Re: Gardening with Irises
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Gardening with Irises
- From: S* W* <s*@gj.net>
- Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 08:05:01 -0700 (MST)
Nice description. Who is Chad Schroter? I'm grappling with designing a river like
path now and would appreciate any help.
Sheryl
J. Griffin Crump wrote:
> iris-l@rt66.com wrote:
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > A problem . . .
> > is using irises in a general landscaping/gardening design. . . A couple of clumps
> > were a very nice accent throughout the summer. Now that I have more than a
> > couple of clumps there is the problem of What to Do With Them . . ..
> > TBs seem to be particularly difficult because they don't handle
> > interplanting well. . . A mixed perennial garden would
> > produce the color, but to my eye iris are definitely accent plants, and the
> > design suffers if they are overused.
> >
> > So, does anybody have any hints or tricks on using a lot of iris in a
> > garden so that the casual visitor doesn't walk in and say "Boy do you have
> > a lot of irises!"
> >
> >
> Kay -- If you now HAVE a lot of irises, perhaps the trick is to use the
> OTHER plants for accent. My main front-yard garden is planted around a
> weeping cherry. The iris surround the cherry on three sides. The
> plantings along the driveway (24 feet) and the half of the sidewalk
> directly in front of the tree (12 feet) are all TBs. They are only two
> rows deep, and they are rimmed, adjacent to the drive and the walk, with
> creeping phlox. The phlox provides bright color just before iris bloom
> and a green carpet after. (If you want edge color throughout the summer,
> you can use the little jewel-like moss rose in the same way.) On the
> side of the tree opposite the drive, the garden balloons into a 15' x
> 15' triangle, except that the side away from the tree is curved outward
> like a pie crust. The rebloomers are concentrated here, but are broken
> up by two roses --a grandiflora and a floribunda -- planted in the midst
> of them, with the raised rows of irises curving around them (probably
> something like Chad Schroter's s-curved "river". The roses and the
> rebloomers get along well, since both like to be watered. The two front
> rows along the sidewalk are SDBs and MDBs. A few clumps of day lillies
> are placed at the back and side of the bed, and some oriental lillies
> peek from between the cherry's trailing branches. In this way, there is
> always something to draw the viewer's eye besides the iris. Very small
> evergreens, miniaturized trees, or lantanas can also be used among the
> irises. Hope this helps.
>
> Griff Crump, along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon, VA
> jgcrump@erols.com
