The Monument Valley Iris Society will host their Iris Show on June 1-2 at the UNL Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center in Scottsbluff. The event will have its annual People’s Choice award for the public to show off their irises, but there is a change this year.
“Our sale will not be held during the show. We are going to have an iris sale later in July,” said Kathy Nielsen, president of the Monument Valley Iris Society. The sale will have photos of the irises, and buyers will be able to pick from the photos, make their purchases, and take the rhizomes home with them the same day.
The iris garden is open all day, seven days a week, for people to walk through. Nielsen suggests people walk through and write down the names of the iris rhizomes they would like to purchase in July. Those visiting the iris garden will notice the irises aren’t probably as tall as they were last year.
“We had several cold snaps, so some of the normally tall bearded irises are a little bit shorter this year. They had a hard spring, but they’re still beautiful and I would say this weekend they should be in maximum bloom,” she said.
The two-day show will be on Saturday, June 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at the Panhandle Research Extension and Education Center. The public is welcome to bring in their irises from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The winner of the “People’s Choice,” will receive 10 free rhizomes.