Stinking Iris foetidissima

Part of my dissertation involved immersing myself in the history of plants that have been adopted as crops outside their country of origin – novel crops, as I referred to them. It’s a long history, with recorded attempts to move plants from one place to another going back as far as the ancient Egyptians. Even before that, probably for as long as we’ve been human, we have been moving plants around, whether by accident or design.

A strong, comfortable and reliable pair of wellington boots is essential for every gardener, whatever the time of year. Whether you’re looking for the best wellies for walking, digging or weeding, we’ve tried and tested a range of styles to bring you clear advice on the best wellington boots for you.

Wild Flag Iris are easy to grow. The flowers are bright yellow, blue or purple. The seed heads show bright red seeds and are quite decorative.

Winter can start in December and continue through March (we even worry about snow in May up north) but do not let that put you off flowering plants.

Dutch Iris or Iris reticulata are small bulbs for pots or rockeries. Flag Iris are big and blousy and grow from Rhizomes. These pictures of different Iris are grown from bulbs.

This is labelled as Iris Cyclogossa, but, I believe it is actually Iris Aucheri. – a dwarf form of the Juno Iris. See: Growing Iris Aucheri

Repeated below is our post from 2009 when I first reported on the water loving skunk cabbage. In 2021 the RHS have decided that the proliferation of this plant is endangering native species and they should not be grown in the UK. The RHS say ‘after flowering  seed heads should be cut off and burnt’ this should help the spread of the rouge amongst our aquatic plants in areas such as the Wye Valley and Lake District.

The bearded iris (Iris germanica), is one of the most popular irises to grow. Bearing sword-like foliage and flamboyant blooms from May to June, it makes a striking addition to hot sunny borders. Each bloom is made up of large outer and inner petals, known as ruffs and falls, respectively. Bearded iris are so called because of the hairs growing along the centre of the falls.

Blue and Yellow Flowers offer a soothing combination and also match really well with the other plants in the garden. We have the best ones for you!

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is a popular celebration in the United States, due to the number of Americans, 10.5%, with Irish heritage. One million Irish emigrated to North America, Australia, or other parts of Great Britain in the mid-1800s because of the potato disease now known as late blight. Late blight, caused by the water mold, Phytophthora infestans, destroyed the Irish potato crops in 1845 through 1849 and caused the Irish Potato Famine. Another one million people died from hunger or disease.

Bearded irises (Iris germanica) are some of the easiest and most beautiful perennials to include in your landscape. The name of this genus comes from Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, because the flowers range in a wide variety of colors.

Dwarf Crested Iris, Iris cristata, is a beautiful native iris that grows in the woods all over the Piedmont. The eight-inch, sword-shaped leaves arch towards the outside of the spreading clump. Small blue flowers with yellow and white signals occur for a few weeks in April, and the leaves die back to the rhizomes in the winter.