When all iris eyes are smiling on you
Palmy fan has been growing them for 18 years
Iris is the Greek goddess of the rainbow, but Michelle Westhead does not have to wait until sunlight and raindrops make a show.
The Palmerston North gardener is a big fan of the plants named after Iris and has between 60 and 100 irises growing at her property.
It all started when Westhead saw an iris in a show and discovered they come in many colours. Every iris she saw growing up was the same shade of purple. She has since learned they come in every colour under the rainbow except for a true scarlet red.
“I decided I would get myself one in each colour then I discovered there were four and a half thousand of them.”
She has been growing irises for about 18 years and for the past 10 years has been an active member of the Rangit¯ıkei group of the New Zealand Iris Society.
Westhead says at first she was very much a bit player starting with two or three plants, then 10, then 50.
“That’s my little obsession.
It does threaten to get away on me quite frequently.” But she soon realised she doesn’t need 4500 plants to have fun.
Irises are the most low-key plant she has ever seen. Put them in the garden, water a couple of weeks, then leave them alone.
They flower voluminously for years. If you want a particularly good show you can throw some fertiliser at them, otherwise irises are virtually trouble-free. “I love the vibrancy of the flowers and the variety and the fact you really don’t have to do much to them.”
Westhead’s collection ranges from 10cm-high reticulata, the same size as a crocus, to a spuria that grows taller than her.
There is an iris for almost every position you could dream up and some varieties are happy on a windowsill.
As a busy person, she doesn’t want plants that are too time-consuming and you can have irises flowering almost all year round.
The Rangit¯ıkei Iris Show is on Sunday and as well as displays there will be sales tables and raffles.