Good news! Some of the American Iris Society convention gardens will be open to the public on Saturday, April 23. We expect the bloom to be the best the last week in April. Things are blooming late this year. However, the irises are beautifully grown and late April will see truly spectacular gardens.
Wilson Garden Postponed to Sunday April 24 from 2 pm -4 pm: 700 Olde Country Rd, Las Cruces, NM (take the north road as there are two roads side by side separated by a fence). This garden was described as the best display of Arilbred Irises ever seen.
Blue J Garden 8 am – 2pm: 40 Palomino Rd, Vado, NM
Calhoun Flower Farm (Check their website for times): 775 Esslinger Rd, La Mesa, NM
Ayres Garden 5128 Hacienda Ave, Las Cruces, NM. This garden won the Gerald Richardson Award at this year’s AIS convention for the best integrated private maintained planting
Farm and Ranch Museum garden is open to the public whenever the museum is open.
Registration is closed:
Other Links:
Schedule updated 3/21/2022 Subject to change
Las Cruces is the second largest city in New Mexico with over 100,000 inhabitants. It lies in the Chihuahua Desert and encompasses part of the agricultural floodplain of the Rio Grande. It extends eastwards towards the Organ Mountains which is the largest geological feature visible. This area is known for excellent Mexican food. The state question is “red or green?”.
Old Mesilla which will be the location of the dine-around was well known in the “Wild West” era. The area attracted such figures as Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett and Pancho Villa. The village was also the crossroads of Butterfield stagecoach, mail, and trade routes. La Posta restaurant occupies the stables and hotel for the Butterfield Stagecoach.
Learn more about Las Cruces, the crossroads of Hispanic, Indian and American cultures at:
https://www.newmexico.org/places-to-visit/regions/southwest/las-cruces/ (
Click on the link at top for COVID-19 protocols. Learn how together we can have a safe convention. Everyone will follow state guidelines at the time of the convention so this page will need to be updated as we approach the time of convention. Note, that of September 22, 2021, New Mexico is over 70% fully vaccinated which is the best in the nation.
There will be a Silent Auction and a boutique at the convention. Click on the links at the top to see how you can donate or participate.
Meanwhile we did create a webinar about the convention gardens. You can find it on You Tube on the American Iris Society channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAs4ZKEr4tA
This video also has a 5 minute section on things to do in Las Cruces and the surrounding area. The gardens were glorious but a little bit late in blooming in 2021 due to the exceptional cold winter. We did not get the massive freeze that Texas endured but it was a still cold winter.
