Welcome to Bliss Irises
We are interested in finding other Bliss or Taylor Irises, and would love to hear from anyone who has any information about where any might be growing. There are still over 100 out there somewhere, and any help tracking them down is appreciated.
Please email anne.milner@btinternet.com
The definitive book on Bliss's Irises is now published! It is the story of Arthur Bliss, how the National Collection developed and about all the irises bred by him.
It contains numerous photographs and some wonderful watercolours by Fern Harden.
Commercial supplies are now sold out, but there are still a few secondhand copies remaining and you can buy one from me direct.
ISBN: 9781785892981.
If you are in the USA, books are available through HIPS: www.historiciris.org
You can find out about Arthur Bliss and his Irises by using the navigation bar at the top of this page, and also see which irises are in the Collection.
You may notice that the heights quoted from old catalogues vary. Iris heights are liable to vary from year to year and depending on growing conditions. Heights really only give an idea of whether the iris is tall medium or short. Colour may also vary and it can be very difficult to represent colour accurately in a photograph, so please keep this in mind.
We are happy to sell irises by mail order or personal collection where appropriate, when there are enough to spare. Please contact us for further information.
The National Collection of Arthur Bliss Irises is held by Anne Milner in Gloucestershire.
About 20 years ago, while researching her family history with a distant cousin, Anne was offered two irises bred by her great uncle. As she had a large garden at the time and quite liked irises, she accepted. Her cousin explained that her mother, Phyllis, used to help Uncle Arthur as a child and that Phyllis had these two irises directly from him. She had also managed to get a list of all his irises and the dates of introduction. These two irises were supposed to be Dominion and Cardinal. Dominion was a famous iris as it had been the fore-runner of many modern irises and was particularly known for its velvety falls. From this small beginning the National Collection of Arthur Bliss' Irises was born.
We also now hold the National Collection for John D. Taylor's irises.
John Taylor was a bank manager who retired to Morton-in-Marsh. A number of his irises were named for Cotswold villages, and I am particularly interested in finding those. I have about 35 of his irises so far and have created a page on this site. They are all becoming hard to find so any information would be gratefully received. More photos will be added as the irises flower for me.
Please note that all photographs on this site are copyright. Please ask if you wish to use any of them. Thank you for your consideration.
If you have any concerns or information about identity for any of the irises on this site, please contact me at anne.milner@btinternet.com. ID for old irises is notoriously difficult, and any helpful suggestions are always welcome.