The Traveling Gardener: Swan Lake Iris Gardens

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Swan Lake Iris Gardens

There's something elegant about black swans. I associate them with Dawlish, the English town that serves as the fictional birthplace of Charles Dickens' character Nicholas Nickleby and with castle lakes in Germany. Black swans also reside on the premises of Sumter's Swan Lake, as do members of the other seven swan species, including the trumpet swan whose music carries magic across the water.

My visit to Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, South Carolina last week coincided with the town's annual Iris Festival. The festival features the Japanese iris which arrived at the lake in the first half of the twentieth century as horticultural "trash."

I've long been an admirer of the bearded irises which thrived in my mother's garden. Dutch irises do well in my cottage garden and, just last month, I helped transplant yellow flag irises on the Balmacara Estate in the Western Highlands of Scotland.

But Japanese irises? I'd heard of them, but until last Friday I'd not experienced them, at least not in bloom. Not even during visits to Japan.

The gorgeous blossoms I saw in Sumter made me wish my garden would support these sun and water loving plants. I decided to take a chance. At the Master Gardener's tent I bought a plastic pot of Japanese irises of the "Frilled Enchantment" variety. Neither these nor any of the other irises offered for sale were blooming. The lady who assisted me with my purchase explained that the mild winter seems to have affected the irises, decreasing the occurrence of blossoms. She suggested I buy a child's swimming pool to plant my Japanese iris in, but as of today, my "Frilled Enchantment" is directly in the ground in a low-lying area of my front yard. I hope to keep the soil there moist enough that a swimming pool won't be needed. And I hope I have more success with these beauties than I do with bearded irises.