The Surprise Reopening of Florence’s Iris Garden
To allow people to enjoy nature after two months of lockdown, Florence’s Iris Garden, usually a peaceful place, has won its battle of reopening earlier than originally decreed during the current health emergency. This hidden gem perched on the hillside next to Piazzale Michelangelo has received the go-ahead to anticipate its opening on Saturday, May 9 instead of Monday, May 11. The original date for the grand inauguration set May 18, but after a dialogue with Florence’s municipal government the dates were changed twice. By May 18, nearly all the flowers would have disappeared.
Normally accessible during its prime blooming time between April 25 to May 20, the Iris Garden is changing its hours for the 2020 edition: 10 am to 5:30 pm, instead of closing for lunch in order to remain open until dinnertime. The new hours were designed so that visitors—adults with and without children, no dogs—can enter at different intervals to accommodate current safety requirements including maintaining a distance of a least one meter (3.2 ft.) from one another in accordance with safety protocols. Volunteers will guide guests in an itinerary throughout the 2.5-hectare (6 acre) garden. While admission is free, there are 1,000 potted irises on sale at the entrance to take home and nurture a living part of Florence history in support of the Garden.
During the Coronavirus lockdown, the Iris Garden was tended by only five members of the Iris Society with special authorization from the prefect. Instead of being helped as usual by international volunteers from AILO (the American-International League of Florence) and the “Angeli del Bello,” the intrepid group relied solely on a cooperative, that also waters the plants in “English” Swiss Evangelical Cemetery in piazzale Donatello, for aid in weeding and maintenance, as well as in the planning of a future compost pile.
Starting on the 11th, first-time guests need to head east from the Piazzale to find the small gated entrance, then walk down a few steps to be suddenly greeted by a colorful array of blooming irises nestled under olive trees. Walking through the garden one can admire the wide variety; the detail of each flower is the result of many years of breeding and patience. Not only are the sight of these flowers a thing to behold, there is the surprise of unexpected fragrances. Up close and personal, one will experience natural perfumes varying from iris to iris as some hold a sweet scent, others a citrusy fragrance and some can even be described as spicy.
The garden was established in 1954 by Flaminia Specht, who wanted to preserve the remaining native species, Iris florentina, and promote and collect beautiful, new hybrid species. To further this idea, an international competition was launched in 1957 to find the loveliest iris. It was a resounding success, and in 1959 the Italian Iris Society was founded to manage the now annual event, care for increasing number of irises, and promote recognition of the iris as one of the world’s most beautiful flowers.
The secluded garden now contains more than 6,000 specimens collected from iris-loving countries such as the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Germany, France, the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic and Japan. A large part of the Italian collection is in fact based on a 150-plant donation from the Presby Memorial Garden in Montclair, New Jersey and another from the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.
Every year, breeders from all over the world send in their rhizomes to be planted in Florence’s renowned Iris Garden with the goal of receiving recognition in the annual contest. Before that happens, a panel of five judges must wait patiently for three years for each iris to grow to its full potential and then each can be judged not only for its looks but also for hardiness, fragrance, most original color, and duration of the blooming period. After the competition, about 60% of the irises are then replanted in a plot to make room for the next batch of competitors.
No better place than Florence exists to host such an event, as contrary to popular belief, the symbol of Florence is not the depiction of a lily, but that of an iris. Originally, the symbol of the iris was white against a red banner, inspired by the white iris tinged with lavender—the iris florentina—growing wild on the Arno riverbanks, often called giaggiolo because it calls to mind an icicle. During the Middle Ages, feuds between political factions of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines took place during which the Guelphs prevailed, who instituted the 13th century “Primo Popolo,” an autonomous government. To commemorate this victory, the Guelphs inverted the colors of the banner to a red iris against a white background, and so it has remained.
Ironically though, bright red irises, do not exist in the symphony of colors typical of nature. Every year breeders try to propagate this red color, but there is still a long way to go before the world sees the desired shade of red to match the Florentine iris emblem. Every year, at the international competition, gardeners from many countries try to create the reddest iris to match the Florentine coat-of-arms. Up to now, no one has produced a fire red or cherry red color. For those who come close, very close, the city awards a silver plate, while the “Fiorino d’Oro” is the prize for the loveliest specimen.
Why is there so much interest in a simple flower? Because in the iris’s case, its history has been interwoven with that of humanity for centuries. The flower served as the symbol of gods and kings since ancient times and depictions of the iris can be found as early as 1500 B.C. In Greek mythology, Iris is a goddess who travels on the path of the rainbow carrying messages from the gods to mortal men.
Today’s iris comes in rainbow colored varieties, displaying shades of yellow or purple to peach, champagne, pink, orange and the classic white. Combinations are common, with the lower set of petals, called “falls” one color, while the “standards,” the petals curling upwards, can be the identical color, a different shade of the same or a completely different color. For the future, keep in mind that there is a call for more volunteers needed to work in the Iris Garden for upkeep and maintenance. (rosanna cirigliano & martha beatriz gonzalez)
