Looks like a form Japanese Iris, Not tall bearded. Very lovely flowers.

gottagarden, it took some digging but here's what I found out for you. 'Great White Heron' is a 1953 introduction by Oregon Japanese iris guru Walter Marx. Marx and his wife Louise imported plants of Higo iris from Japan in 1937 and then embarked on an extensive breeding campaign with hundreds of introductions which he referred to as "marhigo iris" until ill health forcd his retirement in the 60's. These were known especially for their very large and lacy/frilly or often double flowers and the "marhigo" strain is responsible for a lot of the modern hybrids we see today. The Marx's wonderful introductions and full color catalog where arguably primarily responsible for the popularity of Japanese iris in this country - before then they were virtually unknown.

With Japanese iris, apparently anything older than 25 years is consider an "antique" cultivar and may or may not be in current commercial production. Considering there are virtually as many Japanese iris hybrids as there are TB's, it's lucky that this one is still around. As gorgeous as it is, it was not the most popular of his intros, maybe because it is just white (in comparison to all the patterned or bicolor iris he introduced).

Looks like a form Japanese Iris, Not tall bearded.
Yup -- Iris ensata would be a good clue it's a Japanese iris :-)

I think sometimes we forget there are so many other species and hybrid iris selections to consider over and above the beardeds, which I know many love but I find to be incredibly boring. Give me a beardless any day!!

So graceful. I wish they would grow here.
Renee

Gardengal, thanks for your research on this one. Nice to know it's not just another name for a more common one. I also appreciate the bit of history lesson :-)