Those you who read our blog regularly will know that I love irises and have written about them in previous years. (https://sissinghurstcastle.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/irises-the-shooting-stars-that-herald-summer/ https://sissinghurstcastle.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/iris-sibirica-the-elegant-iris/) Irises at Sissinghurst are almost as integral to the garden as roses and it will come as no surprise that it was Harold and Vita who, having fallen in love with them at Longbarn, subsequently introduced them to the garden at Sissinghurst.
The first half of the twentieth century was an exciting time for iris breeders, with many new cultivars of bearded irises being bred and introduced to the public. We are fortunate that Vita, being a fan, bought many of these and in doing so left a legacy that we can still enjoy today. These irises had an elegance and simplicity of form that is perhaps not so obvious in today’s new irises, with their frills and ruffles, and our collection at Sissinghurst reflects this period. Vita and Harold collected irises from all the well-known iris breeders of the day. Thus we have irises such as ‘Black Douglas’, ‘Melchior’, ‘Shannopin’, ‘Black Taffeta’, ‘Blue Boy’, ‘Amethyst Flame’ and ‘Lothario’ from America,
Iris ‘Beotie’ from the famous iris breeders, Cayeux, in France and of course, many from the British breeders. It was a particularly good time for irises in the UK with great progress being made by iris breeders such as William Dykes, Arthur Bliss, Cedric Morris and Hilda Murrell. We have examples of some of their irises in the garden such as ‘White City’ and ‘Cleo Murrell’ both bred at the Orpington Nurseries by Hilda Murrell and Iris ‘Crathie’ bred by Cedric Morris. In total we have a collection of about one hundred irises of all types in the garden.
But at this point the story takes a downward turn. We know from Vita’s notes made in 1948 that more were grown in the garden and over time they have been lost and not replaced. We have a list of at least 12 irises that were once grown at Sissinghurst and it is our goal to find them and bring them back to the garden. The realisation that historic plant collections can diminish without anyone even realising it (even in a historic garden) is a sobering thought. Iris collectors such as Sarah Cook, former Head Gardener at Sissinghurst, (who is currently showing her collection of Cedric Morris irises at Chelsea) and Anne Milner who holds the national collection of Arthur Bliss irises have done a great deal to find and restore these lost cultivars but they know all too well the difficulty of accurately identifying irises once they are no longer commercially propagated. Many historic irises are probably languishing in back gardens all over the country and many will never be found nor identified.
So where does that leave us in our quest to find Vita’s lost irises? It’s not necessarily a hopeless situation and we have various leads to follow up. Kelways is still a great iris nursery and having bred Iris ‘Langport Flash’ may be able to locate a plant for us. Sarah Cook has kindly offered to supply ‘Benton Nigel’ again to the garden and it’s possible that Anne Milner may be able to supply ‘Senlac’. As for the others, it will be a case of trying to find any that are still available commercially or asking the British Iris Society to help. Many of the American bred irises may still be available in the US and that will bring its own problems. The irises that we are looking for are ‘Shah Jehan’, ‘Lagos’, ‘Natal’, ‘Oliver’, ‘Quaker Lady’, ‘Ambassador (could be ‘Ambassadeur’), ‘St Crispin’, ‘Lilias’, ‘Warwick’, ‘Senlac’, ‘Langport Flash’ and ‘Benton Nigel’. If you do happen to know where we might locate them, please do contact us.
Iris ‘Benton Nigel’ on show at Chelsea this year.
Finally, having lost these irises has taught us an important lesson in protecting them, and now that we have more space in our nursery, we intend to have a whole bed dedicated to them.
This will allow us the opportunity to have proper stock of all of those we grow in the garden, bulking up those irises such as ‘Blue Shimmer’ that are not thriving, as well as trying out some different old cultivars that may look good in the main garden. With this additional space we can play our part safe-guarding our collection for the future and in doing so ensure that they remain available for future generations to enjoy.
Helen Champion
SISSINGHURST GARDEN 
Please can you send again with different format
Sent from my iPad
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I have just visited Sissinghurst and what a joy it was. I love the Aquilegia sprinkled like fairy dust throughout the garden linking all the areas. The iris are a flower I did not think I could grow in my heavy clay but armed with new information I will be adding them to my sunny border to add the ‘Wow ‘Factor. A new raised bed for raspberries is also on the cards. So much to do. Thanks to the knowledgeable staff for their help and information. You know who you are:)
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Hi Shenagh, so glad you had an enjoyable visit and have been inspired to grow some irises. If your soil is very heavy, add some organic matter to improve the structure and also add some grit when planting to aid drainage. Good luck with all your plans, sounds like you’re going to be busy this summer! Helen
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I love irises had them even in my bridal bouquet. Very interesting to see the Benton irises at Chelsea on television. Thanks for the beautyful pictures.
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It was great to see the Cedric Morris irises get so much publicity on television especially as Sarah Cook is a former Head Gardener of Sissinghurst. Gold at Chelsea is an amazing achievement. Helen
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What a fabulous blog this is. Another interesting post about these beautiful iris. The quest to replace them is fascinating. Wish you had time to write a novel set in Vita and Harold’s garden about those who who come to return these treasures. Thank you for the work it takes to create this fine garden blog.
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Hi Stepheny, finding the ‘lost’ irises is going to be an interesting quest. We’ll let you know how we get on in a future blog. Helen
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Is this the “Ambassadeur’ you are looking for?
http://www.kwekerij-joosten.nl/catalogus/ZoekResultaat.aspx?Search=Ambassadeur&AllWords=False
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Hi, it’s difficult to know for sure from a photo but the one we are looking for was bred in 1920 by Vilmorin. There are some good photos of it on the Historic Iris Preservation Society website. These do look slightly different to the photo you sent so we would have to do some further research. Thanks for sending the link. Helen
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Iris Germanica – Ambassadeur this one was introduced in 1939
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Perhaps not the one but we’ll do some further research. Many thanks, Helen
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We grow and sell Quaker Lady and Shah Jehan, and I’d be glad to send you some this summer, even though we usually don’t ship outside the US. We’d have to get a phytosanitary certificate, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Please let me know if you’re interested.
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Hi Scott, thank you very much for your very kind offer. I am always amazed at how brilliant technology can be in connecting people around the world! I will email you at Old House Gardens to discuss the irises. Many thanks, Helen
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Please contact me at your earliest convenience concerning the US irises you are searching for.
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Hi Lori, many thanks for getting in contact. As yet, I’m not sure which irises I will be able to locate in the UK and which may only be available abroad. However, if you do know about any of those we are searching for, it would be great to hear from you. My e-mail is helen.champion@nationaltrust.org.uk Many thanks, Helen
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I am fascinated with irises as in real life I’ve only seen the classic violet colour ones, and the collection at Sissinghurst seems really impressive. I didn’t realise that there were many varieties of iris to be rediscovered, and that makes the flower all the more mysterious and interesting. Their scent is gorgeous but it is not always there; you can smell it at one point emitting the most magical breath, and if you come back later it’s empty!
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A few of the irises that were mentioned in your search can be found at Bluebird Haven Iris Garden.
Ambassadeur
Quaker Lady
Shah Jehan
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I don’t know if you have found all the Irises you are looking for, but I bought Quaker Lady from Wotton’s of Wenhaston a couple of years ago.
Cayeux are currently selling Shah Jehan
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Hello,
May I suggest a correction to your article? You mention Orpington Nursery’s iris breeder as being called Hilda Murrell. Hilda was a rose grower and anti-nuclear campaigner, not an iris breeder. The woman who ran Orpington and bred their irises was Olive Murrell, hence the Benton Olive iris which was named after her according to various sources to the internet.
Good to celebrate plantswomen who would otherwise, like the old, irises, simply disappear.
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Hi I found this blog post as I’m currently in the early stages of establishing a Ferdinand Cayeux National Collection.
I know this is quite am old post but If you’re still after Shah Jehan this is currently being sold by Cayeux, and also Iris Umbria.
Quaker Lady is Available from Woottons of Wenhaston.
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