We’re back today in Harriet Robinson’sbeautiful Maine garden, today exploring her collection of irises:
I started collecting irises when I joined the Maine Iris Society about 12 years ago. I joined not so much for a love of irises as for the fact that this group had a lot of experienced gardeners as members. My iris collection grew facilitated by swaps from members, door prizes at meetings, and purchases at auctions and sales. I began to love irises, especially siberians which fit nicely with other perennials, historic bearded irises that are less frilly than modern ones, and Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) and Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB) irises which bloom earlier and are easier to transport to flower shows. I now grow SDB irises as edging plants, other median (especially Intermediate Bearded, IB) and Tall Bearded, TB, irises in 4 dedicated iris beds for a selection to take to our yearly flower show. I grow siberians with other perennials in mixed gardens, and a collection of hybridizer Currier McEwen’s (the father of the modern siberian iris) siberian irises in dedicated beds.
Here’s an example of SDBs used for edging in the beds in front of my house. ‘Tiny Beacon’ is the MDB in the foreground next to SDB ‘Inviolate” and then ‘Rainbow Rim’ and euphorbia ‘Bonfire’. I particularly like the bright yellow ‘Cache of Gold’ beyond the steps but enjoy placing all of them with color combinations in mind. (The troughs on the front steps contain rock garden plants.)
The largest of my bearded iris beds has a mix from recent to historic irises and blooms for 5 or 6 weeks starting with IB and ending with TB. Among my favorites in this bed are ‘Code of Honor’, an IB introduced in 2013.
Yellow ‘Coronation’ from 1927 is a great grower
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