Van Bourgondien Bulbs This year, the Van Bourgondien bulb company is ranking at the top for Internet shoppers. Not wanting to be out of the loop, we decided to check this company out and discovered that these folks have been in the bulb business for about two centuries! We're impressed. Their roots go back to Holland, but they began working in the U.S. in the early 1900's. They remain a family-run company, with a very nice catalog and a good website. We liked what we saw.

Something that caught our eye on their website was their dwarf german iris collection. We've seen the Japanese Iris, Irish Siberica and even African Iris (Fortnight Lilies), but Dwarf German Iris are a family not many American gardeners may have grown. They are charming and offer an interesting color palette. Van Bourgondien is vending a collection of 3 varieties including 'Cherry Garden' 'Cyanea' and 'Ritz'. The tones are maroon, pure white and a nice yellow/brown bicolor.Dwarf German Iris bulbs are rare, so get them while they last. This bulb supplier is also offering a jewel-tone bearded iris collection of seven varieties including 'Cantina', 'Olympic Challenge', 'Pass The Wine', 'Orange Harvest', 'Rosalie Figge', 'Tennison Ridge' and 'Victoria Falls'. Some of these names are new to us and they look worth a try. Bearded Iris lovers are always on the lookout for something new, and will want to visit Van Bourgondien this fall for possible inspiration.