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During the past 10
years, Dave Murphy and his wife, Bernice, have collected more
than 1,000 varieties of iris, which he grows at his rural Texas
County home. |
In Greek mythology,
Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, delivered messages between the
gods on Mount Olympia and humans on Earth. Like the goddess, Dave
Murphy uses irises to deliver a message.
At his Texas County
home west of Licking, he raises more than 1,000 varieties of iris
and each year, the rainbow of blooms — painted in every hue
imaginable — helps
him spread a message of hope and love to his neighbors.
For the past three
years, Dave and his wife of 54 years, Bernice, have visited the residents
of the long-term nursing care facility in Licking on Mother’s
Day weekend. Before they end their visit, each lady receives a cut iris in
a bud vase, and more importantly, everyone receives a little bit
of conversation.
“Those old
people, it gives them a real thrill,” says
Dave, who’s
77 himself. “I’ve given presents to people before, but I don’t
think I’ve ever seen the appreciation that I’ve seen in the
eyes of those people.”
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"Cordoba" |
The Murphys’ visits
to the local nursing homes began several years ago when a friend
moved to the facility in Licking. It was then that Dave saw the impact
a little chat could have on someone.
“Mostly,
I think they just want to talk to somebody,” he says. “Golly,
you can get awful lonesome in a crowd. If people don’t come in
and visit these people, they just waste away.”
Mitchell Fall,
administrator at the Licking Park Manor, says the Murphys’ visits,
especially their special Mother’s Day visits, don’t go
unnoticed.
“When family
members or friends take the initiative to do things for our residents,
it means a lot,” he says. “For
those who otherwise wouldn’t
have someone to visit them and share stories, it really means a
lot.
“We don’t
have nearly enough people who do that and volunteer the time out
of their days.”
Although the Mother’s
Day tradition is relatively new, Dave’s iris
collection has grown steadily for about 10 years. It was a
hobby he and a friend, the late Chuck Ernst of Dixon, started together.
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| Dave and Bernice gather a vase of cut flowers for delivery to
nearby senior nursing care facility. |
“We’d
go down to this plant sale together every year and buy a few, then
we’d buy a few more,” Dave recalls. “It just
kept growing.”
He says they concentrated
on raising irises because “it’s a pretty
flower all the way around,” and one that only needs
a nominal amount of care. “They’re a really
beautiful flower. Every one of these flowers is just a
little bit different.”
While he doesn’t
propagate new iris varieties, he’s always on the
lookout for the latest trends.
“I’ll
get a catalog or see an ad in the paper for one that catches
my eye, and if I don’t have it already, I’ll
go buy it,” Dave
says. “The new varieties come pretty high, but
after five years or so they’re
pretty accessible and pretty cheap.
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Dave
Murphy’s
irises have been slow to bloom following the freeze that struck
Missouri in early April. |
“Everybody
wants the new ones. I’ll probably buy 10 to
15 this year sometime when they quit blooming. That’s
how I get so many.”
Last year, with
the help of a friend, Laura Lewis, who helps with weeding
duties and cataloging, the Murphys surpassed 1,000
varieties.
“We were
at 946, and I said, ‘Let’s
go for a 1,000,’” Dave
says. “Now we have more than a 1,000 and
every one blooms true to what it’s supposed
to be, although there may be one or two duplicates.
Clerical errors, you know.”
Although Dave
says that irises deal with drought better than
any flower he’s
seen, he says they don’t do well in saturated
soils.
“They don’t
like to get their feet wet,” explains the Intercounty
Electric Cooperative member. “So you
have to get them up on a rise or a slope.
I think that’s the only thing that
affects them is wet feet.”
This year,
an unseasonable freeze in early April also
affected Dave’s irises,
as it did with many flowering plants across
Missouri.
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"Sunkist
Delight" |
“I came out
here and they were all lying on the ground,” he
says. “It
was the first time we’d really
been hit with a freeze, and I was so
sick about it. But they’re going
to make it. They’ll bloom; it’ll
just be a little later, that’s
all.”
As a result of
the April freeze, Dave and Bernice were only able to take
irises to the ladies at one home this
year.
Most
of Dave’s
irises bloom in the spring, but his collection also
includes 20 to 30 fall-blooming varieties.
He also has a few that bloom twice.
With so many varieties, styles and
colors, you’d still expect
Dave to have a favorite iris, but
that’s
not the case.
“I’ll
tell you, that’s one thing you can’t
do,” he
says, admitting that he’s
partial to the light-blue varieties
including “Song
of Norway.” “You can’t
pick out an absolute favorite.
You’ll
think you have it, but as another
one blooms, then that’ll
be your favorite, then another
and another. It’s just impossible.”
With
names such as “Evening
Magic,” “Taco
Supreme,” “Gypsy
Monarch” and “Sunkist
Delight,” you might assume
that every color in the jumbo
box of crayons has been accounted
for in the Murphy’s
iris garden, but there’s
one color still missing.
“You
do get some oddball names,
that’s
for sure, but I’m hoping
to someday find a red one,” Dave
says. “They haven’t
bred one yet, but I’m
going to jump on it as soon
as I find it.”
Dave and
Bernice have lived in Texas
County on their 43-acre homestead
since 1982 when Dave retired
from the Chrysler plant in
Fenton after 24 years of
service as a repairman. A Navy veteran,
he served four years as a
gunnery fire controlman during the
Korean War.
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Bernice
Murphy, right, delivers a vase of freshly cut irises to Becky
Wolfe, administrative assistant at Licking Park Manor. Bernice
and her husband, Dave, have shared cut irises with the ladies
of the a long-term nursing care facility for the past three
years on Mother’s Day weekend. |
“We had
lived in Los Angeles, then
I was transferred to St.
Louis after an earthquake
closed the plant in California,” Dave
says. “We settled
here because I wanted to
get out in the country
like where I was born and
raised in Oklahoma and
Texas.
“We really
love it here. We have
great neighbors, the best in
the world. They don’t
bother you until you
need some help, and then
they’re
right there.”
Last
year following knee
replacement surgery, Dave suffered
a series of three strokes.
While it’s slowed
him down some this
spring and put him
a little behind on
weeding his gardens,
he’s still
prepared to share his
irises with anyone
at any time.
“I’m
doing pretty well,
considering,” Dave
says. “Parts
wear out, and this
was the first major
problem I’ve
had, so I’ve
been lucky. It’s
been a good life.”
