I Do x English Cottage

English Cottage is beautiful! It reblooms too.

Go backward. Go forward. Look at the ancestors and children.

How do you like to use white iris in a bed? Do you put them next to another self, say a blue or a yellow? Or do you place them with a flashy amoena like Tidal Raves ?

Or is it just a punctuation between colors?

I use whites both ways Sherry. I like the way a white self blends amoenas with the rest of the garden, and the light they bring to a planting. I don't care for whites with muted, autumnal colors though- it seems to make those colors look dirty.

I planted my one white Iris (at the time) next to Savannah Sunset (orange) and in front of Swazi Princess (dark purple). I like drama in the Iris beds.

I have another one now -- Chantilly Bride -- and I'm trying to decide where to plant it. This is the fun part!!

love the old maple table.
I usually just plant my iris all colors mixed up and taller in the back. If one blooms looks out of place I just move it.

I love white irises in a garden, Sherry. They make the reds and golds jump out and the dark plums and purples look really dramatic. I need a couple more white SDB's.

I like them as a focal point in the middle of a group of mixed colors. It makes the vibrant colors pop.

Another use: I have a lot of red and white mixed color iris this year (Bruneau Jasper, Thundering Ovation, etc.) so throwing red selfs and white selfs into the mix allows the different red & white mixes to be planted near each other without all looking too samey samey.

Leslie, your red and white planting sounds gorgeous- looking forward to some great photos!

I will tell the iris that they are expected to bloom!! I am really looking forward to seeing it as well.

I do the same thing Leslie.. Amoenas, plicatas, selfs... It makes a textural statement among the blooms that keeps it interesting.

I'm thinking that No Place like home might look nice
behind the shorter intermediates, Pink Collage and Lakota

I think that 'Lakota' would look nice with just about anything.... but 'No Place like Home' really brings out the best in it.

pink and blue combos are always nice, red and yellow, along with red and blues also.

The blue is a nice contrast to the pinks. Pink is a good transition color too. You can put it between so many of the multi colors on the way to the purples or blues. A mixture of peachy pinks with multis like Parisian Dawn, Chuckwagon, Candy Colours, Centerline and such could be fantastic. I would throw in a lavender such as French Lavender or Monet's Blue too for contrast.

Leslie, the lavender or yellows would be nice too or a peach type color would also work nicely with purples, reds, and blues.

I've always wanted to plant black and white Iris together. Maybe someday.

Las year Schreiner's had some pics of a black and white garden that were really stunning. Some day when I have all the land and iris I want......

black & yellow can be great as well. I once did it years ago with tulips: Queen of Night & I forget the yellow one. We had to make sure they were a variety which bloomed at the same time. We don't do much with tulip here because of the deer.

Sherry -- just enlarged your two photos at the beginning of this thread (again), and needed to comment: your coffee table is stunning!!!