The Iris Garden was established in 1992, by two avid iris growers who, despairing of finding "modern" iris cultivars in the UK, decided to offer for sale their excess stock. 16 years has made a lot of difference, and we have come a long way from photocopied plant lists and amateur show exhibits to the full colour catalogue and website now available, and our award winning stands at county shows. In the early years of our existence, we strived to make the British horticultural buying public aware that  there were alternative TB's available to JANE PHILIPS, SABLE and CLIFFS OF DOVER, but not content with improving the range of TB's available, we later branched out, offering the latest developments in iris, not only in colour combinations, but also in shape and form.
 
In 1994 we introduced Space Agers, 1996 saw the debut of Kasperek’s random striped iris, and subsequent catalogues offered new varieties of MDBs, SDBs, IBs, BBs, MTBs, TBs, Spurias and JIs.
With each issue of the catalogue, we have tried to bring you something new, and we are pleased to say that this edition is no exception, as not only do we have one world exclusive introduction for you, but we are also offering a flat TB, as well as our updated listings of SDB, IB, BB, MTB, TB and Siberian and Spuria cultivars. 

Relocation away from London has been a breath of fresh air - literally. Although we are predominantly a mail order business, words on a page or a photo on a website cannot compare with seeing an iris in bloom, hence our need for a show garden. Visitors are now welcome, and if you want to visit during bloom time, please do contact us beforehand to make sure that not only is there is something to see, but that you have the directions to get here and that there will be someone here to greet you - and to take your order! 

One of the questions we are most frequently asked is why we delete some varieties with each new catalogue and website update. When the business was started in 1992, there were few “modern” varieties available to the UK buying public, and our self-imposed remit was to remedy this situation. The fact that the likes of THORNBIRD, CRANAPPLE and BEFORE THE STORM which, (together with many others) were first offered in the UK by The Iris Garden are now also available from other sources, shows that there is a continuous demand for new varieties, and something has to give to make room for them when we prepare a new catalogue. The two other main reasons for deletion are that some varieties are superseded (RETURN TO BAYBERRY finally allowing us to retire BAYBERRY CANDLE) and that with reduction in sales, some varieties have just reached the end of their shelf life. That does not necessarily mean that we no longer grow them, so if you still want some of the varieties that are no longer listed, please enquire with us, as they are probably still available. Equally, if you are looking for an iris that we have never listed, let us know, for, with our international contacts, we are currently fulfilling over 95% of these requests.

The most exciting event of 2007 (apart from my breaking my ankle, which put me out of action for the entire iris season,) was that in August The Iris Garden became the holder of the Bearded Space Age Iris Collection for the NCCPG. Since then the entire collection of over 250 varieties has been replanted into dedicated beds, and with over 50 more cultivars due later this year, if you are interested in Space Agers, then this is the place to see them.

We hope to see you somewhere, sometime in the coming months, but if not, happy, and successful irising!

Clive Russell                                                Spring 2008