Specialty Gardening: Do you use grasses in your cottage garden? if so show me:), 1 by sempervirens

sempervirens wrote:
sticks, The Iris sibirica (Siberian Iris) prefers to grow in full sun to partial shade preferably in fertile, moist, slightly acid soil. I find it spreads quickly and easily and is not as exacting in it's requirement as stated. Two large clumps have seeded into the gravel pathway and the plants in the front are on the hot sidewalk strip and don't get supplemental watering. But Texas is hotter and drier then NJ in general so you might have to be more careful in placing it. This is a pass-a -long plant here that increases quickly and can be used as a edging plant. Just be sure to remove most of the seedpods or it won't flower as well next year. I like how it looks with the taller, finer textured grasses.
In the side garden I have it growing with a purple flowered columbine(also a self seeder that forms large clumps) that blooms first so the iris looks like it's blooming twice as long because the iris leaves are already up. There is a nice contrast between the lacier columbine leaves and the sword shaped iris leaves. In this photo both the columbine and the Iris are blooming.