Now that the iris are beginning to open I'm shaking my head at the poor planning of my row of plants in the driveway. The order is Thrill Ride, La Fortune and then House Arrest. At the time of planting, I didn't check the photos closely (and besides, Sutton's catalog pic of Thrill Ride looks different from what I experienced). To my dismay, it looks like I planted 3 closely related siblings. Ugghhh...... Lesson learned, be more careful when planning and add contrast to the mix for a more visually appealing display.

I've done some of the same things, but you can always move them, I know, just another chore to do.

Yep, same here.

Yep, same here. I'm Kinda bad about mismatching.

Thanks Tom and Elsa. Funny thing, I moved La Fortune from the side of the house high contrast iris display row to the driveway so I could add Tuscan summer to the high contrast row. I thought I was 'demoting' La Fortune to a less attractive location, and lo and behold I've learned that the driveway gets more sun than anywhere else! Yes Tom, I'm going to take your suggestion and move La Fortune and break up this party. Thrill Ride also will need to be dug up because the soil I added when I planted the rhizome had mustard seed which germinated and went gang busters (the misses loves mustard greens). I thought it was a good idea at the time, but the mustard plants got so big that the root systems are crowding the rhizomes. Hence, I'm going to dig up the rhizome and clean out the soil. And Tom, if you are still reading this, I have to send you a photo in about 1-2 weeks to show you how awesome Reckless Abandon is doing when the bloom stalk opens!

irregardless, of the similarly colored irises, richard they are beauties. if there's space between them, you might interplant with other colored irises, or other lighter colored perennials to add different textural contrasts to what's already there? ( just a suggestion?)

Daphne. I'm going to move La Fortune since It has the weakest stalk growth of the three and it's in the center. But it certainly is a beauty. Now the big question, what to plant between Thrill Ride and House Arrest?

Perhaps Pumpkin Pie a la mode?

Glad Reckless Abandon is growing well for you. It's a good grower here too.

Richard, your photo of Thrill Ride is seriously testing my vow of no more iris orders...for a while.

Jan, I was initially disappointed when ThrillRide opened because I really wanted the orange standards like the Sutton photo. The newer blooms are showing more of the orange color, the blooms are very sweetly fragrant and the stems are good show stalks. And I apologize if I just made your decision harder!

That description would certainly make my choice harder!

Leslie,
If I may throw some more 'chum' into the shark infested iris waters, I just took a picture of Highland Games and was overcome by the super sweet fragrance being emitted. Not as strong as going to an iris field with hundreds/ thousands of plants, but not too far off. And the bloom stalks are tall and sturdy. And to think, this was not an iris I ordered, but a replacement for Safari Sunset. Glad I didn't tell American Meadows I wouldn't accept the substitute.

Love all three of them!

How about Highland Games in between them?

Excellent suggestion Rob (since they're all opening early at the same time)! I hope your rhizomes are starting to open.

Ny first PCI is starting to open , and Mother Nature is going to rain on us this afternoon! Gee, she can be really cruel at times.

Richard, I've never seen such irises with shades of pink purple and orange blended together. I have one that is very close to it though, but it has more blue in the center of the petals. with UndertheSun, I like all three.

How about Rite of Spring between them? Of course you would want to check to make sure they bloom at about the same time.

Or even if you would put a bright yellow between them to bring out the yellow beards in each of them.

Well Sue, I don't have rite of spring, but if you think a yellow would go nicely then maybe Ruby Moon?




Or Desert Moth?

Desert Moth looks nice.

I like the last three groupings Sue. Do they bloom at the same time?