Northwest Blooms · Irises
Iris 'Ghost Writer'
Ghost Writer Iris
- Height
- 3 feet
- Width
- 1 to 1 1/2 feet
- Flower color
- Smoky cream, pale lavender-grey with pinkish veining
- Foliage color
- Medium green, upright, sword-shaped foliage
- Bloom time
- Midseason
- Light
- Full sun
- Water
- Moderate, drought tolerant once established
- Growing zone
- USDA zones 4 to 8
About this plant
Iris 'Ghost Writer' is a tall bearded iris with softly ruffled flowers that open in midseason. The standards are a smoky creamy white with the faintest blush of pink, while the falls deepen into pale lavender-grey with delicate pinkish veining concentrated around the shoulders and beard. Soft peach-orange beards fade toward grey-white at their tips, complementing the subdued coloring. Upright, sword-shaped green foliage forms tidy fans beneath the flowering stems.
Introduced in 2011 by hybridizer Keith Keppel, 'Ghost Writer' received an American Iris Society Honorable Mention in 2013 and Award of Merit in 2017. Its restrained palette gives it a quiet presence that works especially well among darker irises or stronger flower colors, where the pale blooms provide contrast without introducing a stark, brilliant white.
Works well in
Cottage Gardens · Formal Gardens · Borders · Cut Flower Gardens · Walkways
Companion plants
Dwarf weigela · Shrub rose · Purple sage · White coneflower · Sea holly · Silver artemisia · Creeping dianthus
Design tip
Use 'Ghost Writer' as a visual pause between strongly colored plants rather than grouping it only with other pale flowers. Its smoky undertones keep the transition soft, while positioning it near darker foliage helps define the delicate blooms from a distance.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Schreiner's Iris Gardens.
