Naturally Healthy Rhizomes
My iris farm is located in the Cimarron National Grasslands in southwest Kansas.
Our 40 acres of gently rolling sand hills provides a perfect environment for growing hardy irises; hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters naturally weed out weak cultivars!
I use drip irrigation and natural, organic fertilizer (from AgroThrive) to ensure you receive only healthy, vigorous rhizomes. I also use natural pest controls (beneficial nematodes) to control iris borers.
You Can Be An Active Participant
I’m asking for your help in making this a comprehensive online reference site for iris fragrances. Here’s how;
First, tell us your fragrant iris story. Almost everyone has one. Maybe you remember walking through your grandmother’s garden enjoying all the beautiful colors and fragrances. Or, did you grow up with a clump of wonderfully fragrant irises growing outside your bedroom window, like Melody Masi? (You can read her story of ‘Song Of Gold’ here.)
I invite you to add your own fragrant iris story to our collection.
Second, add your own personal impression of the fragrance of iris cultivars you currently grow.
Everyone experiences fragrance differently. And few people will describe the fragrance of a given flower exactly the same. Your descriptions may help others identify a long-lost favorite of theirs.
How I’m Building a Fragrance Library
Each bloom season I’ll be collecting, labeling and preserving flowers from all the cultivars I grow.
Throughout the year I’ll use these as I attempt to provide accurate, detailed descriptions of the unique fragrance of each cultivar.
But these are my own perceptions. You can add value to this site for others by adding your descriptions too. And thank you for doing that!
Stay In The Know
I harvest my iris fields on a three-year rotation. Consequently, not every cultivar I grow will be available every year.
I will update my current available inventory each year and strive to have my website open for new orders by March 1st of each year.
You can sign up here to be notified of any important cultivar updates and Fragrant Iris Announcements
An Important Note About My Iris Images
I’m still in the process of collecting my own photos for use on this website.
As such, I want to acknowledge and thank the following people for generously allowing me to ‘borrow’ some of their photos this year
Our Blog
About
Fragrant Iris
FragrantIris.com was born out of my personal frustration with ordering irises that were advertised as “fragrant”, then, after growing them for two years, finding that at least nine out of ten had virtually no discernable fragrance!
I will be growing hundreds of iris varieties, each officially catalogued as having “pronounced fragrance”. I will cull any iris that does not actually prove to have a robust fragrance.
How These Flowers are Cultivated
Follow my journey from the very beginning to learn just how intensive the process is to grow a truly Fragrant Iris!
I will post photographs and detailed descriptions on this blog of the aroma of those varieties that pass the “fragrance test”.
Sign up below to see the process and results
