East To Grow Irises - An Old Standby and Gardener's Best Friend

Gardener's with brown thumbs take note:
It's almost impossible not to be able to grow irises.  They're so easy.  Some of my best performing irises were those that had to be taken up in a hurry and moved so that a large insect riddled oak could be cut down.  Black carpenter ants just love tunneling through the center of those pin oaks.
I didn't have time to meticulously plant them and since rainy weather was setting in, I just placed them on top of the ground and covered them with shredded leaves.  Over the next couple of weeks they started putting down roots so I just left them there over the winter and come springtime, they were lush and beautiful with buds popping up all over.
So you see...it's near impossible to go wrong with these beauties!

Iris 'Stepping Out'

 These irises were given to me by my uncle, Harold Campbell over 30 years ago who had rows and rows of different types so they have a lot of sentimental value not to mention memories from my childhood of playing tag up and down the rows with my cousins.
There are a lot of plicata irises out there but the rich amethyst and snowy white of Stepping Out are so clearly defined.

This one I bought many years ago was labeled 'Afternoon Delight' but the colors seemed so much moe vivid than some other examples I've seen.  I have a soft spot for it because when hubby and I were dating 'Afternoon Delight' was our song.  We're going back to the mid 70s here, folks and the song was probably a one hit wonder.

Iris 'Afternoon Delight'

'After The Dawn' is one of the more muted pastels that makes me think of the sun rising over the ocean.  A very pretty iris that shows very well in a more shaded area.

Iris 'After The Dawn'

And this wouldn't be a page on irises without my sweet 'Edith Wolford'

Iris 'Edith Wolford'

This elegant ladies is the winner of numerous awards Honorable - Mention: 1988
Award of Merit: 1990, Dykes Memorial Medal: 1993, and President's Cup: 1986.
The soft yellow standards set off by the wonderful periwinkle blue of the falls are the perfect tribute to the arrival of spring to chase away those winter  doldrums.

And no matter how many irises I have, I'm always on the lookout for more additions to my garden.  Back in August, I received my first shipment from Blue J Iris.  I can hardly wait til spring to see what they look like in bloom.  The tubers were nice and healthy and the roots were plump and not all dried out like some places you buy from.

I'm looking forward to share more pictures of these beauties with all you iris lovers out there!

Until then ~
Much gardening joy,

Pamela