Plant of the week: Algerian iris

Stick it at the base of a wall, then wait a year or two. Your reward will be beautiful lavender flowers until early springA winter jewel of a plant that rewards patience. If you have a sunny, sheltered wall, plant the rhizomes of Iris unguicularis at its base and wait. It may take a few years, but you will be rewarded by delicate, lavender-blue flowers from Christmas until early spring. The plant itself is hardy, but its blooms are neither frost- nor slug-proof, so cut flower stems while still f