Tours
EXPERIENCE LOUISIANAS AT HOME
2027 Society for Louisiana Irises Convention
The Schedule page provides the details about our Tours. Here is a visual preview of what you will see.
Thursday, April 9
Northshore and Wild Irises
Joyce Wildlife Management Area
Near Ponchatoula
We’ll drive up I-55 between Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. At Manchac, we’ll jump over onto Old U. S. Hwy 51, and continue a few miles to Joyce, which is located a short distance south of Ponchatoula. Joyce WMA is huge, but we are targeting a short, primitive boardwalk into the swamp, where you will be surrounded by I. giganticaerulea. In bloom, it is an unforgettable sight.
Fontainebleau State Park
Mandeville
A ride past Ponchatoula and then east on I-12 will put us just north of Mandeville. One of our Mandeville stops will be the 2,800-acre Fontainebleau State Park on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We’ll have lunch in a pavilion and look at irises and other attractions. Both I. giganticaerulea and the native I. virginica are there.
Buddy Manuel Garden
Mandeville
Not all stops in Mandeville will be for wild plantings, although Buddy Manuel’s garden displays many species as well as hybrids. Here we will enjoy a wide variety of Louisiana irises in a beautiful, manicured garden.
Friday, April 10
New Orleans City Park
GNOIS Island Iris Nursery
City Park, New Orleans
Friday tours will begin in City Park and the well-hidden nursery of the Greater New Orleans Iris Society. The Park graciously makes a plot of about an acre available to the club, and it is used intensely. We will let a video show what the tour visitors can expect.
Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
City Park, New Orleans
The Sculpture Garden sits along a lagoon adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art. It features over 90 sculptures by renowned modern and contemporary artists. A planting of hybrid Louisiana irises dates from around 2013 in the original portion of the garden, and species are featured in a newer section. It is a beautiful setting in which to enjoy both art and irises.
New Orleans Botanical Garden
City Park, New Orleans
Dating to the 1930s, the New Orleans Botanical Garden features more than 2,000 varieties of plants, including tropical, subtropical and native plants. The architecture is noteworthy, reflecting its WPA (Works Progress Administration) origins, the work of architect Richard Koch, and sculpture by Enrique Alférez. A unique New Orleans place.
