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You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flower of the Rainbow Goddess

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flower of the Rainbow Goddess

by Anne Laurie|  February 26, 20235:07 am| 34 Comments

This post is in: Garden Chats

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess

From ace gardener, and photographer, Mike in Oly:

Found this set of pics I took at Schreiner’s Iris Gardens down in Salem, OR, during my visit in 2022.

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 1

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 2

It is always a treat to visit with them as their display gardens are a wonder to behold during bloom season.

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 3

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 4

Dozens of types of companion plants are in full bloom along with the irises to highlight their use in the garden tapestry.

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 5

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 6

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Iris, Flowers of the Rainbow Goddess 7

***********

Can’t remember if it was Mike or Satby who first introduced me to Schreiners, but I can attest that their plants are worth the money — gorgeous, well-labeled, and most of all tough enough even for negligent gardeners like me!

It’ll be a while before our Schreiners iris green up, but one of the first signs of spring around here: the generic Van Gogh-type species plants that we brought with us when we moved into this house almost 30 years ago are starting to bud. Of course, that was before we got just about the worst snow / ice storm of the season yesterday, but those guys are used to getting blasted.

What’s going on in your garden (planning / memories / indoor), this week?

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Reader Interactions

34Comments

  1. 1.

    sab

    February 26, 2023 at 5:14 am

    Wow and Yikes!

  2. 2.

    MagdaInBlack

    February 26, 2023 at 6:20 am

    Damn it, I wish I had a place for a garden. These pictures are lovely. I do love iris..and columbine…and all of them 😊

  3. 3.

    raven

    February 26, 2023 at 6:39 am

    There is a huge bloom going on here and the nasty Bradford pears are all over. They can forget about the azaleas for the Masters.

  4. 4.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    February 26, 2023 at 7:17 am

    These pictures (and these flowers) are gorgeous. Iris is my favorite flower

  5. 5.

    Gvg

    February 26, 2023 at 7:21 am

    Beautiful weather here in Florida. This talk of snow and ice seems like another planet. The azaleas are excellent this year. Lots of Japanese magnolias and other flowering trees around town. The oak trees are shedding their old leaves so they can put on new ones and the leaf shed and pollen is heavy. I need to rake. Every one is trimming back all the leaves killed by frost so new growth can show.

    I seem to spend more time internet catalog browsing than ever. It started with the camellias in winter when I was too cold to go out but branched out. My banana shrub and tea olive bloomed and smelled so heavenly that I looked up more and found other cultivars to covet. North Carolina seems to have some amazing nurseries…then I wanted gardenias so I would have fragrance in the summer. Along the way I discovered cultivars in nurseries of native Florida shrubs that I have never seen in Florida. That is the native shrub is common, but the interesting cultivars that the out of state nurseries say were selected in Florida, I have never seen offered here. Worse, the native plant sale I have attended for 25 years has been discontinued partly because there were no longer enough venders coming and I think it is because a bunch of them got old and retired. A lot of natives have become mainstream here and are sold in big box stores and are now used in major landscaping more than the non natives they replaced. DOT uses natives a lot and so do cities. I wonder if the regular corporate producers taking on the moneymaker natives somehow undercut profit for specialists? I was thrilled when I started seeing them in Home Depot 15 years ago but the rarer stuff has gotten harder.
    Anyway, I have never done all natives, I just need a backbone of them. And I think if is ironic and frustrating to read about native cultivars for sale 4 states away from Florida that I have never set eyes on when I am such am obsessive gardener.

  6. 6.

    CCL

    February 26, 2023 at 7:22 am

    Thanks for this!  Back a hundred years ago, when I was flying monthly from New England to Portland – I dragged my whole team to Salem to visit Schreiners.  I had been buying iris from them for years and just wanted to make the pilgrimage.

    We drove our rented car down the coast and then crossed inland to Salem.  It turned out to be a happy coincidence as we arrived at the gardens during their Iris festival, food, drink, music and tours!

    Magical.

  7. 7.

    delphinium

    February 26, 2023 at 7:24 am

    Absolutely gorgeous photos! Winter is still very much here, snow and very low temps these last few days after a spell of almost springlike weather. FYI: Bluestone Perennials has started their 50% off Fridays sales, some decent bargains for those looking to buy more plants.

  8. 8.

    kalakal

    February 26, 2023 at 7:39 am

    Now that’s my kind of thing. Gorgeous

    In my part of Florida Irises ( not the bearded ones) love it and I’m constantly thinning them out. I love the flowers.

    Live Oak pollen doing it’s thing and am a sniffling wretch.

  9. 9.

    Lapassionara

    February 26, 2023 at 7:50 am

    Lovely. Thanks so much.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 26, 2023 at 7:55 am

    Beautiful Pics as always Mike. Thanx for the spread.

    As per usual, my daffs are up. As per unusual (for me) they are already heading. (usually a week or more later) My wolf’s bane is already blooming, as expected. So are my Lenten roses. My Spanish Bluebells are already pushing thru the blanket of last year’s leaves I threw on them 2-3 weeks ago. My crocuses are putting on their usual early season performance but I have yet to see any Glory of the Snow. And my irises are coming up too.

    Temps starting tomorrow: 65, 63, 65, then dropping back into the 50s for highs. And now the NWS tells me to expect a cool down for March.

  11. 11.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 8:04 am

    It could have been either of us, I know I’ve mentioned Schreiner’s  years ago when I sent iris pictures because that’s where I bought most of mine. Though my gardens never got as beautiful as these!

    Thanks Mike!

    I was cleaning up the iris bed last week during one of the warmer but not rainy days. Last year I got healthy plants but only a few blooms, which I decided might have been because I had transplanted most of them to that bed that year. Hoping for a good display this year.

  12. 12.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 8:09 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Yeah, I saw the tulips and daffodils start pushing up the leaf cover in the front bed, and I debated clearing it off. But after a warm-up to almost 60 by Wednesday, we’re back to highs only in the 30s with freezing overnights so I left it in place. I’ll end up gently pulling it off the bed by hand in a couple of weeks as the tulips and daffodils start growing through it so I don’t pull off any of their new leaves.

  13. 13.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 8:18 am

    @Anne Laurie: the generic Van Gogh-type species plants that we brought with us when we moved into this house almost 30 years ago are starting to bud. Of course, that was before we got just about the worst snow / ice storm of the season yesterday, but those guys are used to getting blasted.

    Those are probably Siberian Iris. Very hardy, one of the original types before all the hybrids took off in popularity. Nearly indestructible. I had those at the Michigan house too, and liked them. I should get more for the less sunny parts of the yard.

  14. 14.

    MagdaInBlack

    February 26, 2023 at 8:31 am

    @satby: If I had to pick a favorite iris, it would be Siberian Iris. My mother had some planted by the outside faucet of the house, where they would get regular drips.  They were very happy there.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    February 26, 2023 at 8:37 am

    @satby: At this point, mine are at the mercy of the weather gods. It will be what it will be.

  16. 16.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 8:38 am

    @MagdaInBlack: They are beautiful. When I had a new well dug the trench for the new pipes went through a front flower bed. My friend and her husband came up for a day to help me with some project and while I was replacing the contents of the bed I gave her several of the daffodil bulbs and the siberian iris rhizomes. Ten years later they’re still doing great in her yard.

  17. 17.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 8:41 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: so are most of mine, I just get more leaf drop in the fall on that bed, the hugelkultur one I made. So I just leave them there. Maybe I’ll pull them off anyway… None of the rest of the bulbs have cover and are all peeking up.

  18. 18.

    O. Felix Culpa

    February 26, 2023 at 8:59 am

    Good morning! We are in the throes of moving, and of course I tweaked my back at the end of the day yesterday. Dosing myself with ibuprofen (aka Vitamin I) to face today’s lot. We have hired younger muscle to move the furniture and other bulky items. Our next move–not for a looong time, FSM willing–I’m giving (almost) everything away and hiring professionals to do the rest. My body is telling me I’m getting–that is, have become!–too old for self-moves.

    Thank you to everyone who responded to my questions about container gardening and travel destinations last week. I was offline for a bit and didn’t get back in time to let you know how much I appreciated your thoughtful suggestions. :)

    ETA: My first crocus bloomed on Thursday and my daffodils are budding. Sad to leave them behind, but hopefully the next tenant will enjoy them.

  19. 19.

    SkyBluePink

    February 26, 2023 at 9:00 am

    If there be a heaven, mine would be an iris garden

  20. 20.

    SkyBluePink

    February 26, 2023 at 9:13 am

    If there be a heaven, mine would be an iris garden

  21. 21.

    satby

    February 26, 2023 at 9:20 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: lift them and bring them with! Or at least your favorites, that’s what I did my last move.

  22. 22.

    delphinium

    February 26, 2023 at 9:21 am

    @O. Felix Culpa: Good luck with the rest of your move and hope your back is better soon.

    Yeah, next move, I will be downsizing further and getting rid of a lot of stuff-have been in the process of weeding out things over the past couple years so hopefully won’t be too bad when the time comes.

  23. 23.

    O. Felix Culpa

    February 26, 2023 at 9:25 am

    @satby: Can one do that with bulbs that are in the process of growing/budding? I’d also have to put them in containers, since there’s only one fairly small in-ground bed at the new place.

  24. 24.

    O. Felix Culpa

    February 26, 2023 at 9:28 am

    @delphinium: It seems there’s always more downsizing to be done. We got rid of a lot of stuff in our previous move, some more just before this one, and we still have a shocking amount of FSM-knows-what to be moved and stored…again. Among other things, the absolutely wonderful children’s toys from my sons’ childhoods that will be donated if they don’t start producing grandchildren soon! ;-)

  25. 25.

    Oregon Girl

    February 26, 2023 at 9:41 am

    OMG, why have I never visited Schreiners? It’s only an hour or so away. It’s going on my spring calendar for this year.  Beautiful photos!

  26. 26.

    MomSense

    February 26, 2023 at 10:07 am

    We started the day at -1.  Fortunately there is snow cover over the garden.  I would very much like to be teleported into the middle of these photos.

    In a couple weeks I’m heading down to Florida to see my dad.  I’m really looking forward to walking at the botanical gardens and going on some nice hikes. My favorite place is probably Corkscrew Audubon Preserve.

  27. 27.

    oldgold

    February 26, 2023 at 10:15 am

    Like Vladimir and Estragon, sitting in the frozen tundra on the Outer Rim of the Hardy Twilight Zone, I wait for Spring and the delivery of my 500 pound order of Glechoma hederacea.

    As I wait, it occurs to me my conception of time as a steady, regular and unvaried march into the future has been wrong. The moments now seem to pass slowly, while the years speed by and the whole spins into a recursive loop.

    VLADIMIR: That passed the time.
    ESTRAGON: It would have passed in any case.
    VLADIMIR: Yes, but not so rapidly.
    ESTRAGON: All I know is that the hours are long… and constrain us to beguile them with proceedings which … may at first sight seem reasonable, until they become a habit.

  28. 28.

    Ten Bears

    February 26, 2023 at 10:38 am

    “Down in Salem!?” Dude, you are downstream from Salem …

  29. 29.

    currants

    February 26, 2023 at 11:21 am

    These are WONDERFUL!  And…are giving me new ideas about how to expand my garden…until there’s no grass left at all!

    Thanks so much, Anne Laurie and Mike in Oly!

  30. 30.

    Gvg

    February 26, 2023 at 11:43 am

    Well I got the lawn mower working yesterday and everyone should be awake by now…

  31. 31.

    Mike in Oly

    February 26, 2023 at 11:52 am

    Thank you everyone. Glad you enjoyed them. We got snow last night so a pop of color this morning is a welcome sight. I am already planning another trip to Schreiners this spring. Will try and get to some of the other gardens in the area as well. I haven’t managed to get to Mid-Amerca Iris Gardens since 2006! They have a beautiful garden around the house but not the extensive gardens Schreiners does. However their production and seedling fields are just as extensive and fun to explore.

  32. 32.

    StringOnAStick

    February 26, 2023 at 12:01 pm

    I need to go brush the new snow off the driveway.  My new music friend is coming over to work on some vocals with me this morning.

    After a few weeks of warmer weather that resulted in fruit trees getting ahead of themselves, as usual here, we had some single digit lows and it’s back to 20’s at night and below 40 for the days; luckily the only bulbs I saw coming up are the ancient tulips that don’t bloom anymore. The mini daffodils are better about waiting, even they are early bloomers.

  33. 33.

    TiredOfItAll

    February 26, 2023 at 3:46 pm

    Beautiful.  For anyone in this part of the country, there is a smallish (?) iris garden in Montclair, New Jersey.  I don’t know how to attach a link, but you can find it by googling Presby Iris Gardens. Opens in May, I think.

  34. 34.

    Mike in Oly

    February 27, 2023 at 12:45 am

    @TiredOfItAll: Presby  is an absolute classic in the iris world. It has been the crown jewel of the iris world since the 1920s. The AIS had their annual convention there in 2016 and it was just amazing. I had so much fun exploring it and meeting folks from all over the world. The pandemic quashed the 100th anniversary Convention that was planned there in 2020 and again in 2021. Presby is so worth a visit if you are in the area during bloom season.

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