Iris unguicularis “Walter Butt”

Iris unguicularis grows wild in Greece, the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. In these areas they love hot, dry conditions and poor, stony soil. Not necessarily an ideal candidate for British gardens. Would it be worth the effort I thought?

Eventually I decided I’d give it a try so I bought a plant in 1986 and planted it in a dry, south facing border in front of the conservatory. There it sat for a number of years doing absolutely nothing. There was untidy, grassy, evergreen foliage but not a flower in sight. Then, in 1994, a single flower appeared and the plant has thrived since then. The flowers come in ones and twos and are as fragile as they appear. They are very susceptible to damage from frost, rain, wind and slugs. A period of mild weather really sees them at their best. So why bother?

As you can see from this picture this flower is a real gem. For me it flowers from January to March and although each flower is short lived it blooms over a longish period. In some gardens it flowers from October. Each flower is exotic and quite beautiful especially in the grim days of January and February.

There are a number of varieties from various shades of purple and blue to white. Iris “Walter Butt” has particularly large pale lavender flowers with a yellow stripe at the base of each petal. They also have a wonderful fragrance but this isn’t apparent unless you bring them into the house – or bravely kneel down on the cold, wet ground which I don’t recommend. I have one flower sitting in a vase on my desk as I type this post and the scent is lovely. Well worth the wait. Please give it a try if you have a sheltered space.