Скачать или смотреть Stunning blooms compete for top iris prize

(15 May 2017) Florence - 13 May 2017
1. Various of Tall Bearded Iris "Spirit Rider" by Schreiner's Iris Gardens (US, first prize)
2. Close of Tall Bearded Irises; on the right, purple and white iris "Spirit Rider" by Schreiner's Iris Gardens (US, first prize) and label reading (Italian) "First prize"

Florence - 13 May 2017
3. Wide of irises in competition garden

LEADIN:
A Tall Bearded Iris, called "Spirit Rider, has won this year's International Iris Competition In Italy.
The striking purple and white flower from the United States is among thousands of blooms on show in Florence.
STORYLINE:
This delicate flower has beaten off tough competition to win first prize in the International Iris Competition.
It's called "Spirit Rider" and was created by Schreiner's Iris Gardens in Oregon, USA.
Only Tall Bearded Irises and Border Bearded Irises can compete here at the Iris Garden in the Italian city of Florence.
Iris growers can cross-pollinate the plants to create new hybrid varieties.
The competition's director, Anne Barbetti, says anyone can take part, but competitors have to be patient: it takes three years for the plants to be judged.
"Anyone who hybridizes their own plants can participate, and then in October, they send the plants in September, and in October I plant them all the same day, as much as possible with equal status, let's say, and then we follow them for three years, the third year that they're in the garden they're judged," she says.
The irises are planted out in the Iris Garden close to Florence's Piazzale Michelangelo.
The competition is organised by the Italian Iris Society and has been going since 1954.
"Basically a hybridizer does the work done by some insects, called pollinators, such as bees, bumble-bees etcetera, and basically we pollinate a flower, we take the pollen from one flower and we transfer it to another, in order to obtain the crossbreed and create new varieties," explains Augusto Bianco, winner of the fourth prize.
Stefano Paolin, who won third prize, says creating a new flower is something very special.
"It is a great honour and a great privilege to have created something that, not just I, but also the jury members who judged the competition, appreciate, and that is very gratifying."
The prizes are awarded in a ceremony at Florence City Hall, in a room decked out with the city's flag - which itself celebrates the iris.
The iris, called "giglio" or "giaggiolo" in Italian, has been the symbol of Florence for centuries.
This flower thrives on the banks of the Arno river and it seems that the name of the city itself - Firenze in Italian - may come from the ancient name "Florentia", meaning flowering.
The city's flag depicts a red iris on a white background and was adopted in 1266 by the Guelphs, one of Medieval Florence's political factions, when they defeated the Ghibellines, whose symbol was a white iris on a red background.
The Florence Iris Garden opens to the public in May, just for one month, so visitors can view the competition entries.
The two-hectare garden boasts more than 8,000 irises.
It was inaugurated in 1957 to display the flowers taking part in the competition, created by Flamina Spetch and Nita Stross Radicati, members of the Italian Friends of Flowers society.
Since then this garden has hosted all the plants that have participated in the competition.
Jury members visit the Iris Garden for a week before the prize-giving ceremony to examine the flowers.
All the competitors are anonymous: their names are unveiled after the judging process.

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