Each year, the American Iris Society (AIS) and its qualified, registered judges make specific awards to Iris varieties. These awards are a very useful tool in selecting Iris that have the best growing qualities, ie., flower form, colour, # of buds and stems, substance, etc.

Since Award winners typically set the standards for Irises, they form the basis of the varieties that we select to grow and offer to our customers.

We have listed the awards won by each variety in our descriptions. Here is an example:

Celebration Song (Schreiner '93), EM 35", HM '95, AM '97, WM '00, DM '03
means Celebration Song was introduced by Schreiner's in 1993 for sale to the public. It blooms Early to Mid in the Tall Bearded bloom season and is typically 35" tall. It received it's Honourable Mention Award in 1995, the Award of Merit in 1997, a Wister Medal in 2000 and finally the Dykes Medal in 2003.

Remember the newer varieties may still achieve Dykes Medal (DM) status over the next few years. Try your luck in selecting the best for your garden.

Honourable Mention (HM)
Several of these awards are given each year to Irises from each class. An Iris must first be registered with the AIS and it becomes eligible for an HM the second year after being introduced to the marketplace.

Walther Cup (WC)
This special award goes to one iris that receives the greatest number of votes in the HM balloting regardless of classification. It is a strong indicator of awards to come and the 2006 winner was Decadence, (B. Blyth '04).

Award of Merit (AM)
A few of these awards are given each year to Irises from each class. An Iris is eligible for an AM the second year after winning an Honourable Mention (HM) award.

Class Winner Medals:
In addition to HM and AM awards, the best Iris in each class may also win one of the following:

Best Miniature Dwarf Bearded Iris	Caperne-Welch medal (CW)
Best Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris	Cook Douglas medal (CD)
Best Intermediate Bearded Iris	Hans and Jacob Sass medal (SM)
Best Miniature Tall Bearded Iris	Williamson–White medal (WW)
Best Border Bearded Iris	Knowlton Medal (KM)
Best Tall Bearded Iris (3 per year)	John C. Wister medal (JW)

Dykes Memorial Medal (DM)
The Dykes Medal is the highest medal awarded. Only one Iris per year receives this medal, which is open to an Iris from any classification starting the year after an Iris wins the top medal for it’s specific class. An Iris can compete for 3 years.
The 2007 Dykes Medal winner was a Tall Bearded variety, Queen's Circle, (Kerr '00).

Dykes Medal Winners that we grow: Visitors to our gardens can enjoy our Dykes Medal garden featuring these wonderful varieties.

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