These folks take full advantage of the fact that Mother’s Day falls in the middle of iris season. There were plenty of places to picnic, free bouquets for moms and even a harpist.
A few artists had set up their easels. You had to be a bit of an exhibitionist because there was no shortage of onlookers.
The iris beds are set out in rows, filling a large area with wide grass paths between.
They are meant to show off the iris in combination with companion plants. I quite liked the tall purple lupine with the yellow iris.
An iris/peony combo can be effective, but I didn’t think these colors worked very well together.
It kept the borders from being completely integrated, but placing the irises on the outsides of the rows and clearly labeling them made it easy to choose favorites.
I was on the lookout for ‘Before the Storm’, a nearly black iris, after admiring it on a blog (I’ll come back later and link to it). It was available on line, but I couldn’t find it in the gardens. There were plenty of other dark beauties though.
The mixed plantings surrounding the display garden created some lovely spots to picnic.
Occasionally, a planting would leave out iris altogether, like this one with Eremurus surrounding a huge blue pot.
I tend to go for the dusky colors. I can’t quite read the whole label on this one, but at $45 it’s a little rich for my blood anyway.
I’ll settle for ‘Touch of Mahogany’ for a mere $9.
Maybe I’ll even spring for the $16 ‘Some Like It Hot’ when I put in my order for ‘Before The Storm’.
Talk about impressive: this photo shows only a portion of the hall filled with labeled cut specimens of all the iris available here.
There was a big table of potted up iris for sale. Knowing of my quest, R bought me a dark one and I added a delicate Siberian. I have misplaced the labels, so I can’t be more exact until they turn up. There’s my free Mother’s Day bouquet, which doesn’t look like much in this photo, but each of those buds turned into a beautiful blossom and I am still enjoying it over a week later.
The subtle markings on this were what spoke to me.
They threw in a free catalog and I went for some special fertilizer. Next year should be a good iris year. This was a fun outing, especially taking the back roads south of Portland. If a road trip is not in the cards, you can check Schreiner’s online. How about you? Are you smitten with iris? What else takes your breath away in this pulchritudinous month of May?
I’ve been thinking about this place after Seeing Scott’s last post. Should beautiful Iris. The Iris you gave me a few years ago is blooming , I ‘ll post a pic on FB ,so you can ( hopefully) Id it.
Beautiful day at the iris garden and you made some great choices. Well ‘Hello Darkness’! Dark iris have really caught on and I like the idea having planted one in my hot Texas garden to make up for not being able to grow tulips.
I’ve been leaning toward adding more iris to my garden after seeing how well they did this year. Stunning new colors and all the iris postings from PNW gardeners has gotten me over the old fashioned part too.
Looks like a great event. For some reason the setting reminds me of my great-grandma’s farm in Indiana. It looks like a very wholesome, down-home place. And how can you beat displays of beautiful Irises?!
How much fun would it be to go Schreiner’s in person! I didn’t realize it was in your neck of the woods. Do you pick your iris and then someone digs it up for you, or are they all potted? Around here there are daylily farms where you point to what you want and someone digs it for you.
I’ve never been to Schreiner’s but I can see now that I need to make the journey…
This word-nerd thanks you for sending her to her dictionary. (Online version of course.)
What a fun outing. I too have never been to Schreiner’s. Honestly distracted person that I tend to be, I was more taken by that red-blooming Aesculus (Horse chestnut) tree. I wish I had a large garden so I could have one of my very own. The flowers are so gorgeous and I love the foliage. Alas, I must enjoy it from afar…
Great post!
Linda~I have no name for that iris, can’t even remember how it came to me. You could always search for a match on the Schreiner’s site. I just call it mahogany.
Shirley~I’m surprised (but delighted) that they can do well for both of us. Yes, the “old fashioned” label sticks, but there are some stunning new varieties and knock-out uses.
Beth~It did have a very down-homey feel, especially with all the families celebrating Mother’s Day.
Sarah~There were some potted up, which we bought on the spot. Others could be ordered for delivery later (July/August) but I just took notes and will order online. The point and dig sounds like a lot of fun.
Loree~I happen to know that you have been in the neighborhood lately.
Grace~I was wowed by those chestnut trees too. This place must be pretty close to where you live, no? There’s still time. I’m trying to imagine a word I came up with that you had to look up.
I love irises. I drove by Schreiner’s fields along I-5 last Monday when I was driving home from Corvallis. They were so colorful! I really should add more iris to my garden. They are invaluable for big spring color that the deer won’t eat!
Evan~Ah yes, the deer: so beautiful, so voracious.
I love seeing iris in gardens this time of year and fall totally in love with every one I see, especially the German bearded ones. Thanks for sharing these beauties! I used to get Schreiner’s catalog and am glad that the floral porn is also available online.
Peter~There’s a pretty overwhelming range of choices out there.