Iris germanica Bourgeois - Dwarf bearded Iris

The iris ‘Bourgeois’ is a Lilliput garden iris with a deep, nuanced, particularly rich iridescent burgundy purple colour. A spicy scent, perceptible when you bury your nose in the flower, adds to its charm. It is in a low border, a rock garden or at the edge of a path that this excellent variety will be best enjoyed.

In the American classification, ‘Bourgeois’ belongs to the SDB, the Standard Dwarf Bearded irises, sold in France under the name of Lilliput iris. This category includes varieties between miniature irises and intermediate irises in terms of height. Their flowering occurs before that of tall bearded irises. The plant forms a clump of upright, glaucous green leaves. It is a cold- and drought-resistant perennial with a fleshy rootstock.

This iris 'Bourgeois' reaches about 36 cm in flower and spreads 25 to 35 cm after a few years. Its short stems show good sturdiness in windy gardens. Each flower consists of three upright petals of wine-purple, and three slightly lighter sepals, with a small prune-coloured spot around the beard and navy blue veins in the throat. A small blue reflection appears in the centre of the sepals. The beards mix violet and brown. Flowering occurs in the middle of the Lilliput season, in April or May depending on the climate. The scent, distinctly spicy, is clearly perceptible up close.

'Bourgeois’ is an American introduction by Paul Black, registered in 2002 under seedling number H238BB and introduced in 2003 by Mid-America Garden. It originates from the cross-breeding ‘Snugglebug’ × ‘Buddy Boy’. This variety has received an Honorable Mention from the American Iris Society in 2005, then an Award of Merit in 2007. These distinctions confirm that it has stood out beyond its simple colouring: its iridescent texture, its small blue flash under the beard, its spicy scent and its good sturdiness probably explain the enthusiastic comments found in specialist catalogues.

In the garden, this small iris 'Bourgeois' will look superb with magenta, white, pastel pink or chartreuse green blooms. It can be combined with Tulip humilis ‘Persian Pearl’, magenta with a yellow centre, with Phlox subulata ‘White Delight’, pure white, with Muscari ‘Pink Sunrise’, opaline pink, and with Euphorbia myrsinites, which blooms chartreuse green in spring. These plants remain low, they like sunny situations and well-drained soil.