Bearded Iris

     A few years ago a neighbor gave me a bunch of blue bearded iris. The picture at the top is one of those. I planted them in my front border unenthusiastically, thinking (a) that they were not the sort of plant that I would use, plant snob that I am, and (b) that they would not mingle well with the other plants in that border.  Was I ever wrong! In the border they have proven to fit right in and they are tough plants that do well with no water in the summer and they are deer resistant to boot. The only caveat is that they have to be divided periodically to perform well, but that, of course, will yield me more plants.
     The picture below is not from my garden, but from the display garden at Schreiner's Iris Nursery near Salem, Oregon. My sister lives in Salem, so I visit there quite often, and this nursery is well worth the visit at this time of the year. The display garden is full of those kinds of plants such as lupines, delphiniums, and alliums, which I love, and of course bearded iris. This picture shows how great the color orange is in the garden to make pinks and blues pop. It used to be that garden books on color were horrified by the use of orange in the garden and were particularly put off by orange combined with pinks. How quaint that seems! To me bright colors are one of the joys of life. Anyway, I intend to order lots of orange bearded iris from Schreiner's so that I, too, can have a riot of color in my front border. Shreiner's Iris Nursery can be found at schreinersgardens.com.