Iris Day, celebrated every year on May 8th, is the perfect excuse to slow down and appreciate these stunning flowers. Whether you’ve got just a few irises or an entire garden bursting with color, it’s a great time to celebrate their beauty. I love using this day to reconnect with the garden and share it with others.
There are so many fun and simple ways to make the day special right at home. From getting a little artsy with flower pressing to hosting a relaxed garden get-together, it doesn’t take much to create something memorable. Even just snapping a few photos or taking time to sketch your favorite bloom can feel meaningful.
In this list, you’ll find fifteen creative ways to honor the iris and enjoy everything it represents—grace, color, and the joy of spring. Whether you’re flying solo or making it a family affair, these ideas are all about celebrating nature and making a few lasting memories along the way.
1. Host An Iris-Themed Garden Brunch
Nothing brings people together like good food in a beautiful setting. Set up a table near your iris beds and prepare a simple brunch with egg dishes, pastries, and fresh fruit. I’ve found that purple napkins and a few cut irises in small vases make the table setting feel special without much effort.
Ask guests to wear something in iris colors – purple, blue, yellow, or white. The photos always turn out gorgeous with everyone coordinated with the flowers. Last year, my neighbor brought iris-shaped cookies that were the talk of the party.
Keep the gathering intimate – just 4-6 people is perfect for conversation that flows easily. Morning light also happens to be ideal for appreciating the intricate details of iris blooms.
2. Create Iris Flower Prints
Grab some watercolor paper, acrylic paint, and a few iris blooms for a fun printing project. Gently coat the petals with paint and press them onto the paper to create unique impressions. The natural shape of iris petals makes surprisingly beautiful patterns that capture their essence.
Kids especially love this activity. My niece spent an entire afternoon making iris prints last spring, experimenting with different colors and arrangements. We hung her creations on the fridge for months afterward.
Try using complementary colors to make the prints really stand out – yellow paint on purple irises or blue paint on white flowers. The prints make lovely homemade cards or frameable art that preserves the beauty of your garden.
3. Plant A New Iris Variety
Iris Day is the perfect excuse to add to your collection. I make it a tradition to plant at least one new iris variety each year, and it’s become something I look forward to every May. Local nurseries often have special sales around this time.
Take your time choosing a color or pattern you don’t already have. The anticipation of waiting to see it bloom the following year is half the fun. Last year I planted a reblooming variety that surprised me with a second show of flowers in early fall.
Involve family members in the planting process and take a photo beside your new addition. Creating a photo timeline of your iris garden’s evolution over the years becomes a treasured record of growth and change.
4. Design An Iris Photography Scavenger Hunt
Turn Iris Day into a fun challenge by creating a photography scavenger hunt. Make a list of items to photograph: iris with a bee, smallest iris in the garden, most unusual color, iris with morning dew, and so on. This activity works wonderfully for families or a small group of friends.
Set a time limit of 30-60 minutes and then gather to share the results. I tried this last year with my camera club friends and was amazed at how differently everyone interpreted the prompts. Some of the macro shots revealed details I’d never noticed before.
Award small prizes for categories like most creative angle or best lighting. The photos become a wonderful keepsake and might even make good material for personalized cards or calendars later in the year.
5. Mix Iris-Inspired Cocktails Or Mocktails
Create special drinks that match the colors of your irises. Purple cocktails can be made with grape juice, blue curaçao, or butterfly pea flower tea, while yellow ones might feature lemonade or pineapple juice. Garnish with edible flowers (not iris, as they’re not edible) or lemon twists.
Setting up a self-serve drink station lets guests customize their beverages. I keep recipe cards handy so people can recreate their favorites at home. Something about sipping a purple drink while admiring purple flowers feels delightfully coordinated.
For a family-friendly version, make colorful layered drinks in clear glasses using fruit juices of different densities. The kids in my family love watching the colors stay separated, just like the distinct parts of an iris bloom.
6. Create A Pressed Iris Bookmark
Carefully select a few iris petals to press between heavy books or in a flower press. After they’ve dried for about two weeks, arrange them on cardstock and cover with clear contact paper or laminate them to create unique bookmarks. The translucent quality of pressed iris petals captures their elegance perfectly.
I’ve made these as gifts for my book club friends, and they’re always a hit. Each bookmark turns out slightly different, preserving a bit of spring even in the middle of winter when we’re reading by the fire.
Try experimenting with different parts of the iris – the falls (lower petals), standards (upright petals), and even the delicate veining patterns all create interesting designs. Include the date and flower variety on the back as a sweet reminder of your garden’s story.
7. Paint Terracotta Pots With Iris Designs
Gather some plain terracotta pots and acrylic paints to create custom iris-themed planters. You don’t need to be an artist – simple iris silhouettes or even just bands of iris-inspired colors look striking against the orange-brown background of the pots.
This project has become an annual tradition with my sister. We sit in the garden with our paints, looking at the real irises for inspiration while catching up on life. Something about the creative process makes conversation flow more easily.
Once the paint is dry and sealed with a clear coat, plant iris rhizomes in the decorated pots. They make thoughtful gifts for gardening friends or perfect additions to your own patio. I keep one special pot from each year as a growing collection.
8. Build A Dedicated Iris Meditation Space
Choose a quiet corner of your iris garden to create a small meditation area. A simple bench or comfortable cushion is all you need. I added wind chimes to mine last year – their gentle tinkling complements the visual beauty of the flowers perfectly.
Spending just 10 minutes sitting quietly among your irises can be surprisingly restorative. Their strong, sword-like leaves pointing skyward have always symbolized hope to me, a reminder to stand tall through life’s challenges.
Consider adding a small journal to your meditation space where you and visitors can jot down thoughts inspired by the garden. Over time, it becomes a beautiful collection of reflections that changes with the seasons, just like the garden itself.
9. Draw An Iris Garden Map
Take a blank piece of paper and sketch the layout of your iris beds, noting the different varieties and colors. This becomes both a practical garden planning tool and a lovely keepsake. I use colored pencils to make mine more vibrant, though even a simple pen drawing has its charm.
Adding details like bloom times, height, and when each variety was planted helps track your garden’s evolution. My first map from five years ago shows just three varieties clustered in one corner – now we’re up to fifteen spread throughout the yard!
Make a fresh map each Iris Day and date it. Comparing maps from year to year provides a satisfying visual record of how your collection has grown and changed. It’s also helpful when planning future additions to ensure good color distribution.
10. Hold An Iris Identification Contest
Cut one bloom from each iris variety in your garden and number them for a fun identification game. Provide guests with a list of the iris names you grow and challenge them to match the blooms to their proper names. The intricate patterns on each flower make this trickier than you might expect!
We did this at our garden club meeting last spring, and even experienced growers were stumped by some of the similar varieties. It sparked great conversations about subtle differences in form and color.
Award the winner with an iris-themed prize – perhaps a packet of iris seeds, a garden marker, or a small iris rhizome to take home. The contest encourages everyone to look more closely at these complex flowers and appreciate their unique characteristics.
11. Create Iris Seed Packets For Next Year
After your irises finish blooming, save seeds from the pods that develop. Design and print small custom seed packets to fill with these seeds. I like to include a photo of the parent plant and basic growing instructions on each packet.
The pods take several months to develop and dry, so this is actually a two-part celebration – marking which plants to collect from on Iris Day, then harvesting and packaging the seeds later in summer. It gives me something to look forward to after the blooms are gone.
These seed packets make meaningful gifts for gardening friends or party favors for next year’s Iris Day celebration. Growing irises from seed takes patience (often 2-3 years until first bloom), but there’s something magical about watching a plant develop from the very beginning.
12. Host An Iris Watercolor Workshop
Set up a small painting station in your garden with watercolors, brushes, and paper. Invite friends to try their hand at capturing the beauty of your irises. Even those who claim no artistic ability often surprise themselves with what they create.
I find there’s something meditative about trying to capture the curves and colors of these complex flowers. You notice details you’ve never seen before – the delicate veining on the falls or the exact shade where purple meets yellow on a bicolor variety.
Serve light refreshments and keep the atmosphere relaxed and non-judgmental. At the end, have everyone sign and date their work, no matter how amateur. These paintings become cherished mementos of both the flowers and the day spent appreciating them with friends.
13. Create An Iris Fact Treasure Hunt
Research interesting facts about irises and write them on small cards. Hide these cards throughout your garden for a educational treasure hunt. Did you know irises are named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow? Or that they’ve been cultivated for over 3,000 years?
I tried this with my nieces and nephews last year, adding small prizes for the facts they found. They were genuinely interested in learning why some irises have “beards” and how the plants communicate with pollinators through their distinctive markings.
For adults, you might include more complex information about iris hybridization or historical uses. End the hunt with everyone sharing the most surprising fact they discovered while enjoying refreshments near your prettiest iris display.
14. Craft Iris-Inspired Paper Decorations
Use colored paper to create stylized iris decorations for your garden party. The simple three-part shape of iris flowers (falls, standards, and style arms) makes them relatively easy to reproduce in paper form. Hang them from tree branches or arrange them on tables for a whimsical touch.
My first attempts weren’t perfect, but that’s part of the charm. I’ve kept a few paper irises from previous celebrations, and they bring back happy memories when I unpack them each year. They’re surprisingly durable when stored carefully.
Try making them in colors that match your actual garden irises, or go wild with metallics or patterns that nature never dreamed of. The contrast between the paper interpretations and real flowers creates an artistic conversation piece for your Iris Day gathering.
15. Start An Iris Day Journal Tradition
Begin a special journal dedicated to recording your Iris Day celebrations year after year. Include notes about which varieties bloomed on that day, weather conditions, and who joined you to celebrate. I paste in photos and pressed petals to make the pages more vibrant.
This has become one of my most treasured possessions. Looking back at entries from five years ago reminds me how much the garden has grown and changed. The journal entries also capture life’s journey – the year my mother visited, the spring after we moved, the first Iris Day with our new puppy.
Leave space for garden dreams and plans for next year. Which new iris varieties do you want to add? What celebration ideas would you like to try? The journal becomes both a record of the past and inspiration for the future.