From the iris notes mom and Grandma Lillie kept, 1930s to ’40s.

#3 in their alphabetical list. More info here: 1920s iris, Ambassadeur

I wonder if this 1981 photo shows it, in mom’s garden, on the right, the two-toned reddish purple.

From the iris notes mom and Grandma Lillie kept, 1930s to ’40s.

2. Alta California
Gran wrote, “48-in bronzy yellow,” in 1939.

From Carl Salbach’s catalog for 1936: “First in the series of Sydney B. Mitchell triumphs in breeding for yellows, Alta California still holds its place as one of the most worth-while and sensational iris grown. It is tallest of all the new yellow iris and its branching qualifies it for “A” rating either as an individual stalk or as mass bloom.”

From Cooley’s Gardens catalog for 1937: “Standards of clear yellow, falls of deep yellow, faintly bronzed. One of the tallest of all irises, very popular among the new yellows, a reliable performer in Minnesota as well as New England and California. The large blossoms are of firm smooth texture, produced on splendid stems.”

Hybridized by Mohr–Mitchell in 1931.

More info here.

Alta California iris image

I didn’t really know how many, many iris varieties mom and her mom had raised until after mom died. I’m starting an alphabetic posting of the names I have found, so you can see what they were up to in the 1930s and ’40s.

1. Albatross (“large white” as described by LBD—that’s grandma, Lillie Buswell Davie, not ‘little black dress’…)
TB 1922 Perry: Lillie says, “pale lavender, falls veined and tipped darker”
Note: TB = tall bearded; Perry = Perry Plant Co.

This is the link to the earliest Perry catalog I have found; it mentions “Albatross,” but there are no photos. Have yet to find a photo of this variety.

Perry Plant Co., iris growers in 1924