Stinking Gladwyn

Iris foetidissima

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: well-drained, moderately fertile soil
• Rate of growth: fast-growing
• Flowering period: June
• Hardiness: fully hardy

  
  A useful iris, as it tolerates both shade and dry soil. Nicknamed the stinking iris, it has bright green, strappy leaves that smell a little when crushed, and rather shy, pale lemon and purple flowers in late spring. In autumn, the seed pods burst open to reveal beads of bright orange berries. Plant it in bold swathes in difficult areas of the garden, where little else will grow. It self seeds freely.
  

• Garden care: Plant shallowly with the upper part of the rhizome sitting on the surface of the soil, incorporating plenty of well-rotted manure or compost into the planting hole.
  
  
• Goes well with: Hemerocallis 'Gentle Shepherd', Kniphofia 'Percy's Pride', Eryngium variifolium, Alchemilla mollis, Paeonia lactiflora 'Kelway's Glorious', Echinops ritro