Laimonis Zaķis’ Iris Garden

The Iris Garden near Kandava is owned by renowned gladiolus and iris breeder Laimonis Zaķis. This garden has the largest collection of bearded irises in Latvia.

Laimonis Zaķis has been breeding flowers for over 30 years. He was the first to introduce bearded irises to Latvia and made them popular in the late 1990s. He got fresh inspiration to work with large flowered irises on a visit to the Iris Garden during the International Iris Competition in Florence in 2006. This was when Laimonis decided, ‘I too will have an iris garden that will not only bring me joy, but that other flower lovers can enjoy too!’ The first furrows in the old orchard were dug already in the autumn of 2006 and within three years the vast collection of irises was brought over. The collection is constantly being supplemented by continued breeding and intensive cross-breeding of the newest non-native varieties to create new varieties suitable to the Latvian climate – robust and with rich blossoms.

Laimonis Zaķis is currently the owner of the largest collection of bearded irises in Latvia.

He has created dozens of varieties of low-growing irises, but has created several hundreds of flower bulb varieties in total. Laimonis organises open days in his garden when they bloom. Visitors can enjoy irises at the beginning of summer, and gladioluses at the end of summer. During times when there is less work to do in the garden and on the collection, Laimonis accepts invitations to give talks about his collection and the beauty of flower bulbs.

Additional info

Consultations on growing and looking after bulbs.