Claire Austin:

http://www.claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk/buy-peonies-irises-perennials.php?b=1

Their customer service is nice, they sent me a catalogue the other day even though it's very last minute. They send out irises bare root until some time in the Spring, I think they are still sending deliveries now as far as I can tell.

Their catalogue is lovely to look through, too. You can request a catalogue through the 'contact us' link, I think they are at the end of the current catalogue, though:

http://www.claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk/contact.php

Thank you so much for the links. I shall have a look now to get inspiration! There are such wonderful colour combinations! Really kind of you - so helpful.

Goodness thay are stunning, it will be so hard to choose favourites!!

Whoops, can't spell they!

I've just ordered some iris from them, and I haven't had an e-mail to say that they aren't sending them out any more.

Kelway's are also good - www.kelways.co.uk. I've used them and can vouch for them

I have heard of Kelways too, I think they are also a bit famous.

Do people here grow them with other things or in their own dedicated border?

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with bearded iris.
When they are in flower, they are spectacular; when they are not, the foliage can look pretty tatty. Because the rhizomes need a good baking, this means they need to be planted at the front of the border and their dishevelled appearance becomes all too obvious

I don't care for 'dishevelled' either so thank you for pointing this out to me! I do love the magnificent flowers though but they do not last very long. Thank you for all the replies I received.

I have a long drive with a sunbaked border to one side, and I plant all my iris along there, interspersed with lavender, which likes hot sun, too, doesn't shade the rhizomes too much, and hides the scruffy bits. Other than that, you could always plant them in containers which you can bring to the fore when they are in full flower, and shift somewhere not quite so noticeable when they're at the dishevelled stage.