Now that’s a funny title for a gardening blog, isn’t it? But as I was gathering the pictures of my Iris plant which I was going to write about for this blog post, I was brought back to when I bought the plant and who I was with: my gardening girlfriends.

The Gardening Gals Gang on our “getaway to the UK” in 2017

This got me thinking about the friendship I share with these special women, and how important that is to me. There is a small group of us, all brought together by Susan. We enjoy each other’s company and we especially enjoy anything and everything related to gardening. When we first started getting together, we would tour our own gardens and share our plants. We’ve moved on to exploring other well known gardens both in Ireland and in the UK. Last year we ventured over to England to Chipping Campden, and visited the gardens at Hidcote and Kiftsgate.  But it was on one of our ‘Irish outings’ when I purchased my ‘Benton Storrington’ Iris.  We were in Wexford visiting the beautiful Bay Garden, when we then stopped by the Camolin Potting Shed, which is a great place to find more unusual items for your garden.

Iris ‘Benton Storrington’

We had a wonderful day out at the Bay Garden.  Our chat is never just about gardening, but about all facets of life! I’m sure we solved all of the world’s problems that day! Not only that, we were also rather successful on our quest for some special plants.

the Gardening Gals plant purchases in Wexford 2016

I can feel my spirits lift when I am around good friends, it is so wonderful. Sometimes life gets too busy, and we might only have time for quick notes on the computer, which is O.K. short term. But nothing beats a good ol’ chat – either in person or on the phone! It is just good for the soul.

Iris ‘Benton Storrington’

It is tough to find time to nurture relationships, especially when our lives are a little too jam packed with activities.  I am quite guilty of being involved in too many things sometimes!  But thankfully, I have good friends who are patient and always there for me when I show up 🙂

Iris ‘Benton Storrington’

It is a little funny, too, that a lot of the flowers I’ve planted in my garden have connections to the people in my life. I simply love flowers and plants and trees, so if I associate one with you, that means I really like you!

Iris ‘Benton Storrington’

Just a quick word about the Iris which this post was about: I wanted to add a bearded iris to our garden, but was looking for the right color. Having only a picture to go on, I decided to give this one a shot. I planted my two rhizomes in April 2016 and this year is the first year I have blooms.  It not only bloomed, it more than doubled in size. Unfortunately, it spread in the direction of one of my hydrangea, and was mostly hidden after it flowered.  I will have to move it to a more open space, where the rhizomes can continue to be exposed to the sun.

Iris ‘Beton Storrington’ – a teeny tiny bit inside the hydrangea…

I have a love of flowers, and because of that I like to learn about them as I go along. After our iris bloomed I did some research on the name. The history is rather interesting!  Cedric Morris, an artist and plantsman, bred the Benton iris, raising thousands of this bearded variety from seed. The name comes from the area in which Cedric lived: Benton End, in Suffolk. This all took place between 1934 and 1960.  Years later, Sarah Cook, a head gardener at Sissinghurst Castle garden, made it her mission to bring this collection of iris “back to life”, for which she has had amazing success. She teamed up with Howard Nurseries and achieved a Gold for their display at the Chelsea Flower Show 2015! These iris are known in particular for their subtle and delicate colors and markings. If you’d like to learn more you can visit The Big Delve website or for some amazing pictures of fields of the iris visit Gap Gardens website.

I’m glad for this lovely addition to my garden.  But really, more important than my new flower, the bottom line is to take time to nurture those friendships!

Which flower are you associated with? 🙂

In peace,
Dana