Iris - Cedric Morris cultivars

We propagate our Benton Irises from our own stock beds and these should be ready for sale, end of July into August. If you are interested in purchasing specific named forms and the product is not 'Ready Now', please click the Notify Me When Ready button and you will receive an email when that product is rooted and ready for sale.

Acclaimed artist Sir Cedric Morris ran the East Anglian Art School at Benton End, Hadleigh, Suffolk from 1940. A celebrated painter, plantsman and the creative force behind the famous gardens at Benton End. He was a notable iris breeder and although many of his 90 or so introductions have been lost, several have been rediscovered and their names verified. Sarah Cook, a former Head gardener at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent has spent the last 10 years researching and rediscovering Cedric's iris, culminating in a wonderful exhibit staged in conjunction with Howard Nurseries at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2015.

Beth's own connection with Sir Cedric Morris began in the 1950's and their friendship grew over the years based on their mutual love of plants. Cedric became Beth's mentor as well as a rich source of many plants

"I taught myself to propagate plants from the precious screws of paper full of seed, berries or cuttings I have been given by Cedric as well as generous earthy bundles of roots, tubers and bulbs".

Iris forms are legion, and almost all attract pollinators, especially the larger bees. The only possible exceptions are those highly bred, flouncy cultivars whose petal modifications may make nectar in particular more inaccessible. Some, like the winter/early spring-flowering forms such as the reticulata and unguicularis types and the species that produce bright berries (especially I. foetidissima) provide an important food resource for winter birds, from pheasants to blackbirds.