A Historic Iris Display Garden in Lynchburg
Kansas City, Missouri, native, Shana Gammon has been around irises her whole life and the familiar has become her passion. Gammon is the owner of Stormy Weather Iris Gardens, a private house garden that sits on a quarter acre within Lynchburg City limits.
Consisting of five beds and 200 different varieties of tall bearded iris, the garden officially opened to the public in 2017.
“I started doing floral photography in 2006 or 2007,” Gammon said of how the garden got its start. “I exhibited nationally and worked with hospitals around the country, providing photos for their galleries and so on. With four children, it was easier to grow what I wanted to photograph rather than travel around to shoot. Irises were one of the flowers I started growing at that time and they became one of my favorite flowers.”
Stormy Weather Iris Garden grows irises in every color and color pattern, from Plicata and Broken Color irises to Amoena and several Space Age varieties.
“All are tall bearded, but each is different,” said Gammon.
As if walking among a sea of multicolored irises weren’t special enough, Stormy Weather Iris Garden is also one of two Historic Iris Display Gardens in Virginia, with the second being Tufton Farm at Monticello.
“I love history, so joining the Historic Iris Society was a perfect fit for me,” explained Gammon. “One of the requirements is that you have to have at least 15 historic iris varieties in your garden and the garden should be open to the public. We have more than 15 historic varieties, but we also have many newer introductions.”
To qualify as a historic iris, the iris must have been introduced to the American Iris Society 30 years ago or earlier.
To visit Stormy Weather Iris Gardens, simply email stormyweatheriris@yahoo.com to schedule a visitation time. They will begin scheduling in the first week of April and visits are free.
