Trails End Iris Gardens, Ontario, Canada


 
Welcome

Important notice for Garden Visitors, May 18 thru 21, 2012

Unfortunately Mother Nature is proving to be very difficult this year. As a result of many hard frosts the early bloom varieties have been significantly damaged and the current bloom is very limited. We would suggest that you wait until the weekend of May 25 thru 28 for your visit when later varieties will be blooming. If you would like to know the status of a particular variety, feel free to give us a call.

Otherwise, have fun looking over the list of all the varieties that we are offering. There are many new and exciting ones to choose from focusing of course on the top award winners. We can hardly wait to see their beautiful blooms.

For those of you in Southern Ontario looking for a garden to visit this year, we expect the Tall Bearded varieties to put on their show as usual. We will be open EVERY FRIDAY THRU MONDAY during the peak bloom period from Friday, May 25th to Monday, June 16th.

A little background about us. We have been growing award winning Bearded Irises for 10 years on our 10 acre property in south-central Ontario, Canada between Brantford and Hamilton in Canadian hardiness Zone 5b. We take pride in offering only the highest quality rhizomes, grown with loving care. Bob pays particular attention to accuracy and quality by digging our plants by hand. Ann then carefully cleans and identifies each rhizome. We place a premium on customer service which is reflected in the positive comments from our happy first time and repeat customers. We always include BONUS irises depending on the size of the order. Look forward to a surprise or two or three.
 


"We are extremely happy with the irises we received; they were in great condition. We ordered plants from 3 different suppliers this year and out of all the orders, your irises were in the best condition and have thrived the most. We look forward to ordering more irises from you in the future and will highly recommend you to our friends. Thanks"              A. G., Calgary, Alberta

 

We ship bare-root Irises across Canada in late July for early, harsher winter locations and in mid-August for more moderate climates. Of course, the rhizome size is somewhat determined by the digging date. It's always a tradeoff; later digging means bigger rhizomes but then they don't have as long to settle in before winter freeze-up. A thick covering of mulch applied after freeze-up is important for first year plantings.

We are pleased to present many new offerings for 2012 including 2011, 2010 and 2009 introductions from Paul Black, Tom Johnson, Keith Keppel, Barry Blyth and Schreiners. Of course we are testing their ability to get through our winters and progress throughout the spring. We are also making available many other varieties that have proven to grow well in our climate. Customers continue to compliment us on both the quality of our rhizomes and our commitment to customer service. Some of their comments are throughout the site.

Although we try to maintain a good inventory, there is always the possibility of some irises becoming SOLD OUT. In particular, the newest varieties will be in short supply for a couple of years until we build up stock. Some of these are marked "Available in 2013". You can avoid being disappointed by placing a reserve order in 2012. Simply reserve your selections for next year by placing an order with a $10.00 deposit per variety. Your order will placed in sequence by date received.

TRAILS END IRIS COLLECTIONS: This year we are again offering some of our best growers at a savings of 20% off the catalogue prices. This is a great way to start or add to your Iris garden. Buy all 3 collections to get that really established look and save 25%.

Re-Bloomers continue to be very popular and we are consistently testing for varieties that will re-bloom in our area. Although advertised in some catalogues as re-bloomers, the truth is that while they may re-bloom in the more southern states, that does not ensure that they will re-bloom in Canada due to our shorter growing season. We are continuing to add to a list of those that have re-bloomed for us in south-central Ontario.

Gift Certificates are also available which we can send to you or directly to the recipient on your behalf. Simply e-mail us or call us at (519) 647-9746.

Hours of Operation - 2012 Varieties in Bloom
Early Bloom Period Sat. May 5th thru Thurs. May 17th
Call (519) 647-9746 to be sure we are home
Miniature Dwarf and Standard Dwarf Bearded
Peak Bloom Period

Fridays, Saturdays,
Sundays and Mondays

Fri. May 18th thru Mon. June 11th

9:00am to 5:00pm
Late Standard Dwarf, Intermediates, Miniature Tall Bearded, Border Bearded, Tall Bearded (Early, Mid and Late)
Late Bloom Period June 12th thru June 30th
Call 519) 647-9746 to be sure we are home
Late and Very Late Tall Bearded

On our 10 acre Iris farm, we have developed perennial beds showcasing the Irises amongst companion plantings of peonies, ornamental grasses, shrubs, trees and various rockery plants. There are approximately 6000 Iris plants comprised of over 500 varieties, most of them blooming in the gardens or in the production beds. Visitors can enjoy easy access to the gardens across lawns or enjoy the view from a shaded bench. For customers wishing to purchase potted Irises, there is a limited selection available to take home on the day of your visit.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us. Bob tries to answer our e-mails daily. If you wish, you can telephone us at (519) 647-9746. If we are unavailable, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible.

Hoping to hear from you soon,
Bob and Ann