Gippsland Irises

11/04/2026

SO OVERWHELMED! We held our first ever face-to-face stall, at the Jindivick Country Gardener Rare and Unusual Plant Expo today, and had an amazing time! It was a briskly breezy yet sunny autumn morning, and people's response to our set-up was astonishing 😍

We'd sold out of tall bearded irises by 12, and everything else was gone by 2:30. Almost a surreal experience, and we loved the chance to share a bit of iris love ❤️ the only photo I managed to get was a glimpse of the sky through dappled birch leaves.

Couldn't have done this without my amazing support team especially my beloved husband, shout out to him ahead of our 25th anniversary this week! Thanks for your encouragement, your tech support, and your time on the end of a shovel or pulling weeds alongside me.

09/04/2026

Very excited to be debuting my first ever Gippsland-hybridised standard dwarfs! These new releases will be available at the Jindivick Country Gardener Rare and Unusual Plants Expo this weekend.

'Cloud Watching' is a soft peach with a pale blue beards, reminiscent of a crowd of faces watching the sky. https://wiki.irises.org/Sdb/SdbCloudWatching

'Hands In The Dirt' is a flaring red brick and burgundy with bright blue beards named for a saying by the lovely friend who enables my iris madness, by hosting my irises on her farm. Deb will always encourage people to get their hands in the dirt and get grounded when they're stressed, and I heartily agree. https://wiki.irises.org/Sdb/SdbHandsInTheDirt

Got the labels hot off the press, getting everything sorted and ready to set up my stall. Both will be $15 for a generous cluster of these vigorous growers.

08/04/2026

I've been sitting on this for a bit due to excitement and nerves - but I'm hosting a stall at the Gippsland Rare and Unusual Plant Fair at Broughton Hall! Come along on Saturday 11 April to the beautiful grounds in Jindivick, enjoy a look through the stunning gardens, and pick up some irises - and other plants!

I'll have 40+ varieties of irises, including tall bearded, Intermediates, standard dwarfs, Louisiana, Japanese (ensata) water iris, and a select few other iridatious plants.

Hope you see you there, rain or shine!

Pop this date in your diaries, book a ticket online and save money, share this post with other garden lovers please, hope to see you all here on 11 April
Cheers David

16/02/2026

Summer is in full 'hot dry mode', doesnt seem to be slowing the weeds down much!

28/11/2025

Not many left blooming up at the patch, and with some wet weather coming up i think the bearded iris season is just about done. Just as the Louisiana irises are at peak bloom, and the ensata are starting :)

Here's a pic of 'Purist' by Barry Blyth (2015)

22/11/2025

The season is slowing down, but theres still some beauty up at the patch :)

12/11/2025

Loving how much love there is for irises! However this is just a little reminder that I only post sales after bloom and hybridising season, and only occasionally. No-one wants to dig in amongst their flowers and seed pods! We want to enjoy them too.

I've had an increase in people messaging me and asking questions, so I'll answer the most common ones here!

- Are you selling these? No, I am sharing my love of irises and my enjoyment of them. I will post sales after bloom season and when weather and my personal life permit.

- Can you let me know when you're posting a sale? No, I am one person with a busy life, I can't commit to trying to keep a list of who wants special treatment. I will post a 'head's up' a day or two before a sale will be put up.

- Can you post to [insert country]? No, I can only post within Australia, and even that is limited by strict biohazard rules (I can't post to Tasmania or Western Australia). Most likely your country has plenty of iris sellers and hybridisers, if irises are known to grow well there!

- Do you have a catalogue? This page serves that function. I'm just one person in a normal sized yard with a passion for irises. I have a friend who graciously lets me grow on her farm, but it is a relatively small space, as any larger and the weeding would be even more of a struggle than it already is.

Thanks everyone for your patience!

Pic is of 'Gypsy Lord', registered by Keith Keppel in 2006.

09/11/2025

Been a very wet couple of days here, so some of these show that! But have held up pretty well, considering they're also quite exposed to the wind.

Just past peak bloom, I think :)

06/11/2025

Lovely morning 'playing bee' (hybridising) up at the patch.

Starting to see some pods set, fingers crossed for seeing blooms in spring 2027 (the earliest possible bloom time from the crosses I made today).

04/11/2025

Showing some love to the older ones, the historics, and often unnamed in our gardens - but still important displays and part of the history of irises. Beautiful in their own right, and often wonderfully scented. Irises are classified as 'historic' if they were introduced over 30 years ago, which now is 1995!

I won the Historic section of our Victorian Iris Society Show this past weekend, with a stem of 'Orelio', by Fred DeForest in 1947.

I'll add names on photos if known, otherwise just sharing for the joy of it :)

01/11/2025

Available tomorrow at the trader table at VIS show Mt Waverley, Melbourne. 'Natural Ripple' is a fabulous iris, super strong growth, highly floriferous, ruffles, show stems… It’s easy to see why this iris won the 2024 Australian D***s Medal, which shows that it performed well in all the D***s test gardens around Australia. (& although not listed as a rebloomer, we have photos of it blooming in April!) Doors open 11am.

Other varieties will also be available, plus the show to peruse and be inspired by!

30/10/2025

I'm not often up at 'the patch' in the late afternoon, but today we were picking for the Victorian Iris Society Show on Sunday. So I of course took the opportunity to take some golden hour shots :)