One of my favorite childhood memories is of the rich variety and color pallet of gorgeous irises that my Uncle Jerry grew in his garden that was all vegetables except for a patch he reserved for his beloved irises. When I was a young adult with very little money to spend on things that weren't necessities, I wanted some irises like Uncle Jerry's for my garden, so I dug up a few wild yellow irises from the roadside (not sure that was legal-oops). I still have them in my garden today. As I became more established financially, I was able to budget a little towards rhizomes of beauties like Crater Lake Blue Irises.
My garden was trial & error, but today with the internet, there are many wonderful free resources to guide American gardeners. Click here to read a nice article on how to grow bearded irises published by Better Homes and Gardens. The Old Farmer's Almanac also published a good general article about growing iris. Click here to read it.
If you want to learn the best practices for growing all kinds of iris, check out The American Iris Society webpage,
In addition to providing sound advice on planting and growing iris, The American Iris Society (AIS) site lists other resources, a calendar of their events, a complete listing of AIS Regional Groups so you can hook up with other people in your area who are interested in growing iris, and an iris Encyclopedia. Every year the American Iris Society sponsors a photo contest that you can enter. I LOVE this website and think you will too!
Thank you for reading & enjoy your irises!!
