An elegant Missouri and Illinois native perennial, Southern Blue Flag, Iris virginica shrevei, fills the garden with fragrant, violet blue flowers with falls that are highlighted with yellow and white. Clumps of thick strape-like foliage grow 1.5-2′ tall and wide. Sometimes, its narrow leaf blades lie on the ground.

Use Southern Blue Flag in rain, water, and native gardens, along ponds and streams, in moist woodland gardens, and in sunny bogs. In the wild, the plant’s rhizomes are often under water and can be found in wet, swampy areas. Rhizomes are poisonous. Southern Blue Flag prefers consistent moisture, and will grow in clay soil.

Plant in full sun to part shade in a moist spot.