协会概况
金县鸢尾协会（King County Iris Society，简称 KCIS）成立于 1946 年，是美国鸢尾协会（American Iris Society，简称 AIS）在华盛顿州西部的地方分会，活动范围覆盖大西雅图都会区，含 Snohomish County 在内的金县及周边。KCIS 是非营利园艺组织，会员从初学者到资深爱好者、商业种植者和杂交育种者都有，日常以月度例会、鸢尾展、鸢尾展售和实地讲座为主。协会总部位于华盛顿州西雅图，会员通讯地址为 P.O. Box 45594, Seattle, WA 98145-0594。
例会与活动地点
KCIS 例会从每年 9 月到次年 4 月举行，地点固定在华盛顿大学城市园艺中心（Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington, 3501 NE 41st St, Seattle），时间为每月第一个周一晚 7 点，遇到节假日顺延至第二个周一，对访客开放。5 月例会通常在会员自家花园举行，配合一次鸢尾评审员培训；6 月或 7 月以会员花园周末野餐收尾；12 月由会员轮流主办节日聚会。7、8 两月一般不排例会和鸢尾展，但会员会聚到花园做展售前的分株、清洗和整理工作。协会每年春季举办 1 到 2 次鸢尾展，秋季举办 2 次鸢尾展售（8 月有髯鸢尾展售，9 月无髯鸢尾展售），所得收入用于支持协会的教育和保育项目。
鸢尾属分类与文化推广
KCIS 围绕鸢尾属（Iris）展开活动，覆盖路易斯安那鸢尾、西伯利亚鸢尾、太平洋海岸鸢尾、髯鸢尾、日本鸢尾、Spuria 鸢尾和原生种鸢尾七大类。例会讲座、幻灯片分享和评审员培训课程通常围绕这几类的栽培要点展开。协会内部还专门整理了 Bearded Classifications、Bearded Culture、Beardless Culture、Hybridizing How and Why、Iris tectorum、Iris unguicularis、Iris verna、Japanese Iris、Louisiana Iris、Searching for Iris tenax、Small Spurias、Species to Bearded 等文化专题，部分内容由会员 Jean Witt 等资深种植者执笔，其中 Jean Witt 自 1963 年起就是 KCIS 会员，长期更新 Species Iris Checklist，是这一领域的知名作者。
会员与外部联系
KCIS 个人或家庭年费为 15 美元，会员可参加月度例会、会员花园参观、夏季聚餐拍卖、12 月节日聚会，并自动订阅 KCIS 月刊和 AIS Region 13 半年刊，后者是美国鸢尾协会下属区域组织的刊物，覆盖华盛顿、俄勒冈、阿拉斯加三个州。会员还可在 KCIS 鸢尾展售中获得优先认购机会，参加 KCIS 在西北园艺展（Northwest Flower and Garden Show）设的教育展台，并加入评审员培训项目。所有沟通以协会 Facebook 页面（King County Iris Society）为主要入口。
姐妹分会与协会联动
KCIS 与 Pierce County Iris Society（PCIS）保持紧密协作，两会共享鸢尾文化资源、互派讲座嘉宾。KCIS 也会把会员引荐到附近三个商业鸢尾园参观：Walsterway Iris Gardens、 Cascadia Iris Gardens（都在 Snohomish County）和 Covington 的 Jayne Ritchie Iris Garden。协会与 Highline Botanical Garden 合作设有一处鸢尾展示园，并在春季参加其植物展售活动。
Society Background
The King County Iris Society (KCIS) is a Washington-state local chapter of the American Iris Society (AIS) founded in 1946 in Seattle. Its membership covers the greater Seattle metropolitan area, including Snohomish County, and draws iris growers, hybridizers, and hobbyists at every skill level. As a nonprofit gardening society, KCIS organizes monthly meetings, spring iris shows, August and September rhizome sales, and field workshops. The chapter mailing address is P.O. Box 45594, Seattle, WA 98145-0594.
Meeting Venue and Calendar
Regular meetings are held from September through April at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington (3501 NE 41st St, Seattle), beginning at 7:00 PM on the first Monday of each month, or the second Monday when the first falls on a holiday. The May meeting typically moves to a member’s garden and includes a judges’ training session; June or July closes the program year with a weekend picnic in a member’s garden; a Holiday Party hosted by a member takes place in December. July and August have no meetings, but members gather to divide, clean, and prepare rhizomes for the August Bearded and September Beardless sales. The society hosts one or two judged or non-judged spring shows each year, with the August and September sales funding its educational work.
Iris Classification and Culture
KCIS programs revolve around the genus Iris and cover Louisiana, Siberian, Pacific Coast, Bearded, Japanese, Spuria, and Species irises. Talks, slide shows, and judges’ training sessions draw on member-written cultural notes on Bearded Classifications, Bearded Culture, Beardless Culture, Hybridizing How and Why, Iris tectorum, Iris unguicularis, Iris verna, Japanese Iris, Louisiana Iris, Searching for Iris tenax, Small Spurias, and Species to Bearded. Long-time member Jean Witt, who joined KCIS in 1963, is internationally known for her work on species irises and continues to update the Species Iris Checklist referenced by growers worldwide.
Membership and Communications
Annual dues are $15.00 per individual or family. Members receive the monthly KCIS newsletter and the semiannual AIS Region 13 newsletter (covering Washington, Oregon, and Alaska), gain entry to monthly meetings, garden tours, the summer potluck and auction, and the December party, and obtain early access to the August and September rhizome sales. KCIS also staffs an educational booth at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, runs judges’ training sessions, and uses its Facebook page (King County Iris Society) as the primary contact channel for inquiries.
Sister Chapters and Partner Gardens
KCIS works closely with the Pierce County Iris Society (PCIS), sharing speakers and cultural resources across the Puget Sound region. The chapter also directs members to three nearby commercial iris gardens: Walsterway Iris Gardens and Cascadia Iris Gardens in Snohomish County, and Jayne Ritchie Iris Garden in Covington. KCIS maintains a display iris garden at the Highline Botanical Garden and takes part in the garden’s spring plant sale alongside other regional plant societies.
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