Freckle Face is a blackberry lily with brilliant orange, two-inch flowers heavily speckled and shaded with red on each of their six overlapping petals. It blooms for weeks in late summer on mid-sized plants with sword-shaped leaves like a bearded iris.
After flowering, tan, pear-shaped pods split open to reveal clusters of shiny black seeds that look like blackberries, giving the plant its name. The seed clusters last through winter and are attractive in fresh or dried arrangements. Its foliage has stayed clean all season in Michigan fields.
What it looks like
Flat, star-like flowers about 2 inches across with six overlapping, rounded petals in brilliant orange, heavily speckled and shaded with red dots, held on branching, wiry stems above the leaves. Leaves are flat, sword-shaped, medium green and arranged in fans like a bearded iris. The plant is an upright clump 18 to 24 inches tall and 8 to 12 inches wide. At peak bloom freckled orange stars float above green fans; later, split pods show clusters of glossy black seeds.
Growing it with lavender
Freckle Face enjoys the same full sun and well-drained soil as lavender, and its speckled orange flowers and iris-like fans add bright late-summer color and upright texture beside lavender after its main bloom.
Care
Grow in full sun in average, well-drained soil; it tolerates dry spells once established. Hardy in USDA zones 4-10. Leave the seed pods for fall and winter interest, and let a few seeds self-sow if you want more plants.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Iris domestica
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Flower color: Brilliant orange with red speckles
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Foliage: Medium green
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Growth habit: Upright clump of sword-shaped fans
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Mature size: 18–24 in tall × 8–12 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–10
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Late-July
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Peak bloom: Mid-August
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.