Bearded Irises in the month of May are the keynote speakers in my garden - that sticky perfume and the intensity of colour of their flowers.  No other genus has flowers so blue, so brown or so black; in these colours Bearded Irises rule supreme.

A solitary Bearded Iris makes a sad sight; plant them in cohorts; there is great beauty in the repeated rhythm of their upright stems.

Bearded Irises must enjoy full sun and sharp drainage. They disdain the miseries of shade and clay.  Interplant Bearded Irises with plants with scanty foliage: alpine pinks, late flowering alliums....  There are Bearded Irises to suit all tastes – from the classic and understated Iris Jane Philips to the strutting Val de Loire – all ruffled and laced.