Iris Smiling Faces - Tall Bearded Iris

Iris 'Smiling Faces' (TB), also known as garden iris, flowers in May with a sweet musky fragrance and very wavy, warm white petals and sepals, splashed and edged with lemon yellow around beards in the same tone. It is a medium-sized cheerful, bright and very fresh variety, ideal for borders.

Iris 'Smiling Faces' is a rhizomatous, deciduous perennial plant, with upright tufted growth. It belongs to the Iridaceae family and is one of the many cultivars obtained over centuries, whose controversial origin is debated around the number of chromosomes of potential ancestors. It should be noted that Bearded iris has European origins. 'Smiling Faces' is of modest size, reaching 76 cm (30in) high when flowering, with numerous buds, and the clump will spread without theoretical limit over time, as the central rhizomes become bare in favour of the outer rhizomes. It has an elegant upright habit in dense clumps of long sword-shaped, glaucous green and heavily veined leaves. Floral stems appear in April, which flower in May, opening from the top towards the lower branches. The colour is enhanced by the texture of the petals and sepals. Note that the flowers are musk-scented.

Keppel 2000 hybridization.

To accompany irises, plants should be chosen based on their needs (exposure, soil...), growth (low plants or light foliage), decorative appearance and flowering time. For example, Gaura will provide little shade and keep the faded iris bed attractive throughout the summer. Eschscholzia will settle for dry and poor soil, just like irises. Geraniums, salvias, and Libertia also go very well with irises. Slopes and terraced edges can be stabilised by dense plantings of old diploid varieties that require little care. If the goal is more decorative and access for care is possible, more modern varieties can be chosen that are less likely to be knocked over.

Tall irises can be planted in the shelter at the base of a wall or behind shorter and earlier varieties.

Path border: the entire range can be used, from early dwarfs under 40 cm (16in), to tall irises over 75 cm (30in) blooming in May, through intermediates (in size and earliness) and border irises, medium-sized but blooming with the tall ones. Tall irises may need staking to prevent them from being toppled in the wind.

Flower bed: the domain of border irises but also dwarfs, depending on the circumstances.

Mixed border: the entire range of sizes can be used, chosen based on the position (foreground, background) and size of the surrounding plants.

Iris bed, iris garden: the paradise of the iris enthusiast where the choice and arrangement of varieties reflect each person's taste. The use of the full range of bearded irises allows for two and a half months of flowers in spring. The choice of reblooming irises offers a few additional flowers in late summer or autumn.

The vegetable garden can be adorned with a few clumps or borders of irises for cut flowers.