Every year is different. Last year at this time the countryside was a riot of wildflowers. This year seems to be a good one for irises.
Irises are one of the plants that survive in abandoned or neglected gardens. Our own gardens fit that description since the property was owned for several years before us by someone who never actually lived here. These irises are the best evidence that a gardener had once lived here. The ones at the top are along a path through the woods. I’ve mentioned before that we are on a slope, and you can see that in this photo. Thankfully, not all of the property is sloped as much as this.
Most of the irises that were left here have not bloomed before this year so I did not know what color they were. It turns out that a majority are this pale yellow, like these along the driveway. Probably my least favorite color, but I will leave them for the time being.
In addition to the irises that were already here I brought some with me from our previous garden. These I call the Ruiz irises because that was the name of the woman who gardened in that place before me. She must have been fond of them because she used them in several beds but had no other irises. You can’t tell from the photo but the flowers are quite small relative to most iris flowers.
My mother was fond of red and brown irises. She shared some of them with me and I moved them out here from my previous garden. This is the first year they have bloomed here. This one would look better against a different color background.
This one was one of her favorites.
Mom had other colors also. After she passed away I moved more of her irises out here such as this blue and white one.
This one is called Fire Chief. I actually bought this one.
Comments (9)
I have such a soft spot for blue irises, and you have some beautiful ones!
thanks, Lori. I actually think blue may be my personal favorite also.
I inherited that same pale yellow iris was in my garden. You see it all over the old neighborhoods of Austin but I’ve never learned its name. I didn’t think much of it, either, the first year it bloomed. Not very fancy form and a blah color. But this iris cannot be killed. Throw it on the compost pile and it will roll off and plant itself. It is amazing and I’ve come to love it. A survivor!
I call it my tax day iris because it usually blooms around April 15th.
“tax day iris” - i like that and and it’s true here also. the blooms began about Sunday and they are just about at their peak now. Today I even saw a bunch of them at the edge of a woods that I don’t think is used for anything but a deer lease.
what amazing photos!! i agree with your mother, red and brown are my favorites too-they seem to be the most amazing and unusual combinations of colors that glow in a subtle way. you have inspired me to plant more types of iris in my own garden, so far i just have what i happened upon but now i am going to go search some out. thanks!
except for roses irises are about the most popular flowers, and there sure are a lot of varieties available.
Bill, You’ve got quite a variety of irises! Every spring when they bloom around here (sometime in May), I think I should get some more (I have one) but I haven’t yet. I need to find someone nearby with some ready to dig and divide.
Thanks for showing us your irises for bloom day.
iris are fun and easy to share, and that is one of the reasons for their popularity I suspect
How wonderful to have your mom’s irises! I have nothing from my gardening relatives, save a few cuttings of African violets from Great Aunt Maxine.
And I adore pale yellow, so why don’t you just dig up those irises and ship them to Maryland?
Robin at Bumblebee
i’ll remember that when I divide them in September.
Bill, I have some irises too. One is Bill’s grandmother’s. I also have a French lilac from the old home place of hers.
My favorite irises are blue ones. As soon as mine bloom, I’ll post about them. Thanks for the photos.~~Dee
I like blue also. look forward to your post.
I noticed that the iris in Nashville is blooming beautifully as well. Last year, let’s not talk about last year…it was horrible, but the year before, not so many iris. I only have two types, the older purple and blue, one smells like grapes, both remind me of my childhood! I expect all iris to have a grape fragrance but they don’t! How wonderful that you have your mother’s iris in your garden.
Gail
grapes. interesting. never noticed one like that.
Hello Bill,
Your iris are lovely, and it’s wonderful that you were able to keep family heirlooms.
But it amuses me to think that against the wilder setting of your place in the country, these ruffly girls look like the “French Tarts” brought by stagecoach to the mining town in Paint Your Wagon.
Your house probably doesn’t look rustic at all and it’s in my imagination ;-]
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
actually my house is kind of the typical ranch house; would be fun if it were a log cabin or something. but i agree that the irises that are growing in the wooded areas seem out of place to me and i plan to move them when i have the time. on the other hand iris is kind of a traditional flower to plant around a farmhouse.
Your iris pictures make me want to jump in the car and drive up to your house to see them in person! Their beauty and the power of their histories just pull me in. Thank you so much for sharing them. I agree with Annie at the Transplantable Rose about your ruffly girls. I’m lucky enough to have one of her girls in my garden, although it’s still fainting a bit from the trip over.