen McGregor has such complete beauty of form and purity of color that it is easy to see why this iris has won such universal applause and why it rates it. The flower is large, the broad petals ruffled, the color a very pure light blue, the stalk is strong, the branching exceptional and the ensemble completely satisfying." [David R. Kinnish, O. S. B., (Kansas), “In Kansas, Missouri and Illinois,” The Bulletin of the American Iris Society, No. 107, “Iris Ramblings” (October 1947): 41.]
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-- KentPfeiffer - 2010-07-11
I | Attachment | Action | Size | Date | Who | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
jpg | HelenMcGregor01.jpg | manage | 222 K | 11 Apr 2017 - 00:05 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Damon Gardens |
JPEG | HelenMcGregor02.JPEG | manage | 23 K | 10 May 2014 - 16:07 | Main.TLaurin | Photo courtesy of Mike Lowe from original HIPS website |
jpg | HelenMcGregor03.jpg | manage | 42 K | 06 Jun 2014 - 19:36 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Rosalie Figge |
JPG | HelenMcGregor04.JPG | manage | 144 K | 25 Aug 2016 - 18:59 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by The Shady Spot |
jpg | HelenMcGregor12BHI.jpg | manage | 62 K | 21 Apr 2012 - 17:06 | Main.Betsy881 | Photo by Bluebird Haven Iris Garden |
jpg | HelenMcGregorAAAA.jpg | manage | 24 K | 16 Feb 2011 - 16:00 | Main.Betsy881 | Photo by Argyle Acres |
JPG | HelenMcGregorakp.JPG | manage | 43 K | 12 Jan 2011 - 20:20 | KentPfeiffer | Taken at the Sass Memorial Garden near Ashland, Nebraska on May 17, 2010 |
jpg | Helen_McGregor.jpg | manage | 69 K | 16 Feb 2011 - 18:17 | IrisP | |
JPG | helenmc01.JPG | manage | 71 K | 21 Jan 2015 - 02:45 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Aurora Borealis Iris Garden, Aurora, ON Canada |
jpg | helenmcgrego04.jpg | manage | 50 K | 21 Jul 2014 - 22:59 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Damon Gardens |
jpg | helenmcgregor.jpg | manage | 62 K | 24 Jan 2011 - 12:36 | Main.avmoran | |
jpg | helenmcgregor01.jpg | manage | 44 K | 21 Aug 2014 - 19:27 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Iris City Gardens |
jpg | helenmcgregor02.jpg | manage | 22 K | 12 Sep 2014 - 22:25 | Main.TLaurin | Photo by Seagate Irises-United Kingdom |