Proposed by: Rochester Garden Club, Zone III

In 1996, the City of Rochester, NY, asked Edna Grace Claunch to host a delegation from Hamamatsu, Japan.  During his visit, the mayor of Hamamatsu mentioned they were hosting the Pacific Flora 2004.  Edna became project leader of the Sister City Delegation, and needed a gift to present to Hamamatsu for the Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture Exhibition Pacific Flora 2004 / Japan.  Six million visitors attend this event. The Iris, a Japanese symbol of art and beauty in everyday life, and its association with the protection of children inspired Edna. At the Society for Louisiana Irises, she learned of a Native American Iris.   Edna appealed to top hybridizers for donations and the naming rights for Louisiana Irises to present to the Japanese. Five Hybridizers from the United States and one from Australia donated nine new cultivars.  When the tragedy of September 11, 2001 stopped all air traffic, these unique cultivars sat on a tarmac for weeks before Japanese Scientists received them for propagation for Hamamatsu and the Pacific Flora Exhibition.  In June 2004, at Rochester’s Highland Park Dedication Ceremony for the ‘Iris Friendship Garden’, these same nine cultivars and other Louisiana Irises verified the hardiness of these traditionally Southern Irises. Rochester and Hamamatsu were originally paired as sister cities because of a mutual love of music and culture.  With Edna’s vision, they now also share an appreciation of the Louisiana Iris. The international sisterhood from which they evolved is a significant and perennial gift to the world.