What Can I Read in the BC Iris Society Newsletters?

Updated

The BC Iris Society publishes its Rainbow Goddess newsletter as a blog, and the current issues cover three main things: a format change from print to blog plus a reticulata iris feature, iris stories and tributes with garden highlights, and a summer iris update including a tribute to Bill Dumont. You can read the latest issues on the site and browse older ones in the archives.

Recent newsletter topics

The site lists its most recent Rainbow Goddess newsletters with a short title and a "Read More" link for each:

Newsletter What it covers
From Print to Blog: Our New Format + Reticulata Iris Feature The society's move from a printed newsletter to a blog format, plus a feature on reticulata irises
From Ukraine to BC: Iris Stories, Tributes, and Garden Highlights Iris stories and tributes, along with garden highlights
Summer Iris Update & a Tribute to Bill Dumont A summer growing update and a tribute to Bill Dumont

The titles are the main guide to content — the site presents each as a headline with a link to the full post rather than a summary, so open the ones that match your interest.

How to access current issues and archives

  1. Go to the BC Iris Society homepage.
  2. Find the Our Latest Newsletters section, which lists the most recent issues.
  3. Click Read More about [title] under the issue you want.
  4. For older issues, follow the archives link at the end of the newsletter section.

What else the site offers alongside the newsletters

The homepage also functions as a gallery of named irises with their classification and bloom details, which pairs well with the newsletter features. Examples of the entries shown include:

  • Cimarron Rose, SDB — height 14" (46 cm), midseason to late bloom and rebloom
  • Dusky Challenger, TB — height 39" (99 cm), midseason to late bloom
  • Shimmy Shake, AB — height 16" (41 cm), early bloom
  • Table For Two, TB — height 36" (91 cm), very early bloom

Classifications you'll see in these entries include TB (tall bearded), SDB (standard dwarf bearded), SIB (Siberian), AB (arilbred), PCN (Pacific Coast native), JI (Japanese), and SP (species). If a newsletter mentions a type you don't recognize, the gallery entries give you the abbreviation and typical height and bloom timing.

If you want to buy irises after reading

The site's "Where to Buy Iris in British Columbia" page points to at least one source: Hillside Irises in Cawston, BC, described as growers of bearded iris shipping all over Canada with easy online ordering. Note that the site also has a checkout page, but the available material doesn't state prices or whether any content requires payment or login — check the individual pages before assuming anything is free or open.