Our members share a common interest in our love of iris. However, we all tend to have a particular type that we focus on and develop a certain amount of expertise on. The following profiles have been provided by some of our members who are more than willing to help answer any questions you may have.


Ann is a Northwest native and lives with her husband, Dwayne, in Edmonds, WA. She has 2 married sons and 3 grandchildren. By trade, Ann is a Human Resources Manager. Ann also enjoys hybridizing SDBs and MTBs. The types of irises that she grows are lots of SDB, MTB, IB, BB and a few tall bearded. Her favorite varieties are ‘Death by Chocolate’, ‘Redrock Princess’, ‘Cheese & Wine’, ‘Astra Girl’, ‘Spell, Smash’, and ‘Bold'.


Dwayne is originally from Clackamas, Oregon and lives with his wife, Ann, in Edmonds, WA. He has one stepson and 2 grandchildren. He’s an accountant, graduating from Oregon State University. He loves growing Siberians and other beardless iris. He is currently serving as Assistant RVP for AIS Region 13. His favorite varieties are ‘Ruffles & Flourishes’, ‘Strawberry Fair’, ‘Roaring Jelly’ and ‘Dotted Line’.

Joan is originally from Mt. Carmel, PA and currently lives in Seattle, WA. She has her doctorate and is a nursing professor. One of her talents is Polaroid emulsion photography. Joan has shown her work in several exhibits around the greater Seattle area. Joan grows mostly bearded iris and some Siberian and Cal-Sibes. Her favorite irises are SDBs and Arilbreds.


Debby has two grown daughters and lives with her husband John on Mercer Island. Her profession is geology, geophysics and computer programming and she loves a good bridge game. The types of Iris that Debby grows: Bearded, Pacific Coast hybrids and species, Siberian, Cal-Sibe, Versicolor, Cristata, Japonica, Tectorum, Pseudacorus and some Arilbreds. Her favorite is the Pacific Coast hybrids.


Fran hails from Spokane, WA and resides now in the Woodland Park/Greenlake area of Seattle. She is a Performance Integrity Analyst (QA). Fran grows SDB, IB, BB, TB, AB, Siberian, Pacific Coast natives, Cal-Sibe, Spuria, bearded and beardless species iris. She’s partial to MTB’s and Arilbreds.


Carla is from Cedar Falls, IA and now lives with her husband, George, in Renton, WA. She has 3 of her own kids (Larry, Karen and Mark) and George’s kids, as well. Carla has her BS in Textiles and Art. Besides growing everything under the sun, Carla’s irises include historics, species, MDBs, Japanese, Siberians (both 40 and 28 chromosomes) and Cal-Sibes. She loves species iris especially.


George’s hometown is Rutherford, NJ and lives with his wife, Carla, in Renton, WA. He has 3 kids and 2 grandsons. He went to college for electrical engineering. George has been growing irises for over 50 years and ran Kirkland Iris Gardens with his late wife, Carol. He has attended 30 AIS National Conventions. George grows all bearded, Siberian, Japanese, Versicolor, Virginica, Sino-Sib, Tectorum, Pacific Coast hybrids and other species iris. His favorite types of iris are the Medians, especially the Intermediate Bearded iris.

Bill is originally from Urbana, IL and now lives with his wife Suzie in Edmonds, WA. They have three sons - John, Dan and David. Bill is a retired East Asian Law Librarian and speaks French, Mandarin, Korean and some Japanese. He grows a little of everything and especially enjoys historic iris. His favorite varieties are ‘Dusky Challenger’, ‘Color Carnival’, and I. pallida & ‘Schwan’.


Scarlett is from Miller, SD and lives in Edmonds, WA with her husband, Mel. Her education is in insurance and photography. Her favorite irises are re-blooming bearded iris and her favorite color of iris is pink.


Jayne’s hometown is Anderson, IN and now lives in SE King County. She has 3 children and 4 grandchildren. Educated in Special Education and Inside Sales, Jayne lived in Huntsville, AL for 11 years and was president of the Huntsville Iris Society, served as president of M.I.S., AIS Youth Chairman and on the board of directors for the Siberian Society. She raised funds for the 1984 AIS Convention and was treasurer. Jayne has been an AIS member since she was 28 years old and started hybridizing around 1973. She grows various bearded and Siberian irises with a few PCNs.


I grow all types of irises. My collection stands at around 1500 different hybrids as well as several species iris. I can't decide on a particular type to focus on- I love them all!! On the bearded side of the iris spectrum, Tall Bearded irises will always be a part of my mix but due to the size of our yard, I tend to focus more on growing the compact median bearded hybrids. On the beardless side my tendency is leaning more towards Pacific Coast hybrids, although smaller Siberians and Japanese are definitely a part of the mix. We have an easement that provides perfect growing conditions for Spuria irises so we have a fair number of them in the mix as well. Last but not least are the Louisiana irises that share our pond with several goldfish. Although I'm not the expert that many of our members are, I'm more than willing to share my experiences.

I am also the KCIS  and Region 13 Webmaster, along with my own Leonine Iris website. The graphics are my own design as is the site layout. I'm always looking for new articles and suggestions. Feel free to contact me regarding anything on these websites!


Jennifer’s hometown is Snohomish, WA. She lives with her father Patrick, mother Margaret and sister Carol Anne. She is currently studying Horticulture at Edmonds Community College. Her family grow iris together and have “almost everything” but specialize in Japanese and Arilbreds. Her favorite are Arilbreds. She is aiming for a certificate in Nursery Management with a Bachelor’s in Accounting or Botany and she is also an avid quilter and sewer – often incorporating iris into her projects.


Margaret....

Patrick...

Bob comes to Redmond, WA from Vancouver, WA. He lives in Redmond with his wife, Sandy, and they have a son and a daughter. Bob is a computer Programmer by trade and is an accomplished wood worker. He grows TB, SDB, MDB, MTB and Pacific Coast Irises. His favorite TB is ‘Telepathy’, ‘Total Obsession’, ‘Jazzed Up’, ‘Tintinabulation’, ‘Calypso Beat’, ‘Bal Masque’ and ‘Sheik’.


Sandy....