Need an easy, pretty and groundcovering perennial for your shady side yard – like that skinny strip against your house? Distinctive, tropical-looking and evergreen Iris confusa ‘Chengdu’ is a great choice! Forming dense clumps of strappy rich green leaves held in fans and topped for several months in Spring with exquisite, vanilla scented 2 1/2” ornately marked lavender blooms. Glamorous multi-branched stems hold up to 75 flowers at a time looking much like floating orchids! Not fussy about soil, it tolerates both wet and dryish conditions. Spreads happily by rhizomes (easily controlled if necessary) to fill in a good sized area. Makes a nice container (10 gal and up) subject, too. Give a dose of compost once a year and bait for snails for superb appearance. Grows 2’-3’ tall and hardy to 20F.