Last year we split and divided clumps of bearded iris that fill the border on the south side of Field Cottage. Each rhizome was carefully checked for disease, some were discarded, and those remaining were replanted. We remembered the advice from my octogenerian neighbour that the rhizome should face the sun for maximum exposure, with the leaves to the rear.
With the irises now in full and spectacular bloom our working practice has at once been repaid but also exposed; we’d missed two clumps at the western end of the bed and it is those which have failed to flower! There's now a note in the diary for July to carry out the operation for the overlooked clumps, giving them time to settle in and produce new growth before their winter dormancy.
