According to Dr. Mary Lynch Johnson, author of A History of Meredith College, the iris has long been the college flower. In 1968, Meredith College alumna Loleta Kenan Powell, ’41, a renowned iris and day lily grower, took this to the next step when she developed and registered an iris she named Meredith Hues. Ms. Powell described her iris as having “standards of creamy white and falls of maroon neatly edged with white.” At a ceremony in 1997, Meredith Hues was recognized as the official flower of Meredith College. They are planted around the Shaw Fountain in front of Johnson Hall, near Cate Center, and near the Alumnae House.