04/12/2022
What a treat to see opening today!
Neomarica gracilis a.k.a. Walking Iris or Poor Man's Orchid is said to "walk" through the garden as it spreads.
This is the only plant that has survived a poor soil, pool drainage, and nutrients deficient area in the garden. And, as you know, this is located in HDG's 2 acre test garden to find out which plant is "tough as nails" and can handle unfortunate soil conditions that most Houstonians currently have in their yards.
Closely resembling African Iris (Dietes Iridioies) which seems to be more easily found in nurseries. Although, I'd argue that Neomarica gracilis has a more beautiful flower.
For my clients I usually recommend a Dietes spp. Iris which are also tough evergreen Iris options for the garden because the nurseries grow them in abundance. It's always best to design with what you can actually find.
BUT, if you move into an older home with an established garden, consider waiting 1 year to make a change and photograph once a week to find out which plants you have. You can even show your designer who will not be able to identify one Iris variety from the next based on leaves that all look the same. Then, you might discover you have a gold mine sitting in your yard! At the least, you will know which plants you may or may not want to re-use in your landscape as you work alongside your designer!
