David's Iris Garden

David's Iris Garden Thank you everyone for following my progress as a grower/hybridizer here! As an artist, this has been my focus and inspiration for several years. germanica.

My very first iris introductions in 2025 are now available. See my STORE for Iris/Art @ DavidsIrisGarden.com The vision is to one day have an Iris Farm in good ol' North Eastern Ohio. Seeds have literally been sown, and the plan is currently in germination mode. A few years back a birthday gift from my mother-in-law given to my wife became my passion/obsession. Exactly eight iris rhizomes arrived

in the summer of 2013, that were dutifully planted. They arrived from that wonderful place in Oregon that all irises seem to originate known as Schreiner's - located in the Willamette Valley a.k.a. Iris Mecca, spurring an interest to delve into the world of irises. It wasn't long until I learned about breeding/hybridizing irises and that something entirely new in the form of a flower could be created. As an artist I was intrigued with this idea of creation with the iris plant as a medium. Those eight irises coupled with clumps of two cultivars given to me from my father, that were just part of the landscape of the yard for a few years previously, became the impetus of wanting to hybridize iris. The seed of "painting" with genetics was planted. The two cultivars from my father are suspected to be Great Lakes and I. The ones that were a gift from Joanne included: Absolute Treasure, Dawn Eternal, Downtown Brown, Gypsy Lord, Honeycomb, Kathy Chilton, Montmartre, and That's all Folks. Every single one bloomed the following year and in 2014 my first crosses were made.

-David

More 120 medium format film photos. This was probably CineStill 800 film - will know when I pick up the actual negatives...
06/16/2026

More 120 medium format film photos. This was probably CineStill 800 film - will know when I pick up the actual negatives. I'm pleased with how these images came out.

Last image tells me that the camera was likely loaded with the night exposure film and is of the Shell plastics plant, also known as an “ethane cracker,” in Beaver County, Pennsylvania - Monaca Shippingport area near Pittsburgh. It's not the greatest picture but I like to think it is worth it when I lug a bulky camera around for chance images.

I'm very much going to experiment more next season with this film because the color is very acccurate - I photographed that blue seedling (19.433A TB) multiple times with no less than 5 different cameras etc and these were by far the best representation of color - even beats the iphone turning that one purple. Minimal to no color balance editing in photshop.

I. Pseudacorus. I've always wanted to paint a version of this yellow flower in the style of Audubon. Would probably incl...
06/14/2026

I. Pseudacorus. I've always wanted to paint a version of this yellow flower in the style of Audubon. Would probably include the stems, leaves, and its weird rhizome/roots if I ever get around to it.

Color film images using Harman Phoenix 120. The color correction on this roll was such a nightmare that I will probably ...
06/14/2026

Color film images using Harman Phoenix 120. The color correction on this roll was such a nightmare that I will probably never load this brand of film into a camera again. I simply gave up on some of them as far as fixing the color balance. Not what I am looking to spend my time doing, especially with capturing iris flowers as accurately as possible.

These are images from a 35mm roll of Cinestill 800 speed film. I like the grainy quality and how the film captures "movi...
06/14/2026

These are images from a 35mm roll of Cinestill 800 speed film. I like the grainy quality and how the film captures "movie-like" color. Typically it is used for night time exposures but can perform well in the daylight in the garden. Including some night images of random things and some "basement studio" pictures of an amaryllis to show what it does in low light.

Warning: I'm going to nerd out on film photography in this post. This season I pulled my film cameras out to shoot a han...
06/10/2026

Warning: I'm going to nerd out on film photography in this post.

This season I pulled my film cameras out to shoot a handful of 120 medium format and a couple of 35mm rolls. Less than normal. A few rolls were loaded into cameras last fall so I had images from then and didn't finish them until recently but I don't think that is the reason for any of the results that follow.

Last fall I picked up some new film that is on the market. Specifically, Harman Phoenix and Harman Phoenix II film. When I got my scans back from the labs the color balance was so incorrect that I had to refer to phone images so I could identify iris flowers I should surely recognize. So, in short I had to make extreme color balance alterations. I try hard to steer away from this when utilizing in photoshop. But it was absolutely necessary.

The first two images are the raw files/scans that I got back from the lab without alteration. This is a "blue" seedling I liked this spring. You sure wouldn't know that from the first two images! The next two images are the color-corrected ones, and then finally, the photos I took as reference with my phone so that I know what I shot. I have learned that I have to always take an image with my phone for anything I shoot, especially 120 - since you only get 12 frames a roll. Unlike a phone I can't waste a frame taking an image of the tag/label in the photo prior.

Conclusion. I'm guessing the lab may have gotten some chemistry incorrect since I see that Phoenix films are tricky and do some wild things with color balance. Or maybe it's just the film itself. Boy, does it get blue/purple wrong! I like the grain of the film in the high-res versions, but this level of being off is not what I'm looking for in flower photography. In my opinion, Kodak Portra has always been my favorite and seems to always be the closest to reality or what your eye would see. That said, I'm always trying different boutique camera films and looking for new things to try. Recently I was really happy with CineStill Tungsten 800 and the experimental Film Photography Project Eastman Double-X B&W film company.

I'll be posting more film once I've edited them and added information to the images.

Seems like anywhere I travel I’m spotting a new Iris mural. This one is in downtown Akron Ohio. Makes me want to attempt...
06/05/2026

Seems like anywhere I travel I’m spotting a new Iris mural. This one is in downtown Akron Ohio. Makes me want to attempt one at some point. Who has a building?! lol

Photos from this past Sunday NEOIS flower show and the Willott Iris Garden. A nice finale to a full weekend of touring g...
06/02/2026

Photos from this past Sunday NEOIS flower show and the Willott Iris Garden. A nice finale to a full weekend of touring gardens for our region 6 meeting. It was a real pleasure to meet so many new people that share in the love of this flower!

The season is abruptly ending on TB's and I've yet to see any JI's.
Weather has been wonderful.

My wife Kathryn is the best and I could not have set this up without her. Thank you, and everyone else that helped. We a...
05/30/2026

My wife Kathryn is the best and I could not have set this up without her. Thank you, and everyone else that helped. We are eagerly awaiting our first guest. To everyone coming today, safe travels, and really looking forward to a great day of touring gardens with all from Region 6.

Last garden of the convention was Gary Slagle's. It was an absolute pleasure to see his hard work and dedication. Even w...
05/29/2026

Last garden of the convention was Gary Slagle's. It was an absolute pleasure to see his hard work and dedication. Even with the pouring rain it was fantastic. It was especially nice to see a few of my own guest seedlings thriving, and really fun to have a look at another hybridizers seedling patch. I've never actually visited a major farm while in bloom - next on the to-do list.

That is my son standing next to one of his seedlings, from the only cross he and his grandmother made together years ago.

Address

Boardman, OH

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when David's Iris Garden posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share