That sounds like a great swap!

Looks like a good haul and it looks like whoever brought them knew their stuff. I'm only familiar with 'Chickee' and 'Indian Jewel', but the descriptions you have sound accurate.

'Chickee' grows like an absolute weed and blooms and blooms here (I don't grow it myself but what I've said is true in several local friend's gardens). MTBs look like historic TBs scaled down. They have all the branching and bud count of a TB, just scaled down to wiry short stalks with beatifully spaced, delicate blooms. They're one of my favorite classes.

'Indian Jewel' has very old form for those that like modern ruffled iris, but it's falls are some of the closest to turquoise I've ever seen.

Yes. That swap was like gardening heaven. I don't remember the last time I felt that happy!

Can you believe that I googled and gathered all of the info myself???

But still nothing on "Toy Parade" ;o[

Sorry that I overlooked that one, I had to pull out the ol' 70's AIS Checklist to find it:

Toy Parade - SDB "S. light blue; F. paler and bluer with blended blue-violet spot; pale blue beard tipped yellow in throat" 1979

Good work finding all that info. I know very well how difficult it can be.

Wowsa! Thanks SO MUCH for the info. I was beginning to think it was a mistake name.

Now, tell me how do I get ol' checklists? ;o]

Congratulations on your score! Could you share how the swap was organized. I would like to put one together for our small community. Thanks, Patti

Thank you for asking. This is what I know.

It's communicated by the city forester, on the city calendar. The master gardener's have a meeting and presentation right afterward that everyone was invited to. I think it MAYBE started as a swap for just the master gardeners but they'd have stuff leftover that they didn't want to load up and take home...???

There was a set time (4:30-6:30pm). Anything setting on the surface of the parking lot was for taking. Anything in a trunk, tailgate, etc was assumed to be already claimed.

Try to mark things with the common name as best as you can and the hybrid if you know it.

READY. SET. SWAP!

(Actually, I was one of the first people there and the other first people grabbed up my stuff really quickly. We didn't wait for the official start. Very casual.)

Some people just take EVERYTHING.
Some people have to be convinced that it is definitely okay to take something. PLEASE TAKE IT. REALLY. GO AHEAD.
I made sure to say thank you over and over again.
Not intended as a one-for-one swap.
I am not sure that everyone who took something also brought something/anything...and vice versa.
Some people planned in advance with their giving by potting stuff previously.
Some people dug that day and let people hack off a chunk (like hosta).
Garden magazines and pots and containers and tools could all be traded...left over annuals.
I left with nothing I brought.

The checklists are available for sale from the AIS here (near the bottom of the page): http://www.irises.org/storefront.htm

I was so, incredibly, fortunate to speak with a "local" member who was relying on the online version only and they gave me their hardcover 79, 89, and 99 checklists! They're complete listings of every rhizomatous iris introduced within each decade and I'm desperately awaiting the 2000's release in 2011.

If you're going to collect iris, they're an invaluable resource.

Awesome website! Thanks!!!!!!!!

(Not sure I'll become a "collector" but would like to know what I've got and make good decisions about how to have a diverse representation of what's available....but I think I've got IRIS FEVER.)

Thank you for the info. Sounds like fun! Patti