By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — ’Tis the season for flowers, and Betty Kern’s Iris Walk is at hand.
“Kern Acres will be open on Saturday and Sunday for three weekends, May 15-16, May 22-23, and May 29-30,” Kern shared. “I will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
“We now have over 300 varieties.”
She added almost 50 from last year and will likely add another 50 in 2011. Kern and her daughter, Sandi Gillette, share flowers. Kern will purchase 25, and Gillette will buy another 25, then they will divide them.
Kern sells the iris flowers on display, but she opens her walks for everyone to enjoy. She figures other people, like herself, will fall in love with the blooms.
“My daughter, Sandi, got me 12 Irises for my birthday,” said Kern, explaining how she started out.
Through the years Kern kept adding to her collection and eventually went into the business of selling irises. This is her 19th year. Gillette and her husband, Harry, also have irises in Milford Park, Ill., which is about 35 miles north of Danville.
“Their place is called, Gillette Iris Haven,” Kern said.
The Gillettes along with their daughter, Becky McCalla, work with Kern once the irises are done. This family passion is just beginning at the end of iris season. In July the family starts preparing the iris orders they received during May.
“My son-in-law will dig them, my daughter will separate them and my granddaughter and I will package them,” Kern said. “One bulb will spread 2.5 to 3 feet within three years. That is when they should be divided.”
Along with providing the flowers, Kern also offers directions.
“When planting, dig down and make a hole. Spread out the roots and lay them down long ways,” she advised. “The roots should not go straight down; you don’t want the rhizomes to point down. Just make sure the roots are spread out, then fill in dirt along the roots with the rhizomes sideways and cover up about half inch and then water. They will begin to show the tops later, which is okay, don’t cover them too deep or they won’t bloom”
Kern said never to place anything on the blooms or on the roots directly. After applying fertilizer and chemicals, keep up with the weeding, which she said can be a difficult task.
Since her husband died in 2006, Kern works alone managing Kern Acres.
Those who ordered iris starts come to pick them up. Visitors can look over Kern’s catalog and decide which iris variety is right for their yard. Along with her irises, Kern will have crafts and pictures on display. Kern said her favorite picture is one that she is giving to her pastor at the Church of Christ in Ashland, Ill.
“I have been painting through the winter, and I have a picture of the three crosses with a break in the clouds and the sun coming down on Jesus’ cross,” she added.
Kern will sell oil paintings of landscapes, animals and birds, and offer a few other craft items as well. She said her granddaughter does laser pictures, and she will be set up at some point, too.
Kern’s acreage will be alive with colors of the rainbow like Fall Fiesta’s yellow, Millennium Falcon’s blues or Starship Enterprises’ orange. While most will visit during the appointed hours, groups like the Master Gardeners are planning to come on a week day.
“Groups can come as long as they call and set an appointment,” Kern shared.
Call 217-626-1552 for details. Kern Acres is located at 12517 State Route 125, Pleasant Plains, Ill. With more irises than ever, each year the walk is new.
For more information, contact Kern via e-mail at kern acres@2farmconnect.net |
