They should be planted in full sun. That's what they really like. Knudtson is part of a long-standing tradition of dedicated iris hybridizers in Colorado Springs, following in the footsteps of Dr. Philip Loomis, who developed iris varieties in the '20s, '30s and '40s in what is now the old North End of the city. Thunder begins to crack overhead as we leave the garden, the sturdy iris stalks loaded with buds due to break open any day now. There's no true red iris.
Fat raindrops stir the dust in the long driveway leading back to the main road.
The garden should be in full bloom by then. And if I shop at Knudtson's garden this weekend, I'll have 1,000 varieties to choose from. The fuzzy heat of a June day was momentarily transformed by the liquid charcoal fire and we would stand as close as we could bear it, viewing the world through blue swirls of viscous heat. Last week, I went out and did something I have never done in ten years of Colorado gardening. The allure of instant gratification grabbed me.