Seeing a friend’s garden for the first time is always so much fun!  I had this opportunity a few days ago and was not disappointed.  I love to see the creative hand and eye of others at play in the garden.  I always find something inspiring and this time if was the stunning bearded irises, a.k.a. iris germanica.

My friend’s garden is well established, well executed and “with the times”.  It combines beautiful conifers with classic perennials and edibles.  But the ‘show stoppers’ for me were the irises.

I started out with this one as my favorite as I really like citrus-y, hot colors in the garden.

But then I noticed the intriguing combination of textures and color where this lovely iris was located.

And right around the other side was another marvelous combination of texture and color.

I continued to walk along and noted the beautiful oranges splashes on this lovely variety, planted in front of a stunning brilliant green backdrop.

And look at these zesty oranges splashes, dressing up this white selection.

Right about now, the loveliness of this garden was starting to breed some garden envy and as I vowed to introduce more bearded iris into my garden I noticed this serious plum and happy violet combination.

At this point I decided that I had to pick a favorite and this sublime, velvety, royal purple iris came into full view.

But as I continue to soak up the i-candy, (get it eye-candy ≈ iris-candy!) I strolled over to the end of the garden and saw this amazing combination of two of my favorite colors.  Aha! I think I’ve got my favorite.

But there was more…a delicious bunch of blue…and if you don’t already know…I”m partial to blue flowers…Absolutely Fantastico!

How about you? If you are a fan of bearded irises which selection above is your favorite?  Are you partial to a certain color of flowers like I am?

If you would like to know the varietal name of any of the above let me know…Also, many thanks to Sandi for sharing her beautiful garden!

Additional Iris Fodder:

If you have not tried iris germanica before give it some serious consideration.  They are well-suited for zones 3-10 and come in so many fun colors.  They are easy to grow, easy to care for and reliably fast growing. Tough, resilient, and drought-tolerant are a few more traits.  About the most difficult thing you’ll ever have to do is divide them every few years and hey, this gives you an opportunity to share some garden goodness with friends.