Iris is a beautiful perennial flower. It belongs to the Kasatikov family and has 800 species. These elegant airy flowers with sharp leaves have an unusual shape and a wide range of a wide variety of colors. They are great for landscape design.

The most beautiful types of irises

Irises are distinguished by a variety of species, among which many hybrids of different sizes, shapes and colors are bred. They can be divided into two types in the botanical plan - rhizomatous and bulbous.

Did you know? In Japan, the hieroglyph "iris" also means "the spirit of a warrior." This flower for residents of the land of the rising sun is a symbol of dignity and success.

In rhizomes, such subspecies are distinguished:

1. Bearded. This is the most popular group of garden irises, numbering a large number of varieties.
2. Not bearded or beardless. It includes Japanese, Siberian, Louisiana, marsh irises, spuria and some other varieties.

Each variety in its own way is good and has its own characteristics.

Did you know? TOthe elegant iris flower was present at the paintings of world famous artists such as Van Gogh and Claude Monet. One of the medieval royal emblems of France is stylized with yellow irises.

Consider the most popular types that are used to design flower beds and garden plots:

1. Bearded. They can be tall, standard, stunted and dwarf depending on height. Bearded irises have a large range in color - from pale white to dark, almost black colors. Bearded killer whales not only bright scarlet. Petals come in different densities - dense, with a wax texture, as well as light, almost translucent. The selection includes a variety of forms - from the usual standard to the original with wavy, foam, corrugated and patterned petals.
2. Dutch. Usually reach a height of up to 0.5 m. This is a bulbous version of this plant crop obtained by hybridization of xyphi. The color of the buds is often white, blue, blue, yellow-orange. Near the mother plant, baby bulbs are formed, which are planted on the prepared site. They give their color mainly in spring. There is also a variety of purple irises that bloom from mid-May to June. This species is quite frost-resistant, but prefers to grow in well-lit areas with nutrient soil. Earth must have a neutral reaction. It looks great in bouquets of flower arrangements, as well as on flower beds.
3. Reticulated (iridodictiums). This type includes mainly dwarf plant crops. On average, the height of these flowers reaches 12-15 cm. They can be grown along the borders or decorated at the edges of the flower bed. It is worth noting that after the buds bloom, the foliage can grow up to 0.5 m. Flowering begins in early spring along with primroses.

How irises are used in landscape design

Creating a beautiful design of a site or flowerbed with the help of flowers requires taking into account various nuances.

Designers advise using irises in landscape design, using the following recommendations:

1. Undersized Varieties up to 0.3 m high look good near stones when decorating alpine hills or rockeries. This species will look good next to a mountain pine or creeping phlox.
2. Medium along the length of the plant 0.4-0.7 m is used to design flower beds.
3. Tall specimens (length over 0.7 m) are planted near buildings, along fences and along the edges of artificial reservoirs. They are also used for distant compositions.

In the garden, irises can be planted near evergreen shrubs (juniper, arborvitae), as well as near other ornamental bushes (barberry, forsythia, derain or spirea). Near them, some grassy perennials that have the same requirements for soil and light look good.

Important! The root system of killer whales is close to the surface of the soil, therefore, planting nearby perennials that grow greatly, is not worth it. They will inhibit the growth and development of irises, as well as obscure them.

Near moisture sources (ponds, streams, lakes) it is better to plant Siberian marsh iris. This species tolerates waterlogging well. Mesh early varieties can be planted with primroses (snowdrops, crocuses). They will make a beautiful spring composition.

What irises are combined on the flowerbed

Iris is often used to decorate flower beds. It is well combined with lupins or dolphiniums, phloxes, incense, hosts, lilies, poppies and edelweiss. These plant crops do not harm each other, since their root system is located in the soil at different levels.

Important! When planting with phlox, note that they are often affected by rust. And this fungal disease can spread to irises. Therefore, if these cultures are adjacent, then it will not be superfluous to carry out preventive treatments for fungal diseases with the help of chemical preparations.

The listed plants should be placed in the center of the flower garden. Lower-growing crops — violets, marigolds or forget-me-nots — are planting along the edges. Due to abundant foliage, the delphinium is best grown at a distance from irises.

Emeralds can be planted with tulips. These flowers bloom in spring at about the same time. But it is worth noting that tulips are bulbous plants and their root system is on a par with irises.

Therefore, when arranging flower beds from these crops, the necessary distances between them should be maintained and space should be left for further growth. When choosing a color scheme, it should be noted that it is not worthwhile to plant buds with one color scheme nearby. They will merge. Better to choose contrasts.

How to plant irises beautifully

Casatics of different mono colors look very nice. They are seated in groups, and the empty spaces between them are filled with fine gravel for ease of care. Between plants leave the necessary gaps for further growth.

Experts do not advise planting these flowers in a row, but adhere to asymmetries, leaving the borders fuzzy. Even along the tracks choose a chess landing pattern. You can decorate a flower arrangement of irises with a moderate amount of decorative cereals.

Another design decision will be the landing of the killer whale in special modules. Usually, rectangular, square or round shapes of structures are chosen for this purpose. They are framed with borders or tile for tracks.

It’s good to use both stones and ceramics for the decor of plantings (jugs, pots, sculptures), different forged products (fence, bridge, benches). Against the background of a light decor, it is better to choose flowers of dark blue or saturated blue color for contrast. But white, cream or light pink buds are suitable for dark stone compositions.

Flower beds of irises with roses, peonies, daylilies

A great option would be to plant rose bushes with these amazing flowers. In this case, the greenery of the irises will cover the bare stems of the queen of the garden. Successfully alternate next to the bushes of white peonies and irises of bright colors.

Instead of peonies, daylily plants can be used. Daylilies and lilies bloom later than killer whales, which means the flowerbed will look blooming longer. In addition, they do not give a lot of shadow, which is a good sign of a neighbor for photophilous irises.

The root systems of these flowering crops occupy different levels and do not interfere with each other. In the above compositions, you should choose different solid colors of these colors to get the most beautiful combination.

Is it possible to plant irises of different varieties together

Of course, irises can be planted together. Only from these flowers alone you can create a beautiful and spectacular flowerbed.

But here it is worth considering the following points:

1. Pale buds when planting with specimens having a bright color will be lost.
2. Planting two-tone varieties of different colors too hurts the eye with its variegation. Therefore, variegated varieties should be planted with specimens of plain colors.
3. The dark colors of the buds do not harmonize with other dark species.

You can plant a flower bed only from irises, but choose different plain colors. It will be a very colorful composition. When planting different varieties of killer whale in the foreground, it is better to plant dwarf varieties with an interval of 12-15 cm. Then place medium-sized varieties, and in the center - tall specimens at the rate of 4 pieces per 1 m².

It’s good to pick varieties for flower beds of different flowering periods, when some bloom, while others give buds. In this case, the flower bed will delight with its flowering longer.

Did you know? In ancient times, killer whales were referred to as aphrodisiacs. They were eaten in powder form, believing that this would increase attraction to the opposite sex.

Iris border

Dwarf varieties of this plant culture are perfect as a low border along the tracks. They are often planted for such a purpose among large stones. Along the tracks you can also plant medium-sized purple whales.

Unfortunately, these beautiful flowers do not bloom for a long time, so landscape designers recommend not using the iris border, but using mixborders, that is, use irises with other plant crops that have a different or longer flowering period. For this purpose, you can also use evergreen bushes of juniper or thuja.

Important! When planting an iris, one should not forget that it is demanding on lighting and does not tolerate a deep shadow.

Irises are rather unpretentious in leaving, so it will not be difficult to make a beautiful flowerbed, garden or border with them. The main thing is to choose a place with good lighting, not to plant them next to plants that will oppress them, and to observe the compatibility of colors.