@Missingrosie - Yay on giving them another go! I think you'll be happy!
I can personally attest to the fact that rabbits will chow down on the rhizomes
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For your color scheme, I would suggest you look at "cluster" shots (photos that show groups of iris) to see what strikes your fancy. I've found some on the grower's websites (there's a ton of growers), and then here on ATP in the public garden forum as well as the iris forum. When members post photos of their gardens you really get a sense of how the iris will look, and often there's other plants in the photo too - which is a bonus...you can get some good ideas of what to plant with them. Or you can just google it (of course!).
Another thing is the scent...I have limited space so I am trying to narrow down my selections by requiring that they either smell good or rebloom, sort of a double duty kind of thing.
Last but not least, you can always remove something you've planted but decided doesn't quite fit your style and either put it in a pot or on your neighbor's doorstep!
Happy shopping!
