The Cottage Garden: Butter Yellow Bearded Iris Varieties 🧈

Discover the charm of 'Butter' themed irises with buttery yellow and cream hues

When I embarked on this project, I had no idea just how many varieties contained the word ‘Butter’ in their names. With over 80,000 bearded iris varieties, there were bound to be a few pounds worth of butter among them. Exploring these fun lists is a great way to uncover varieties that pull at your heartstrings, especially if you’re inspired by the variety names that evoke the charm of a quaint countryside garden. By clicking on the name of the iris, you will be taken to the wonderful online realm called The American Iris Society Iris Encyclopedia, created by Bob Pries. You will be lost in there for hours as you begin clicking on the parentage and history of each breeder.

This list is filled with darling cottagecore-esque bearded irises (and a few beardless too): 'Boysenberry Buttercup', 'Buttermaker’s Bride', 'Buttermilk Fairy', 'Buttered Biscuit', 'Buttercream Pie', and 'Buttercup Bower', to name a few. As you begin to explore this list and others, you may see a “𓆸” that I placed next to varieties on my personal wishlist and “📜” to note a historical variety. In addition, I’ve introduced a new symbol just for this list: “🧈” to indicate a true buttery yellow iris (with hues ranging from cream-colored to a vibrant I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter yellow, but not butterscotch-colored).

Iris Codes

BB: Border Bearded

IB: Intermediate Bearded

LA: Louisiana Iris

MDB: Miniature Dwarf Bearded

MTB: Miniature Tall Bearded

PCN: Pacific Coast Native

TB: Tall Bearded

SIB: Siberian Iris

SPU: Spuria

SPX: Species Hybrids

𓆸 = On my personal wishlist

📜 = Historical Variety

🧈 = Butter Yellow in Color

Iris 'Country Butter' 1952 TB 📜 🧈

Iris 'Butter Cookie' 1979 IB 📜 🧈

Iris 'Butter and Sugar' 1976 SIB 📜 🧈