Dover Beach? I don't have a picture of mine, but I think it looked very like this.

It's not an iris I grow, but this photo in the iris database leads me to suspect that ngraham may be correct.

Kay

Here is a link that might be useful: Dover Beach

Thanks! I do have to say that the photo you found, onederw, looks just like it. I think it is safe to say that this is Dover Beach.

Thanks,
Matthew
Indiana.Matt

Most probably not Dover Beach. This coloration was one of the most crowded groups. Dover Beach had giant flower on very tall stalks, yours do not look likt it is large compared to the foliage. Secondly, the standards on yours look too ruffled for such an old iris, it was more tailored . If you google pictures of Dover Beach you can get at least 10 different irises, with colors of the beard from white all the way to red!. People really do not know what they have.

I couldn't remember where I got this Iris, but I talked to a lady tonight who gave me a few Irises and I asked her if she might have given me one with "Dover" as part of the name. She replied with "Dover Beach".

I do understand that there are so many named hybrids with similar colors and characteristics that it can be almost impossible to identify a no ID Iris. There are many other kinds of Iris around the one in the photo and the flower you see, was the lowest on the stalk. It was leaning over as well. This is not the photo to use to get an idea of the size and structure of the plant. Also note that I took this photo after it had rained...again maybe not the best photo to identify the flower shape.

Is there any official and reliable Iris photo directory online or in book form...like an official Iris directory?

At this point, I will be content to call this one "Dover Beach", especially since the friend who gave it to me remembered the name when I asked her about it.

It hasn't bloomed for me for a while...I hope it hasn't dissolved into the garden forever...

Thanks for all the input,
Matthew
Indiana.Matt

Yes, there is a directory. The American Iris Society has an iris encyclopedia. The link's on the fritz at this moment, but if you google iris encyclopedia it will come up.

A word of caution on the AIS iris encyclopedia - while the descriptions therein are accurate (they're gathered from the official registration descriptions) there are errors among the photos. From my limited interactions with the people gathering photos, it appears they're going for quantity rather than accuracy - simply getting photos off the web without regard to whether they're correct. Also, there doesn't appear to be a way to remove inaccurate photos.

If an iris is more than 30 years old, the photos on the HIPS (Historic Iris Preservation Society) site are accurate (they've vetted by the former HIPS identification chair).

Here is a link that might be useful: HIPS web site