Irises seem to be the forgotten perennial staple. In years past, there was never a farm without a bed of iris flowers. My grandma used to tell me about her long row of irises on her farm, all different colors. The reason for this is that irises multiply and need to be thinned out every few years. This meant everyone had irises to give away, thus all farms had this flower. Irises are named after the Greek goddess Iris who was said to ride rainbows. My irises are all the bearded variety: large flo