Iris Bucharica a really wild show

Introduced in England in 1902, having all the airs and graces of antiquities with it's very Persian look is delighting us with it's start of bloom today. Very easy to grow just plant and forget but please remember where you planted it as you could pull it out as a strange weed!  As a reference for your information I have copied below the expansive writings of Sir Michael Foster regarding these bulbs collected by others in Bokhara (the capital of the Bukhara Province,Uzbekistan) published in...

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Border Bearded Iris TINK

Now here is an iris I am looking forward to seeing it bloom again in the coming few weeks or so. Purchased one Sunday in May while meandering  at the Masterton car boot sale I discovered for sale this "mystery iris" (the seller had no idea of its name). Of course I immediately purchased the rhizome with it's bloom stalk attached and rushed home to 'Solve the Mystery' of its name and take some photos of my 'find'. Let me tell you the taking the photos was the easy part. I was completely stumped with a...

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Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris IRWELL GRACE

Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris 'Irwell Grace' flowering for me today.  Standards painted a bright blended salmon pink that compliment the apricot melon falls that have a burgundy brown wash on the edge of the hafts which continues in lighter tones around the edge of the falls. Brilliant light blue beards heavily tipped a luminous red tangerine. Two or three well sized flowers per stem and a sweet light perfume. The form is impeccable and 'Irwell Grace' will quickly become a garden favourite no matter who's garden it...

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Intermediate Bearded Iris MAUI MOONLIGHT

An Iris to look out for this bloom season is Terry Aitkens 1986 Intermediate Iris 'Maui Moonlight'. This iris is a tough little beauty that has great plant health and takes no time at all to form a large robust clump. Lemon standards, with nicely ruffled and well proportioned lemon horizontal falls. It's great branching is just how it should be for all intermediate irises, couple this with multiple flowering rhizomes that have 2 or 3 stems per rhizome, producing a very bright and clean lemon effect when viewed as a clump....

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Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris 'IRWELL HONESTY'

Flowering in Auckland yesterday, this stunning Iris is the first iris bloom of the season from the Ron Busch incredible legacy he left behind. It's aptly named as the bloom has a transparency and the stirations have the colour tone that echo the perennial 'Lunaria annua' more commonly known in this part of the world as 'Honesty'. Carol Rogerson of 'Kiwi Iris Delights' has a great collection of Ron's Irises sent me the photo and describes this stunning little wonder as  "Very pretty, to me looks a bit like a silk painting...

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Historic Iris 'TIME FOR CHANGE'

When groups of  Irises emerge with characteristics sufficiently different from those that have gone before, the subject of a classification that is determined by a time line needs to be addressed. When I first began collecting irises it seemed to me that the plants I was collecting from around the old buildings and period houses in New Zealand were 'historic irises', they have blooms that have a certain tailored look with a vintage style that is mostly lost in irises of more recent origin. I then started collecting the irises...

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Tall Bearded Iris JAZZED UP

This rose pink amoena grows very tall. Growing at home the white standards are not immaculate as Schreiners catalogue description states and generally are always flushed a pleasant light orchid tone. The brown toned veins on the fall halfs detract the eye from the overall colour balance. This iris has undoubted carrying power in the garden but is best viewed at a distance, so I found it a home at the back of the border. Good plant health and strong stems that grip the very large slightly ruffled blooms. For those interested in breeding...

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