Everything Iris

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I grow several varieties and species of Iris in my garden. Around 600 named varieties last I checked! The most well-known type of iris being Tall Bearded, denoted TB. I also grow several variants of bearded iris that are divided into separate classes based on things such as flower size and height of the plant. There are dwarf classes - Standard Dwarf Bearded (SDB) and even smaller still - the class of Miniature Dwarf Bearded (MDB), standing only 8 inches above the ground at maximum. Other medium height iris fall under either the Border Bearded (BB) class or Intermediate Bearded (IB). Then there is another class called Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB) where the plant is supposed to be a shrunken version of the TB's, albeit still retaining the flower and plant proportions of a TB.

You also have novelty iris, such as broken color (BC) iris that resemble tie-dye patterning - each bloom is hence completely unique in its pattern of color. There are also space-age iris (SA), that have protrusions at the end of the beards (the fuzzy little guys in the center of the lower petal) in the form of horns, flounces, spoons, or even some resembling ruffled pom-poms, as in a named variety called "Pom-Pom Party. Love that one. A limited number varieties also show variegated or striped foliage. I unofficially designate this (VF) for variegated foliage. This variegation is a particular area of interest for me and I collect as many of these varieties as I can. If you read this and grow any please contact me as I will be interested in buying some from you. 

Growing iris is easy. They are a forgiving plant to be sure. I always tell people they thrive on neglect. The iris I grow in my garden are gradually solving my problem of needing to mow grass. 

In my iris photo's you will usually see the name of the variety denoted with single quotations such as 'Name'. This is followed by the name of the hybridizer - this is purely out of respect for that person and the work they have put into creating what they have given a name to and "introduced' to the world. To give an iris a name you must register it with the American Iris Society and offer it for sale to the public - this is called introduction or introducing it. Next, also in parenthesis, I like to include the date of introduction for my own reference and for others. Finally, I like to include the class the iris fall into, such as TB and any other additional data as an abbreviation for novelty characteristics. 

Over the many years and history of hybridizing iris, many newer more modern forms and features have been created. Even if you know very little, you can still typically just look at an iris and tell if it has a historic or modern form or color theme. Older varieties tend on a more tailored form while modern ones have been pushing the boundaries of things like ruffling and larger petals. 

List of naming convention abbreviations (some are my own - unofficial)

TB - for tall bearded

BB - for Border Bearded

IB - Intermediate Bearded

SDB - Standard Dwarf Bearded

MTB - Miniature Tall Bearded

MDB - Miniature Dwarf Bearded

SPX or SPEC X - denotes that the plant is a hybrid of two different species

BC - broken color

SA - Space Age

VF - Variegated (striped) foliage 

RE - rebloom potential (meaning it may be prone to bloom a second time or even multiple times in the season in some regions, typically the fall).  

Winterberry Iris Gardens has some really nice writing/info by Don and Ginny Spoon. I am including the link here because they have a better more full list of naming/abbreviation conventions and a plethora of more info should you be inclined to learn more than this non-expert can offer. :)

Side Note: All images are taken in the garden. I've had many questions about this. Very simply - I entertain my neighbors (who already think I'm nuts anyway) by doing a juggling act of holding my camera in one hand, while holding a piece of matte-board in the other, behind the flower, often while battling the wind. All of this while likely donning one of the bright tie-dye t-shirts from my wardrobe collection, with enough for me to sport a different one, each day, for the entire 2-month bloom season. 

I like how the background of the matte-board captures the detail and removes the subject from any other reference point. It is just an aesthetic choice. Sometimes I am just in a hurry and don't do this, but I try to because I like the clean look and it is an element of my artwork just like my Monumental Toy Series of paintings. Sometimes I just need to hide all the weeds in the background!