A selection of Irises

We have gone through our share of irises and for some reason or another most were discarded. Yellow flag in the pond and the siberian irises proved to be too vigorous and invasive. Other than the miniature irises that flowered early in the Spring and now having disappeared we are partial to two - the fulsome yellow and white and the pale faded violet. We've kept only a few of the whole bed of iris inherited when we moved here, now relegated to an inconspicous place on the bank of a swale to help hold the dirt from washing in during a heavy rain. Remnants keep popping up next to the deck where the photo was taken.

Irises have been extremely easy to grow, none we planted failed to grow. In fact they are almost too vigorous and difficult to control. We've divided the inherited iris and the yellow/white which now has a colony that's overgrowing its alotted space. This is a plant for the beginner or black thumb.

The complementary color of the purple viola really enhances the intensity of yellow in the iris. A lucky accident. In the future I'll have to try to remember the old art class lessons on complementary colors and plant accordingly.

And a New York Times article about an iris garden.