Celebrating Stratford’s official flower
The Rt. Rev. W. T. Corcoran Memorial Iris Garden, planted and maintained by Garden Stratford, is in pleasant parkland on McLagan Drive, a quiet street connecting St. Vincent Street and John Street.
Visitors enjoy many beautiful varieties of irises, with early, mid-season and later varieties providing an extended sequence of blooms.
The Iris connection
Actress Audrey Hepburn said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow,” which Garden Stratford adopted as its motto.
Garden Stratford celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2018 by adopting “Believe in Tomorrow” as its celebratory iris, commissioned by Garden Stratford and hybridized by Bob Granatier of Trail’s End Iris. There’s an example of the purple and gold iris to the right. See if you can spot it when you visit.
History of the garden
The garden is named for Father William Tillman Corcoran (1889-1970) who served Stratford’s Immaculate Conception Church for many years. He was widely known as a hybridizer of gladiolus and iris, and was active in the Horticultural Society.
When to visit
Early and mid-summer is the best time to enjoy these and many other beautiful irises, but the Corcoran Iris garden can be a place to visit after iris season for attractive plantings of ornamental grasses and sedum.