Irises: Need advice on how many Iris to put in a new garden..., 1 by SusanLouise

SusanLouise wrote:
Hello All,
Sorry I've been away for so long...just been overwhelmed with gardening and building a new garden...Whew!
I wish I could have dedicated the entire new garden just for Irises, but unfortunately I had to divide the space with other plants. The area that is left is about 7x7'. How may Irises can I reasonably "stuff" in the garden without having to dig and divide until...lets say 2 years from my planting them late this summer when I receive them?
I've ordered 40 and expected to have enough room in the new garden for them all. I know that is not possible and the rest will be in pots and I'll be giving a few to my MIL too.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)