The Rotary Club of Ville Platte, last Tuesday, heard from one of its own members about irises because now is the time to plant such flowers.
Philippe Vidrine explained, the five different species which are native to Louisiana. These species are Iris brevicaulis, Iris fulva, Iris giganticaerulea, Iris hexagona, and Iris nelsonii.
“Each one has it’s own uniqueness,” Vidrine said.
He went on to say, “The one we have mostly around here is Iris hexagona. Some of the other ones you might recognize are Iris fulva which I see often on the way to Baton Rouge. It’s a copper iris, and you see it with the white spider lilies in the ditches on the way to Baton Rouge.”
“Iris giganticaerulea, which means big blue, is the tallest one,” Vidrine continued. “It’s leaves have been known to get as high as six feet, and it’s a beautiful clear blue. Iris nelsonii is named after Ira Nelson and is the red Abbeville iris.”
Vidrine then explained the different species have been cross hybridized to produce “every color of the rainbow.”
“I want you to consider these in your flower beds,” he said. “They do well in flower beds, and you don’t just have to do them in water. One of the complaints about irises is their blooming season is short. But, if you have the different species, you get a month and a half of blooms.”
Vidrine also warned against, what he called, the invasive yellow Spanish Flag irises.
“These are not a native Louisiana iris,” he said. “It was brought in as an ornamental, and it even beats out cattails.”
He continued, “They are a little bit taller than other irises. There’s a rib in the middle of the grass leaf, and it doesn’t cross with Louisiana irises. They actually believe it’s actually from Russia, so it’s a Russian spy disguised as a Spanish colored plant.”
At this week’s meeting, the Rotary Club then heard from Fr. Tom Voorhies, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph Catholic Churches; and Kimberly Lejeune, the Development Director and Interact Club Sponsor at Sacred Heart School.
Fr. Voorhies explained the different activities going on at the church such as the catechism programs, the Family Fun Day, Back to Basics program, Come! Lord Jesus groups, and ACTS retreats. He also explained the church is conducting a food drive for the Christian Care and Share.
The pastor then explained what is new at Sacred Heart school for this school year.
“The student population has increased for the first time in a long time,” he said. “Last year, we had 566 kids, and, this year, we have 578 for an increase of 12. Hopefully, that will remain and continue. We also have two new teachers at the high school- Meagan Donovan and Emily Ortego.”
He continued, “Fr. (Blake) Dubroc is the religion administrator, and he’s doing a great job running the retreats, ministries, and the Come! Lord Jesus. Fr. Mitch (Guidry) has been having to take care of his dad, so Fr. Taj Glodd is teaching those 11th grade classes for us. It’s great that we have these priests who are available and willing to help out. Not a lot of schools can say they have priests who are so involved.”
Lejeune then went over Interact projects for the upcoming year, such as Purple Pinky Project for polio, bingo at the nursing home, and trash pick up days around campus while also going over ways the Rotary Club can get more involved with the school’s activities.
She also explained the Sacred Heart Foundation “gave the school this year a disbursement in the amount of $38,650.00 toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) projects, lab ware, and Chromebooks.”
The proceeds of the disbursement, in part, come from the annual Foundation dance which is set for February 8, 2020, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $80.00.
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TONY MARKS Editor