Mesilla Valley Iris Society History

Las Cruces, New Mexico

By Ann Colwell, Fern Gold and Scarlett Ayres

The first meeting of the Mesilla Valley Iris Society was held nearly fifty years ago in 1971.  Gus and Edith Seligman, George and Jackie Bryant first belonged to the iris club located in El Paso, Texas, 45 miles to the south of Las Cruces.   Gus had a heart attack and while he was recuperating, he was called Jackie several times a day to talk about irises and the El Paso Club.  Jackie suggested that he start a local society in Las Cruces since she thought he needed something else to occupy his mind during his convalescence.    The club is named after the Mesilla Valley which bisects Las Cruces.   The valley was formed by repeated heavy spring floods of the Rio Grande and the soil is a fertile clay loam.  On either side of the valley are the mesas.  The soil on the mesas are sandy loam and is poor in organic matter. 

Seven people attended the first meeting:  Gus & Edith Seligman, George and Jackie Bryant, Lois and Jim Patton and Fern Gold.  The El Paso club rapidly diminished and closed a few years later.  The few remaining members joined MVIS. Gus was the first president.  Ann Colwell, Luella Danielson and Sharon McAllister joined in the mid-seventies.  Sharon was de facto parliamentarian for as long as she was active.  Most of the initial meetings were at Gus and Edith’s home. Even in the winter, club members had to go out and check on how the seedlings were growing.  Ann states that the neighbors must have thought they were nuts!  The club had a special meeting with potluck each September close to Gus’ birthday.  The El Paso group would come up and everyone would view the Seligman’s garden. 

The early programs were iris slides.   Gus, Jackie and George would often talk to the club about iris.   George and Jackie had sandy soil but very healthy iris.   They were very generous with iris; giving each member some of the irises. George was heavy into Arils—they did well in his sandy soil. Gus also liked the arils & got into hybridizing and has 15 arilbreds listed in the Iris Wikipedia.  Sharon became a renowned Arilbred hybridizer and has hybridized over 135 Arilbred Irises and several pure Arils.  It is unclear who mentored whom, but New Mexico has created many of the Arilbreds in commerce (often through the Aril Society International).   

MVIS asked the local garden clubs if they could have their first show in conjunction with theirs at the Loretto Mall.  This first show was difficult to set up since club members had to use lumber and cement blocks to make tables for the show.  The lumber was usually loaned to MVIS by the Woodward Lumber Company.  They borrowed coke bottles from the coke company for the horticulture specimens and cleaned and returned them after the show.  Safeway loaned the club large cans of juice which were used with stiff paper to make a divider down the center of the lumber-built tables.     Later the club borrowed tables from the Knights of Columbus and transported them to the show themselves.  They were very heavy and there must have been a lot of younger members back then.  After a couple of years of rhizome sales, the club made enough money to buy the white milk vases that are still in use.  After a couple of more sales, tables were purchased (still heavy!).   Currently, the club has their show at the Mesilla Valley Mall.  Tables are rented for $10/table from the mall.  The mall sets up the table for the club. This cuts the work in half.   Continuing the MVIS practice, many club members donated their irises after the show to make 6 vases of iris which were given to assisted living centers.

MVIS has held an annual rhizome sale from the beginning to provide funds for club activities.  Activities including shows and buying a recent introduced iris for each member.   At first the club met at Bryant’s home the afternoon before the sale.  Each club member would bring the rhizomes they had to contribute already trimmed and washed.  They would write the Info on the leaves.  Later the club would meet at Seligman’s and/or at Gene & Maggie Davis’ (those were the two big growers) to help with the digging and prep. 

In the early years MVIS held the sale on the weekend following Independence Day.  However, that is the hottest time of the year with temperatures frequently over 100° F.  Finally, the club wised up and have what is now called the “Big Dig” around Labor Day weekend with the rhizome sale the following weekend. 

As years went by the digging operation expanded to a weeklong project.  The club worked at 4 or 5 different gardens, hauling washtubs, lawn chairs, tables & registration books from garden to garden.  Everyone was younger back then!    In the mid-eighties, the sale made slightly over $1000.  The club thought they hit the big time!  Now club members bring iris to the Wilson’s farm. They have the most important item needed for a Big Dig; shade. In 2019, the club had over 400 varieties for sale.  The club had two additional sales at the Knights of Columbus and after all these years, the club went back to its roots in El Paso and held a sale at the Sunland Park Mall.

At the Christmas potluck, club members use to dress-up as an iris and the other members would guess which iris they portrayed.  Lately, in December, the club has been going to the historic Double Eagle Restaurant (owned by club member Margaret Ritter’s husband) for their famous Champagne Brunch.  It is a culinary experience. The club plays Secret Santa.

Many club members have been active on the national level.  Maxine Perkins was president of the Spuria Iris Society which is a section of the AIS.  Howie Dash is president of the Aril Society International which is a cooperating society of the AIS. He is also RVP councilor to the board of the AIS.  Scarlett Ayres has written several articles for the AIS bulletin and will become a board member of the American Iris Society in January 2021.

Besides Sharon McAllister and Gus Seligman, newer club members have carried on hybridizing for new irises.  Howie Dash won the prestigious Zurbrigg-Mahan Award for best TB seedling at the national convention in Des Moines Iowa. Steve Kelly, also, has many irises in commerce.

In 2018 Wes and Cynthia Wilson co-chaired and MVIS hosted a Aril Trek which is a convention devoted to Arils and Arilbreds.  Seventy-five people visited four gardens during peak Arilbred bloom season.  Perry Dyer were overheard saying “best Arilbred display I have ever seen”.   The ArilTrek was good practice because in 2021 the 101^st AIS National Convention will be held in Las Cruces.   Club members found themselves planning for a national convention during a worldwide CoVid 19 Pandemic while under lockdown.  Some of the convention gardens could not be entered while under lockdown.  Luckily, irises are hardy and the irises are under drip. Steve, Howie and Scarlett will have irises in the convention gardens.   The next century of the AIS begins in New Mexico.  By coincidence this is MVIS half-century anniversary.