Paint a Garden Delightful With Iris
There is much more to an iris compared to its pretty face. These flowers work twice by providing textural contrast contrary to the normal round garden crops and producing beautiful blooms at the conclusion of their year. Whether you prefer the sturdy and magnificent Siberian iris or the dainty and delicate Japanese and Pacific Coast types, this colorful, charming and rugged flower is a superb addition to any garden style. Whatever your style, whichever colors you’re painting your gardens with, there’s certainly an iris for you.
Native Root Designs
Botanical name: Iridacae
Common name: Iris
USDA zones: 3 to 9, based on species
Water requirement: Loves moist soil
Light requirement: Full sun, part sun
Mature size: 6 inches to 3 feet tall, depending on species
Benefits: Tolerates”wet feet,” propagates readily, hardy in a variety of conditions, blooms profusely
Shown here:Pacific Coast iris, indigenous to the Western U.S.
Native Root Designs
The iris blossom may be best known for unfolding layers of terrific beauty. The buds of irises swell for days, until one morning the petals peel back to reveal the most intricate of designs.
From white to purple and all in between, irises offers a host of color options which work with any garden scheme. Irises actually get their name from the Greek word for”rainbow” — that is how many colors there are to select from.
Native Root Designs
However, the attractiveness of the blooms isn’t the only advantage of this iris. Their higher contribution to the garden is the upright, spiky kinds of this foliage. Whenever I have a boring place in the garden with a lot of round plants, then I stay at a strand of iris. The spikes create the other crops seem a bit more defined.
Garrett Churchill Inc..
Irises can be implanted in any type of soil, but they love the water. In reality, they can even be implanted inshallow water — Louisiana irises are particularly great for water planting.
Liquidscapes
It’s a good idea to plant irises in clumps, because this is how they typically increase in the wild. Plant four to five rhizomes collectively — but don’t get them too near. Irises multiply each year, so make a little area for them to grow.
There is nothing worse than a lineup of single irises along a pond’s edge. Avoid this, and plant them in groups rather.
gytis
A single line of bearded irises works nicely in contemporary water gardens to make a strong line.
Native Root Designs
Irises can be formal or informal depending on the program. Japanese iris or crazy iris are equally thin stemmed and operate well in a state garden for a less coordinated appearance. This photo shows off the number’Chimes’ from the Pacific Coast Iris Collection.
Liquidscapes
Whether you choose to go with a giant, formal Siberian iris with vibrant purple blooms or a diminutive wild iris with waving blooms of white, this easy-care plant is certain to be beautiful in gardens in a broad range of climate zones.
Odds are you won’t even have to go to the nursery to locate them — irises increase in overgrown clumps, and you may have a neighbor who is dividing a few. Offer to take some off their hands and invite the magic of the iris to your own little patch of Eden.