the art of attraction...

Members of the Iris family (Iridaceae) have sprung from almost every country- and every corner of this world can boast at having its own variety. But surely for most it must be Italy that springs to mind as the month of April arrives, with the old stone walls of Tuscany teeming with native blue species, in a region where the flower has come to symbolise much of their troubled history. The Florentine Iris flower, shaped like a spear and rising, proudly and elegantly from the poor, dry earth of Tuscany- soon came to symbolize the struggles overcome in the bloody wars between Florence and Siena in the Renaissance.

Almost every season of the year can be blessed with the presence of this sensual flower and varieties of this plant can be found growing as happily in water as in the driest of old stone walls. The Iris can range in height from the tallest Japanese varieties (I.ensata) at around 4ft right down to a few inches in the case of I.cristata or I.unguicularis (below)

This plants obvious international success story could be put down to its feminine charms and to the remarkable way that it seduces its primary pollinator- the humble honey bee.

A passing bee is easily love-struck by the stunning beauty and vivid colours of this most remarkable of flowers. It is then visually enticed, almost hypnotized, to follow the elusive designs on the landing pad of the flower, which all lead tantalizingly to the nectar and the reproductive parts of the flower. The bee is then forced to squeeze its way into the flower eagerly to get to that nectar while a specially developed sepal pushes the insect down on the flowers pollen deposits, forcing it to load up on pollen (the DNA info of the plant), without even realizing it.

This poor guy is then forced to exit in such a way that ensures the pollen packs get unloaded on the correct, female, receptive organs- thus fertilizing the plant.

In April May and June the sensual Iris flower displays her manipulative, seductive flowers to their maximum, while spell-bounding insects and humans alike with her stunning prowess.

This, most feminine of flowers, who resists the driest of situations and who enjoys basking in as much sun as possible has also had a major influence on the perfume industry. Due to a powerful scent fixer present in the rhizome (root) of the Iris, the cultivation of Iris in Italy and France had an important effect on rural agriculture during the 18th century and before. Therefore fields of bue Iris flowers against a striking bue-green foliage were a common site throughout Italy and particularly in Tuscany.

The attractive iris offers the garden designer a vast array of colours and heights that are extremely humble regarding their choice of soils- growing happily in the hottest, driest areas. Flowering in April, they offer the perfect flower display to follow an explosion of spring bulbs. The flowering of the Iris germanica (most common in Tuscany) anticipates the flowering of the lavender and they can occasionally be found in flower at the same time, offering a colour spectacle second to none.

The female attraction of this glorious debutante of flowering beauties can hardly be denied. However its elegant charms can be easily acquired with the minimum of effort or investment- the perfect lady one could say a lady that has the art of attraction down to a fine tee

Jonathan Radford