Lloyd Austin, proprietor of Rainbow Hybridizing Gardens, in Placerville, California, was a major figure in the history of modern bearded irises. He was most acclaimed for his perfection of, and popularizing of, the 'Space Age' form of bearded irises, but his catalog's offerings covered the breadth of the iridiceae family. His catalogs from the 50's and 60's were a riot of color and graphic detail, but always the focus on hybridizing with the varieties offered. Mr. Austin believed everyone should be trying their hand at hybridizing and creating irises that appealed to them.
Read more about him here:
http://www.hips-roots.com/articles/notable-austin.html
Lloyd Austin Irises
- Garden_of_Mu
- Posts: 4518
- Joined: Mar 12, 2002 8:00 pm
- USDA Zone: 7
- Location: Olympia, WA
Lloyd Austin Irises
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- Lloyd Austin's catalog cover for 1960
- austins-cat-60.jpg (27.82 KiB) Viewed 2438 times
~ Mike
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t
matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Theodore Geisel, aka Dr.
Seuss
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t
matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Theodore Geisel, aka Dr.
Seuss
Horned iris
Thank you!thank you!thank you!This man was more or less my hero so it was great reading about him. At one time I did have unicorn in my garden and many of his Mohrs but none survive today. Bill
Old but still learning
- Garden_of_Mu
- Posts: 4518
- Joined: Mar 12, 2002 8:00 pm
- USDA Zone: 7
- Location: Olympia, WA
I have three of his varieties, but would love to collect more. I know a couple of folks in CA that collect them. One friend there has inherited his grandmother's extensive collection of Austin irises. I like Austin, but Dr. Kleinsorge is my favorite hybridizer and the main focus of my collection.
Glad you liked the pics. Here's another one I took at Brooks Gardens in Oregon - Horned Tantalizer. It made a very bright clump.
Glad you liked the pics. Here's another one I took at Brooks Gardens in Oregon - Horned Tantalizer. It made a very bright clump.
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- horned-tantalizer1-mu.jpg (20.04 KiB) Viewed 2411 times
~ Mike
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t
matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Theodore Geisel, aka Dr.
Seuss
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t
matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Theodore Geisel, aka Dr.
Seuss