The winner of the Charles W. Arny, Jr. Award for 1999 is EASTER TIDE, developed by the late Charlie Arny himself. When registered and introduced twenty years ago, EASTER TIDE was a significantly different iris. In the view of symposium voters, it remains a distinctive cultivar worthy of recognition.

The attribute of distinctiveness is one of many considered when a hybridizer chooses to register a plant, but in addition to being distinctly different from irises registered previously, an iris should perform well in the garden in diverse climates and under varying cultural conditions.

It should open several well-placed flowers on the bloom stalk simultaneously and have good garden presence.

EASTER TIDE fills the bill. It is a distinctive bicolor that presents itself well in the garden and meets the challenge of diverse climates and cultural conditions.

EASTER TIDE is still one that is noticed in any garden where it is grown, as reflected in the Symposium ballots.

Note from the SLI Website Designer: The photo of EASTER TIDE, taken by Harry Wolford, was the "inspiration" for the design of the SLI website. Special thanks to Harry for allowing us to use this wonderful photo! -- Pam

The Registration EASTER TIDE (Arny,R1979) (Sdlg. BiC-Y-Lav-2- 77) 30" (76 cm) M. S. lavender-blue; F. light yellow; deep orange-yellow irregularly shaped signals; broad, lavender-pink style arms. HM ’81, MSD ’83, MSDM ’88. Lucile Holley X Lavender seedling. Charjoy 1979.

The Vote
Fifty-three members voted in the Symposium, representing 17 states and two foreign countries. EASTER TIDE received a vote on 22 of 53 ballots, or 42 percent. Ten states and one foreign country were represented in the vote for EASTER TIDE, including ballots from Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisiana (5), Illinois (2), Florida (2), California (4), and Arkansas (3). One Australian ballot was cast for the iris, also.

Criteria for Ballot Listing
To be listed on the Symposium ballot, cultivars must fall into one of the following categories: cultivars in last year’s Symposium, Mary Swords DeBaillon winners for the past 25 years, American and Australian Award of Merit Winners for the past ten years, AIS Honorable Mention winners for the past ten years, winners of the Australian Dykes Medal, and irises that received a significant number of write ins from last year’s ballot. The following irises have received the Arny Award:

ANN CHOWNING, KOORAWATHA, JERI, DURAL WHITE BUTTERFLY, PRALINE FESTIVAL, and ACADIAN MISS.

Past winners are not eligible in subsequent balloting.

Rusty Ostheimer
Charles W. Arny, Jr.

Symposium Participation
Of the 53 members participating, eight were from abroad, including seven from Australia and one from New Zealand. The remaining 45 ballots were cast from the U.S., as follows:

Louisiana 10
California 6
Arkansas 5
Florida 4
Texas 3
Idaho 2
Illinois 2
Maine 2
Missouri 2
Oklahoma 2
Indiana 1
Michigan 1
Minnesota 1
Mississippi 1
North Carolina 1
Virginia 1
Washington 1

The Contenders
Other Louisianas of Note

The top ten runners-up in Symposium balloting include notable Louisiana irises that may challenge for the top spot in future polls. These beauties, in the order of votes received, include the following cultivars:

SEA KNIGHT (Morgan), 16
CAJUN SUNRISE (Mertzweiller), 13
SINFONIETTA (Raabe), 20
CLARA GOULA (Arny), 17
BLACK GAMECOCK (Chowning),19
GEISHA EYES (Arny),14
FELICIANA HILLS (O’Connor), 13
FULL ECLIPSE (Hager), 13
GLADIATOR’S GIFT (Taylor), 12
GRACE DUHON (Haymon), 12
DURAL WHITE BUTTERFLY, a past winner.

And the write-in votes. . . .

There were 89 write in votes, as follows:
CEDAR BAYOU received four votes.

Receiving three votes were:
CAJUN LOVE, CLOWN ABOUT, COUNT PULASKI, FIESTA GAL, LAKE OUACHITA, LAURA LOUISE, and LONE STAR.

Recipients of two votes included:
ANN FAITH, APOLLO’S SONG, ART WORLD, BAYOU CLASSIC, BOUT MIDNIGHT, BUSHFIRE MOON, CAJUN MERRY, CAMMERAY, CHUCK, FROSTED MOONBEAM, GARNET STORM DANCER, HARLAND K. RILEY, KENTUCKY CAJUN, KISSIE, MEADOW FROST, PLAIN TALK, RICH JEWEL, and SOUTHDOWNS. Each of the following

Received a single vote:
ABBEVILLE RED, ACADIAN, ALLUVIAL GOLD, ANN CHOWNING, ANTIQUE DOLL, ARROWS, BAYOU BANDIT, BAYOU VIXEN, BERA, BETTER BELIEVE IT, BIG APPLE, BRUSHED GOLD, CAJUN LOVE SONG, CHARLOTTE’S TUTU, DARK LOVER, DEAN LEE, DURAL BLUEBIRD, EVEN HANDED, FALSE RIVER, FESTIVE FEVER, FULL ECLIPSE, GLOWLIGHT, GREAT WHITE HOPE, HANDMAIDEN, HANDSOME CAJUN, HURRICANE COLIN, IMPASSIONED, INNER BEAUTY, JACK ATTACK, JAZZ HOT, JOYFUL CHARM, KIRK STRAWN, KITCHEN MUSIC, KRISTI G, LAFAYETTE HONEY, LIGHTNING QUICK, LITTLE CAILLET, LONGUE VUE, MIDNIGHT MIST, MISS GERTIE’S BONNET, NATURAL WONDER, NEWS BRIEF, NO DATA, OVERNIGHT SUCCESS, PINK JOY ROBERTS, PLANTATION BELLE, PRALINE FESTIVAL, PROFESSOR IKE, RAJUN CAJUN, RED VELVET ELVIS, RICH TRADITION, RIVER ROAD, ROMAN WARRIOR, RUTH HOLLEYMAN, SEA CONSUL, SPANISH BALLET, SPANISH SUNSET, STAGE SHY, STARLITE-STARBRITE, SURE BET, SUZANNE ARCENEAUX, TANTRA, TRUE REWARD, URALBA GOLD, VELVET MEMORY, WILD PROSPECT, WINE & DINE, WINE COOLER, WINTER FROST, and WINTER’S ENCORE.