A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts

A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts

The diversity of bearded irises rivals that of any other perennial grown in temperate climates. For some gardeners, they bring back warm memories of a grandparent's garden; for others, they're a cutting-edge plant with a seemingly endless capacity for producing new forms and patterns. As the manager of Rainbow Iris Farm and co-editor of the Bulletin of the American Iris Society, Kelly Norris is the authority on gardening with bearded irises. His introductory chapters offer tips for successful growth, garden design, plant selection, and "creating" new irises. A Guide to Bearded Irises also provides portraits of the most outstanding plants in each of the six recognized categories, from the dainty miniature dwarf bearded irises to the stately tall bearded irises. A resource section lists specialty nurseries, organizations devoted to bearded irises, and public gardens with notable iris collections. “Norris is a charming guide. It’s difficult not to be seduced by his enthusiasm and tantalizing descriptions of the colors, textures, ruffles, and patterns of the iris species.” — Publishers Weekly “A green thumbs up, especially as this is a fresh, timely, and appealing presentation of the topic.” — Library Journal “A handsome book.” — Country Gardens “Comprehensive and up-to-date, all the while brimming with an enthusiasm that is exhilarating, inspiring.” — American Gardener “[Norris] is an enthusiastic young American who writes in a readable style with his passion for irises coming across on each page.” — The Garden “Norris will offer fresh inspiration, as well as growing tips and descriptions of recommended cultivars.” — NJ.com “It’s a rainbow of a book, with deliciously coloured section pages and graphics that mark it out as having a modern approach to this potentially old-fashioned flower.” — The Independent In  A Guide to Bearded Irises  you'll learn where bearded irises come from - how to use them in your garden - how the newest varieties are created - what the best varieties are in each of the six main classifications - how to deal with pests and diseases Above all, you'll learn just how versatile, exciting, and rewarding bearded irises can be. If you'r not an iris lover already,  A Guide to Bearded Irises  is sure to win you over!  Kelly D. Norris is a 25-year-old horticulturist, plant breeder, and plantsman from Iowa. He is the award-winning author of three books including the Iowa Gardener's Travel Guide , the first travel guide to Iowa's public gardens and nurseries, an as-yet-unpublished work about the lives of passionate gardeners and Cultivating the Rainbow: A Guide to Bearded Irises for Beginners and Enthusiasts due out May 2012 from Timber Press. As a speaker he has garnered national acclaim for his high-energy, zealous presentations, leading many to name him as one of the rising stars of American horticulture. He currently manages Rainbow Iris Farm (rainbowfarms.net), a seven-acre nursery owned by his family, edits Irises: The Bulletin of the American Iris Society , and serves in several leadership capacities throughout the horticulture industry. Kelly is the youngest person to receive the Iowa State Horticultural Society's Presidential Citation, Award of Merit and Honor Award in the organization's 150 year history, awards that exemplify service and contributions to horticulture in Iowa. In 2011, he was also honored by the Perennial Plant Association with the Young Professional Award, recognizing early contributions to the advancement of herbaceous perennials in American horticulture. Kelly's unique 10 years of experience in the industry began at age 14 when he talked his parents into buying a nursery. In that time he's become one of the few go-to experts on marketing horticulture to Gen Xs and Ys. His love for exploration has taken him to southern and central Texas, the Ozarks, the Black Hills, and all over the Midwest in search of new plants for gardens. Kelly holds a bachelor's and master's degree in horticulture from Iowa State University. In his M.S. program he studied Dirca , a genus of rare shrubs commonly known as leatherwoods. You may also be interested in the author's own Web site, KellyDNorris.com. Preface I love irises—all kinds, really. But I’m head-over-heels crazy for bearded irises. I guess it all started in 1999 at the kitchen table of Cal Reuter, a well-known irisarian from Wisner, Nebraska. Irisarian—that’s the proper terminology for someone crazier about irises than a normal person would think healthy. I’m one, and I’d venture a guess that if you aren’t one already, you will be, by book’s end. I was all of 12 the summer I sat at Cal’s kitchen table, poring through his small-type catalog in search of what I didn’t know would become an all-consuming passion. I walked away with ten cultivars that day, vowing to keep track of their names as a promise to Cal. He dug them from his expansive front-yard “field,” marked them, and sent them home with me in a box that go