Iris germanica Anything Goes - Bearded Iris

The 'Anything Goes' Germanica Iris is a very beautiful variety of Garden Iris, with its large frilly flowers displaying a lovely gradient of strawberry pink: the frilled petals of a pale pink surmount sepals of a deeper, more violet hue, veined with white. A bright orange, shiny beard nestled at the base of each sepal accentuates the flower's personality. The vigorous plant exhibits lush growth and bears numerous flower buds. It is a mid-season variety, to be admired in May-June in sunny beds and rockeries. Its flower-laden stems are also stunning in a vase.

'Anything Goes' Iris is a perennial rhizomatous plant that develops in elegantly upright clumps from spring, with its foliage disappearing in winter. It belongs to the Iris family. It is one of the many cultivars obtained over centuries, with its controversial origin debated around the number of chromosomes of its potential ancestors. It is worth noting that Garden Irises have European origins. They are plants that thrive in calcareous soils and crave sunlight, with their rhizomes needing to "cook" in summer in order to bloom. A minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day is generally required.

'Anything Goes' will reach a height of 90cm (35in) when in bloom, with its branched floral stem bearing at least 8 flower buds. The clump will spread indefinitely over time, with the central rhizomes becoming bare as the outer rhizomes prosper. The foliage consists of long, wide, sword-shaped leaves of a slightly glaucous green, traversed by parallel veins. In April, floral stems appear, giving way to large flowers in May-June, blossoming from the top down to the lower branches. The strawberry crush colour of this plant is, as always with Garden Irises, magnified by the crimped and iridescent texture of the upright petals and the trailing sepals.

Obtained by Ben Hager (USA), 1995.

Instead of planting all your irises in a homogeneous bed, place them in small groups amidst other perennials to extend the flowering period of your beds. When accompanying irises, choose plants to associate with them based on their needs (exposure, soil...), their "respectful" growth towards irises (low-growing or light-foliaged plants), and their decorative complementarity (appearance, flowering time). For example, Gaura will cast little shade on the irises and will keep the faded iris bed attractive throughout summer. Botanical tulips, early-flowering or fleur-de-lis varieties, as well as Eschscholzia, will be content with a dry soil in summer, just like the iris. Geraniums and low-maintenance autumn asters (laevis, turbinellus) also go well with irises. Slopes and terraced edges can be stabilized by dense plantings of old diploid varieties that can remain in place and require little care. If the goal is more decorative and access for maintenance is possible, one can choose more modern varieties, such as intermediates, which are less likely to be literally flattened by wind and rain than larger ones.

At the base of a wall, the relative shelter from the wind allows for the use of tall irises. Of course, shorter and early-blooming varieties can be planted in the foreground.

Border of a pathway: the realm of dwarf irises under 40cm (16in), up to intermediates (in size and earliness) and border irises, of medium size but flowering alongside the tall ones.

Border of a bed: the domain of border irises, but also dwarfs, depending on the circumstances.

Mixed border: the entire range of sizes can be used, chosen according to the available space (foreground, background) and the size of the surrounding plants.

Iris bed, the iris garden: the paradise of the iris enthusiast, where the choice of varieties (shape, colour, fragrance...) reflects each person's taste. The use of the full range of bearded irises allows for two and a half months of flowering in spring. The choice of so-called re-blooming irises offers a few additional flowers in late summer or autumn, depending on the climate.

The vegetable garden can be embellished with a few clumps or borders of irises, as it is also the classic location for the family cultivation of cut flowers.