Growing to love iris: Choose your favorite colors and styles to plant this summer or fall - Garden: Outdoor Living

Sunset, May, 2002 by Jim McCausland

Maryott's Iris Gardens. (877) 937-4747, (831) 722-1810, or www.irisgarden.com. Free plant list.

COLORADO Long's Gardens. Open for bloom 9 to 5 daily, May through June. 3240 Broadway, Boulder; (303) 442-2353 or www.longsgardens.com. Catalog online.

OREGON Cooley's Gardens. Open 8 to 7 daily (peak bloom May 19 to June 3). 11553 Silverton Rd. NE, Silverton; www.cooleysgardens.com or (503) 873-5463. Catalog $5.

Schreiner's Gardens. Open dawn to dusk daily during bloom (peak bloom late May). 3625 Quinaby Rd. NE, Salem; www.schreinersgardens.com or (503) 393-3232. Print catalog $5; online catalog free.

UTAH Zebra Gardens. Peak bloom in late May. 9130 North 5200 West, Elwood, UT 84337; (435) 257-0736. Catalog $3.

WASHINGTON Iris Test Garden. This 7-acre farm, 50 miles south of Spokane, is open May through June. 1102 Endicott-St. John Rd., St. John; (509) 648-3873 or www.iristg.com.

FLASHY FOLIAGE

An iris of a different stripe

In ancient times, the Romans used so-called orrisroot, derived from the rhizomes of certain irises, to flavor wine and for incense. In more recent times, orrisroot has been used in perfume and powder; some people even chew pieces of it as a breath freshener. The root comes from a plant we call Iris pallida. In modern gardens, this iris is valued for it variegated leaves, which brighten dull borders, as well as for its fragrant purple flowers. The most common form is often sold as 'Zebra' (creamy stripes); other forms include 'Argentea Variegata (silvery white stripes) and 'Aurea Variegata' (golden yellow stripes; shown).