Wordless Wednesday – A touch of class

Published on: by Croft Gardener Category:Bulbs, Wordless Wednesday 15 Comments
Iris histrioides ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’
Photograph © Chris Johnson

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15 thoughts on “Wordless Wednesday – A touch of class”

  1. Cathy
    February 4, 2016

    She seems to be an elegant lady whether wearing her iris or her snowdrop costume – does she have any more, I wonder?

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 5, 2016

      I’m sure she was far too refined to be common place.

      Reply
  2. thegardenimpressionists - Julian and Fiona Wormald
    February 4, 2016

    Lovely Iris, Christine. 2 questions for you. How do you keep slugs off them? Or have they all been blown into the sea? And secondly, do you know who LBS was, since we have a snowdrop named after her…?
    Best wishes
    Julian

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 5, 2016

      I can’t grow dwarf iris outside – they flower too early and get shredded by the wind. They mainly grow in pots and are taken into the greenhouse as soon as I see the flower buds appear. After feeding they are put in a sheltered spot, and when the foliage dies down they are repotted and baked in the sun (in a cold frame) and then put in a sheltered spot in the autumn to be watered by the rain. Lady BS is one of the fortunate ones and grows in our lean-too garden, about which I will write about soon.
      There is a nice post on Lady BS (http://frustratedgardener.com/2015/03/07/portrait-of-a-lady-iris-histrioides-lady-beatrix-stanley/). One of the lost tribe of great English lady gardeners, part of a distant age when the Empire ruled!

      Reply
  3. Marcus Harvey
    February 4, 2016

    Such a beautiful lady! And not, it would seem, a pampered hot house flower. Down here in Australia she and her kin are in their gray, lumpy period.
    Cheers, Marcus

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 5, 2016

      Like her name sake, this one is extremely hardy. She is only grown under-cover to protect the flowers from the winter storms. Always a delight and no trouble at all – although the leaves are very attractive to aphids, but this seems to be a problem with so many iris.

      Reply
  4. Amy
    February 5, 2016

    What a beautiful shade of blue! I keep wandering around the garden of a morning, hoping my reticulatas have decided they can grow in the desert (and bloom). If so, I might need to extend the iris collection 😉 Your LBS is just lovely!

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 8, 2016

      Hello, sorry I’ve just found you imprisoned in the spam. We obviously both garden at the extremes, but it is interesting to see what you can grow in difficult conditions. Many of the iris grow in fairly harsh conditions in Iran and Turkey and you’d probably have no trouble giving them a hot dry summer. So I wish you well and hope to see some more of your flowering bulbs.

      Reply
      • Amy
        February 10, 2016

        Thanks so much for rescuing my comment; I disappear much too often on WP blogs these days, and usually without much chance of reemerging!
        I do find myself encouraged by watching other gardeners dealing with other extreme climates and certainly hope to see more of your garden!

        Reply
        • croftgarden
          February 11, 2016

          Your are very welcome and please feel free to join in the chat.

          Reply
  5. Chloris
    February 6, 2016

    I do so love all these little jewel like irises. A lovely photo.

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 7, 2016

      Me too, the delicate tracety of the patterns on the fall paetals is exquisite. Accolades for the photo go yo Himself

      Reply
  6. Liz Morton
    February 6, 2016

    wonderful photo

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      February 7, 2016

      Credit for the photograph to Himself. His version was far superior to mine which is rather more soft focus!

      Reply

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