I like Glads too, but they’re more work since you need to dig ‘em up in the fall while the iris is perfectly happy of stay in the ground. I like dahlias too but same deal, gotta dig ‘em up here.
My Grandmother had all of the above and a bunch of other growing flowery thingies, some of which my baby Sis ‘collected’ samples of before the property was sold. Because she did that, I now have some of Grandma’s growing things here.
The path back to the chicken coop was lined with iris and glads. Her dahlias were in another bed by the garage. All of her flowers are now gone, as is her house and 2/3 of the garage (the newest addition built by my Grandfather when Grandma got her drivers license when I was in high school is still standing.) The walnut and butternut trees are gone and the mulberry trees are too. So is the grape arbor with its four types of grapes, and I have to assume that the asparagus patch and the rhubarb are also gone. It looks as if the new owner of the property doesn’t even have a garden or at least one that is visible from satellite..
The only time I planted anything (or wanted to, or had the room to) was when we lived in the Bay Area of CA. We put down sod, had nine rose bushes, the flagstones were surrounded by Scotch moss, and there were bachelor’s buttons. When we moved, it stayed and I’ve never had the nerve to plant since then.
There are several iris plants along the north side of the patio here, and they are beautiful when they bloom, but I have no idea how to handle them. And besides: I’m moving again in the spring. I will have to see what the new place has for a “yard” and patio before I get too excited.
DJ MacWow told me how to make roses grow in pots, but I could never get the pots, the soil and the bushes at the same time. I’ve regretted that ever since.