Note:  No show in 2023.

Pecos Valley Iris Society is centered in Roswell, NM.  PVIS is well known for their artisan arrangements at the shows which occur in mid-late April.  PVIS have one meeting every year where everyone tells them how they individually grow irises. They have a rhizome sale every other year, usually in August and a Christmas party at a local restaurant where officers are installed. At the  last party, they took non-perishable food for distribution to the needy at the Harvest Ministries Food Bank.

Fall 2021 Activities: Two years of delays and cancellations due to Covid, yet by September, the Pecos Valley Iris Society (PVIS) started meeting in-person (while social distancing and masked) at the lovely Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art.  PVIS member Suzy Andrego (of Albuquerque) gave a power point on her iris garden, entitled  ‘Companion Flowers in Your Iris Garden’.  In October, Patricia Randall, of Rio Rancho, gave a power point on ‘What a Judge Looks For’.  She also explained how to pick your specimen, and offered a judges credit test for those wanting to become judges.  Our final November meeting of the year was an exchange of iris rhizomes and discussion of how to support the upcoming AIS convention in Las Cruces. 

We closed out the years with our December holiday dinner and election of officers.

Winter/ Spring 2022 Activities: PVIS focused on educating ourselves for upcoming responsibilities at the AIS Conference in Las Cruces.  Howie and Scarlet gave us informative Zoom presentations for our February and March meetings. And locally, our club performed early tasks  of preparing registration-bag seed packets (with Holly Hock seeds from a member’s yard); and making table favors (gardening gloves in an Easter egg) for the final AIS dinner.  Ten of our members (half of our club) traveled to Las Cruces for the national AIS convention. PVIS was responsible for hosting one of the iris gardens at New Mexico State University’s farm near Mesilla.  Watch for a group picture, in our iris aprons, in the Fall issue of American Iris Society.

At the AIS opening night’s dinner, PVIS provided three flower arrangements for the speakers’ table.  These iris vases were original creations by clay ceramicist, Melanie Deason (PVIS Co-President), with floral designs provided by PVIS members, Suzy Andrego and Isabel Olsen. For the awards’ dinner, PVIS member Pegi Naranjo Smith designed over thirty stunning iris floral arrangements for the dinner tables.  Special bonus: one lucky person per table was gifted that arrangement.

In May, our monthly  meeting was hosted by members Joyce and Bob Hutchings, who provided a garden tour at their residence.

Summer 2022 Activities:  No meetings during the summer, however the PVIS club is committed to hand watering (with water jugs) two giant curbside planters at the Chaves County Courthouse. These planters were filled with flowers and iris in late April, in recognition of Earth Day and support of the historic downtown area, eg. Main Street USA and Keep Roswell Beautiful – all  in anticipation of Roswell’s 75th UFO Festival over the 4th of July.

PVIS is blessed by member, Shula Rymberg, who has the most beautiful gardens that completely surround her home.  Periodically she offers us garden tours of her iris, and now in these warmer months she showcases everything possible that blooms. Just a drive by in one’s car is an excuse to witness her amazing talents.

In the past, we shared iris with the several garden clubs in their public planting projects that include Chavez Historical/Archive Garden, Working Mother’s
Day youth garden, Habitat for Humanity, Zoo Garden and Girl Scout garden plot.