iris garden planning question

do most of you plant your irises by color or type or some other way? i am trying to plan out a new garden and have only tall beardeds right now. not sure if i will get any other variety except maybe border bearded (saw one or two historicals i liked) are there pros or cons to planting all one color in the same area? mixing the colors? i am a novice and just planting cause i love them. ( i also dont know the names of most of mine, just the colors)



also i should add that i have been pouring over pictures for days and cannot decide.

This message was edited May 23, 2011 11:57 AM

I don't know what most people do, but I mix up my colors on my iris and daylilies and roses. I just love seeing the mixed colors as I walk thru the garden.

I agree. If you leave them alone, they will turn into a BIG bed.

I like mine with lots of different colors. My sister planted her flower beds with like colors together. Whites in one area, pink in another, red in another....etc. It is a huge L shaped bed at one corner of her yard. They have 2 acres of just yard so she has lots of room. I still like my colors mixed up!

However, I like the blues and purples so when you see my yard, you would think I put all the blues/purples together! LOL!

Last year there was a picture of blue & white irises planted together which was very effective. Border irises bloom at the same time as TBs as a rule. You have to watch the height as they have shorter stalks.

the border iris i saw a picture of was called jungle shadows, a very different color. if they are shorter than have to put them to the outside i guess., if i even get any. thank you for your thoughts

Putting them on the outside edge would be a good idea. There is not other with the color of Jungle shadows that I remember. the top height on the BB stem is 27 1/2". TBs are taller than that. The height should be noted in description of the plant.

I am faced with the same dilemma. I just remembered a few years ago when I moved, I potted up all my iris into one gallon pots, divided down to one fan per pot. After two years of watering all the pots daily, I said enough. I planted all together, colors were basically unknown so they got very mixed up, pinks, blue, maroons, purples, lavenders, black and some that were a lavender greenish gold (really prettier than they sound). They all got mixed, and guess what, they were absolutely gorgeous I wish I had taken a pix but you know how hind sight is,lol. A year later moved again, now a bit more permanent, and am trying to accomplish the same effect, now the next thing I am forced to consider is if they are all planted as a mix, from a distant they look muddled, some suggested maybe mix and also include some patches of one color so they can be read as a block of color which is more easily seen from the road. So there ya have it an answer(lol). So the real question is, who are you trying to please? I know not what ya wanted to hear. Just remember, its your garden and if it doesn't work out to be pleasing to you is very easy to replant. My new patch is 5ftX200ft, atleast that is my goal, still obtaining iris, Lol. Have scads to divide and move to new bed. Something else that looked great with the iris was an annual planting of Baby's Breath,(reseed from year to year), a magical effect. Or another annual to extend bloom season would be the addition of Nicotiana s. x"Sensation Mix", (evening fragrant, also reseeds and feeds the hawkmoths and hummers). So thats my answer, did it help, lol. Good Luck, Kathy.

Here's a beauty, both standards and falls are all falls, very unique, is called "Amarillis". (tall german bearded), and smells like Jasmine. Kathy

Here's another. Enjoy.

And another.

i really like the idea of planting baby's breath and nicotiana in between them. thanks for a great idea. also, i dont know the colors of a lot of mine so it is going to be hit and miss at best, moving them as they bloom and i learn the colors. good thing they dont mind that much. the problem is i dont know what i want, i cant make up my mind. i think masses of one color is a great effect, especially from a distance. right now i dont have that many, and have found out that some of what i have will never bloom again, so i have to wait for those to produce more so i can see the color. i got most of them from my neighbor that was tired of them. to me, those are like presents, a gift of a new color whenever they do bloom. so far it has been fun. i am moving to a new place and have to dig them all up and take them with me, so thought this time i would try to plan a little, instead of just putting them in the ground with no system or order. i am so happy to have found Daves garden. how great is it to be able to ask people that have the knowledge and experience and are willing to share it.

Mark them by name or color so you know what you have, which aids in planting the next garden.

I have seen photos of blue larkspar that is let go to seed among the Iris and that is very pretty too. Since my area is smaller, I like to put 3 or 4 near one another that look good together. Yellow ones look nice mixed with purples and blues. I have one called Hot spiced wine that I am going to move next to Aarvark Lark next year since they look so nice together in a vase. I will post some photos tomorrow of nice combinations. I do like the mixed look too, but they can get muddled looking.

One thing to think about is do you want your beds to have color all season or just at the time the Iris bloom? If you plant all Iris, you are only going to have 3-4 weeks of color. I like to mix in daylilies, coneflowers, mums, columbines as well as annuals to give season long color.

This message was edited May 26, 2011 4:08 AM

Have a look at this womans gardens. Her Iris planted with companion plants are just stunning.
https://picasaweb.google.com/gottagarden

That is pretty! I have a few beds of daylilies and iris together. One has been planted only 2 yrs and just remember the iris can really spread out quickly, so don't crowd the plants. I also plant vanilla marigolds about every other plant. I then have blooms until frost. I tend plant to closely in a new bed and then I end up thinning or removing them fairly soon.

Teresa in KY

Teresa......do you know the name of your blue/white iris? That is stunning and I of course love the blues!

Thanks!

Debbie

Teresa I also plant close. The weeds would have taken over if I hadnt made an environment they dont like.
I dont mind moveing a plant or two but now I plan better so there are fewer holes to dig.

When I planned my iris bed originally I planned a graduated color wall from white to lightest blue to medium blue etc. WHAT A MISTAKE!! In pictures it looked great. In keeping straight who was who it was a disaster. I totally regret that plan now. Some of them looked so like each other at various ages and stages of bloom that it has created confusion to this day, 4 years later. I now plant for contrast and variation!

It depends on what you are trying to achieve. It is important to me to know the name of the iris without question because I do crosses. Also, my taste in colors is evolving. As in, after I am satisfied I have pinks to my taste then I look for the best reds when buying the next year. I started with loving blacks and blues and pinks, then I became very interested in purples, violets and whites, then whites with red beards. Each year I move on in what I especially want to see. I did not like yellow at all. Now I see it is necessary to "pop" and balance all the colors. So, look at what you are trying to achieve and plan from there. Next year you might not look at it quite the same way. The hobby evolves with what we acquire and find satisfying and how our tastes change with time and studying more picture!!

K

Debbie, it is Stairway to Heaven. If you like I have plenty to trade.
Just LMK
Teresa