Irises are tough, versatile perennials. But even though they were named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, not everyone knows that they come in a huge range of colors and patterns, or that there are irises that thrive in a wide variety of growing conditions, from sunny to shady, and dry to wet. We learned more about the irises that can bring a piece of the rainbow into your garden.

Stephanie is a member of our garden club and a member of the Iris Society of Massachusetts. We visited her garden in June and admired all her iris plants, but few of us realized that she is an award-winning iris grower.  She showed us many of the iris that she and her mother have developed and how she does it. Her garden, Toadland Gardens, has been on the Mass Iris Tour. Stephanie’s irises are available through Aitken’s Salmon Creek Garden in Vancouver, WA and she also donates many varieties for sale at our annual plant sale in May. At the end of her presentation, four varieties of bearded iris were given away as door prizes.