I just found this gorgeous pic over at the Eureka site...my question is: what happens after they are gone by? Does anyone have this type of design, and what do you do with it in the off-season? My thoughts are to simply intermingle the Irises with my daylilies...I have a huge bed started for daylilies, but now I see THIS! And since my next new love is Irises, it seemed a natural progression...
Any ideas?
Well, I wonder where all the iris fanciers are who have great gardens and good answers to your question?!!
IMHO if you want a great iris show like the one pictured, then you plant the ones you love and just let it bloom out until finished, clean it up for the summer, and focus attention for the next bloom period over to your daylily bed or mixed border on the other side of the yard.
Having said that, I do mix bearded iris in with my mixed border for mid may bloom in the space with my white allium and eremurus. When those three are finished blooming the summer perennials start. The problem with this plan is that the bearded iris (and allium) get crowded and get too much water from the extra watering of the perennials and become susceptable to disease and poor bloom performance. The Siberian Iris, which is getting more popular every season, is probably a better choice for the perennial border because it can take more water.
Here's a pic of giant allium with yellow iris. I can't find a long shot of the border, but you get the idea.
I mix iris with roses, peonies, hollyhocks, skinny lillies.
If I have a triangle of iris, I put an annual in the middle -- like cosmos, dianthus, persian jewels, cleome,
I have a couple of beds of mostly iris. A little columbine nearby, a gladiolus intermingled with the iris. Allium can be good.
Hi Birdsnblooms,
I know exactly what you mean about what to do when the blooms are gone. I have loved daylilies for years but got soo tired of waiting untill July to see the blooms. Thanks to a DG friend I became addicted to iris now too. So this was my plan last year. I planted a nice big bed across the front of my yard. Every other plant is an iris and every other one is a daylily. With this being the first year of blooms I was thrilled with the irises in May. And now I am enjoying the daylilies. I planted a few red leaf coralbells and sedums to add some continuous color other than green. And added marigolds for eye catching. This picture does not do justice but this is my idea and I think I am gonna be very pleased with it. Good luck with yours. (The new bed actually starts on the far side of the purple salvias.)
WG- fantastic! Your design is lovely!
Tabasco- thanks for the note on the watering. Although I don't typically water unless we have an etremely long period of no precip, it's good to know that at least I should keep the water down in the one section that I do currently have devoted to Iris.
I've gotta do some SERIOUS moving & shaking in my garden spaces this fall...many perennials simply over-grew their boundaries (but the tag said only 36"! What's it doing at 48-60?!) The Iris...well, they bloom when the perennials haven't yet taken off for the season, so maybe those few can stay tucked in behind where they are. They are finished blooming before the perennials get unruly, and the foliage is hidden by that time. It seems to work.
I love the idea of a total-iris bed, but I suppose it would be kind of an eye-sore for the rest of the season if it were RIGHT in the middle of the yard. I'll have to rethink this one. Maybe...hmmm...I've got a poppy bed that needs some work. Maybe I could stick some in there for a Pre-Poppy show...hmmm...
Thanks Birdsnblooms,
I really like the original pic that you had posted of the mass blooms of the irises too but, I personally wouldn't want to do that mainly because of wanting to trade with correct ID on them. I just tried to seperate only 2 that I had planted side by side 3 years ago. I soon came to realize that I had a real problem .I couldn't tell which rhyzomes were which. I told the person who I gave them to that if it bloomed yellow ...it was Total Recall. If it bloomed red it was an unknown one. And if it was the purple and white one that I wanted it to be it would be Clarence. That's a situation I don't like to be in. A bit embarrassing to me.
Well don't be embarrassed, I am pleased to have them, I just wrote down your explanation and put it in my files. I Hope to return the blessing one day.
Thanks Jackie, that's kind of you.
The color comes in time starting from daffodils or other bulbs, iris, daylilies, asiatic lilies and then to dahlias. That takes my garden from spring through October. The roses also bloom of course. Then you can mix in perennials, put hollyhocks at the back of the bed in front of russian sage. There are shorter varieties of sage now of course. Because the mixed garden can become chaotic though I decided to edge mine.
Here's the garden last year in daylily season. The purple plant is limonium and won't grow where you are which is why I suggested sage. The one color continuing through the garden seems to be important too.
Here it is in iris season. The daylily show this year was much better but I missed the height of the season. I started this bed in 05.
Doss your pics are great ! Wonderful arrangement ! Thanks for the ideas (even thou this thread wasn't started by me )
