A look at the Irises

One of the most recognizable flowers to Tennessean’s might be the iris and you might be quick to point out that the Purple Iris is the TN State Flower.  But, that’s not exactly right!  Here’s a little history on the iris and how it reached its recognizable status.  Digging back into some TN history, I was surprised to find out that the first TN state flower was actually the Passion Flower!  This flower was chosen by the school children in Tennessee and adopted by the General Assembly in 1919!

In 1931, a group of iris growers formed the Nashville Iris Association to foster the planting and cultivation of irises with the goal of having Nashville known as “The Iris City”.  The success of this group led the TN General Assembly to select the Iris as the TN State Flower in 1933.  However, they failed to rescind the designation of the Passion Flower as the state flower.  Therefore, we actually had two state flowers for quite a while!  To eliminate the confusion, the 88th General Assembly designated the Passion Flower as the TN State Wildflower and the Iris as the State Cultivated Flower in 1973.  The iris is a herbaceous perennial of which there are almost 250 species with many different colors.  Although the act naming the iris as the state flower did not name a particular color, the purple iris is commonly accepted as the state cultivated flower. 

I got the inspiration to spotlight the Iris as I enjoyed Mr. Ed’s lovely planting across the street!  So, how can you have the same show of color in your garden?  The good news is that you have plenty of time as most irises should be planted in late summer through early fall.  Reach out to the Extension office if you would like more information on planting irises!