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, while the falls are pure white with narrow, pale-violet edges. Mid-season flowering, from May to June, height 80cm.Iris 'Dancer's Veil'An intermediate bearded iris, suitable for planting on slopes or in windy areas. The standard and fall petals

Follow Rachel de Thame's video advice on planting irises, with tips on drainage, positioning and when to divide them.summerMore advice on growing irisesDividing irisesCreating an iris container displayDealing with iris leaf spotLayering bulbs in a

better against a pale background - the darker varieties in particular get a bit lost against the naked soil of February.These irises are terribly easy to grow: plant the bulbs in autumn at about twice their own depth and wait. Clumps can be divided

in for a closer look. Glorious!Don't be put off by their common name of stinking iris or stinking gladwyn. They really don't smell unless you crush their leaves, but I can't say I've ever noticed anything unpleasant. Iris foetidissima is a strong growing

flowerheads in summer. It will perform equally well in a sunny border or a container.Jarava ichuThis easy-to-grow bearded iris, with butter yellow and lavender petals, will flower from late-May to mid-June.Iris 'Lullaby of Spring'This short, smoky yellow iris

varieties, which grow up to 1.2m. With such a wealth of options, you can usually find a variety to fill any gap in a sunny border.Pot-grown bearded iris plantsTrowel or spadeWatering canJune - October15 minutesMay - JuneChoose potted irises carrying several

ponds.If you have a garden pond, no matter how small or large, then you'll be able to grow aquatic plants In addition to looking attractive, pond plants can provide useful surface cover and shelter for aquatic wildlife.Grow pond plants in aquatic

'bad' plant smells are this extreme. Despite its reputation, I don't think the stinking iris, Iris foetidissima, has such an offensive odour.I conducted a poll around the Gardeners’ World magazine office to discover which plants were deemed 'stinky

the offending plants and what to do if you have them growing in your pond (remove and compost them, basically).Great. But what should we plant in our ponds to replace the offenders? My blog on dead frogs highlighted the need for oxygenating plants to maintain

, at the edges of ponds and rivers. These include bleeding heart (left), monarda, astilbe, actaea, Solomon's seal, toad lily, Himalayan blue poppy and heuchera.Damp shadeThere are even plants suitable for growing in the darkest corner, such as butcher's broom,Iris