Northwest Blooms · Irises
Iris 'Marrying Kind'
Marrying Kind Iris
- Height
- 3 feet
- Width
- 1 to 1 1/2 feet
- Flower color
- Peachy pink, lavender and soft blue with red-orange beards
- 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 'Marrying Kind' is a tall bearded iris with softly ruffled, bicolored flowers that open in midseason. Peachy pink standards are brushed with lavender through their centers, while the broad falls blend shades of lavender, rose, and soft blue with warmer beige-pink coloring near the shoulders. Red-orange beards deepen toward the throat and transition to lavender at the tips, adding another layer of color. Upright, sword-shaped green foliage forms tidy fans beneath the flowering stems.
Introduced in 2015 by hybridizer Keith Keppel, 'Marrying Kind' received an American Iris Society Honorable Mention in 2017 and Award of Merit in 2019. Its gentle mixture of pink, lavender, and blue works beautifully in sunny perennial borders, cottage gardens, and dedicated iris beds, where the blended coloring can be appreciated at close range.
Works well in
Cottage Gardens · Borders · Cut Flower Gardens · Walkways · Waterwise Gardens
Companion plants
Spirea · Russian sage · Yarrow · Garden phlox · Lupine · Candytuft · Creeping phlox
Design tip
Use 'Marrying Kind' as a transition between pink and purple sections of a sunny border. Its blended coloring helps soften abrupt shifts between warmer and cooler flowers, while repeating a few peach or lavender accents nearby creates continuity without making the planting feel overly coordinated.
Where to see it
This plant can be seen at Schreiner’s Iris Gardens.
