Hey..be happy you're in the city gardening and not the country. You'd be dealing with not only rabbits, but deer. Yeah, I love iris's. I had several colors going until my shitty neighbor decided to plant these hideous trees over them! Ha....his trees died (nothing I did.) So the a/hole replants the same hideous trees again this year.
People who read this will likely think me nuts (as if I give a shit)---but no shit, I was out on my deck just a few days walking down to where I had just planted some calidiums....and there sits this squirell. They love digging up bulbs.
I just stopped in my tracks and put my arms over my chest and began talking to the squirell. Squirells are so damn skittish, I was shocked that he just sat only inches from me seemingly attentive. I told that squirell that I worked HARD on my garden and he/she needed to respect that. I pointed out all of the WEEDS my surrounding neighbors had to munch on.....LOL, I was seriously appealing to this squirell that it PLEASE stay out of my garden. God as my witness, when I was done speaking, that squirell ran up a tree that was right on the line of my lot, got his buddy and scurried off.