RAINBOW ROMANCE

Catch irises in their glory, and find inspiration in peonies

People beef about irises the way they beef about magnolias and roses. They don’t bloom long enough.

This is true, but it is part of their rare charm. You must put down your phone and your tallboy and get out and see and smell them while they last. The same advice goes for peonies.

That is why a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens’ Laking Garden is a must. Soon.

Withering weather is pushing all the beauties of spring to bloom fast and furious.

The collection is laid out in grids with names tucked in amongst the foliage. That is why you know the iris with the pink ruffles and white ground is named Crinoline. The Historic Iris Preservation Society says it has a “refreshing personality.”

Crinoline is a tall bearded iris. The RBG collection contains about 600 types but there are also beardless irises, which I prefer.

A mainstay of the beardless type is the Siberian iris: tall, slender and with a less complicated profile than the ones with beards.

I have a few Siberians, but just a few, because the conditions are not right for them in my garden. It’s too dry.

I used to have quite a few tall bearded ones, but over time they have faded away.

The blame is mine. Though irises are pretty easy to grow if a lot of sun is available, they do need to be dug up and divided every three to five years. This is called renovation, a word most people are allergic to.

My irises are also getting crowded by other creeping perennials, and sometimes weeds. They resist this and sulk and shrink. Irises like a room of their own, just like Virginia Woolf, with their rugged rhizomes free to bask in the sun.

This iris neglect forces people like me to view them in extravagant displays like the RBG collection, where they bloom like the subject of a Monet painting.

Peonies are supermodel beautiful and easier to tend than irises. They need sun, and prefer nutritious soil that retains some moisture. If they are happy, you will never have to move or divide them.

I’m not sure there is a flower more beautiful than the tree peony. Groups of them are the first peonies you will see at the Laking garden. Tree peonies have woody stems that stay above ground all year; garden or herbaceous peonies are like many perennials: their stems and foliage die back to the ground in winter.

But both types are gorgeous, with frills and fragrance, and luminous colours. Peony varieties with strong stems that can stand up to rain are worth seeking out.

The website of the Canadian Peony Society (peony.ca) has excellent information on the care and selection of peonies plus a list of open gardens, including one in Brantford, that will be in top form over the next few weeks depending on the weather.

At the RBG there are still many blooms to open on irises and peonies, but if we get many days of hot weather, the show will be like a meteor shower.

So get out and enjoy the pale beauty of the Adrienne Clarkson peony or the bold red of the Defender. It’s like a rainbow romance that’s as fleeting as a shooting star.

KATHY RENWALD PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR Siberian irises stand tall at the RBG Laking Garden.

This peony, called Defender, is a herbaceous type that likes full sun and rich soil.

The tree peony called Hana-asobi was a favourite of bees collecting pollen at the RBG.

This tall bearded iris called Crinoline has a “refreshing personality,” experts say.

A tall bearded iris in designer blues.

Peonies make gorgeous cut flowers.

KATHY RENWALD PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR For extravagance, you can’t beat a mass planting of iris. The Adrienne Clarkson was named after the former governor general in 2004. This pale yellow peony was selected by the Canadian Peony Society.