Carmela
[V]
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From Schreiner’s Iris Lover’s catalog for 1955: “As great architecture has been described as ‘frozen music’, so the ruffly, frilly, lilting form of this bewitching new Iris might be called ‘arrested motion’. Fondled by garden breezes, its crepy, sparkling petals suggest a Spanish ballerina lost in a swirl of honey-colored ruffles and coruscating sequins. Much-traveled Iris judges who have ‘seen it all’ tell us that Carmela is far and away the laciest and most exotic of the new ‘crinkled’ Iris. One expert was so entranced by its piquant charms that he ordered three rhizomes on the spot. An unkind weatherman left us only two lateral blooms to photograph last spring, so that our picture does not do justice to the superb form of this radiant, glamorous Iris personality. Carmela is a ‘must’ for Iris fanciers.”
From Mission Gardens 1963: “Very unusual and interesting. The color is a light copppery blend. The edges of the standards, falls and style arms are heavily frilled with lace. A real beauty.
(Russet Wings X (Midwest Gem x Chantilly), HM 1955, AM 1958.