I is for Iris

Well, again the computer defeats me! I’ve ‘turned’ pictures before, but today I can’t seem to find the right combination of ‘clicks’ so rather than start throwing things, I’m just going to leave them as they are and let you enjoy their beauty, though it is ‘sideways’.

I think the iris ‘season’ is way too short. I guess if they lasted longer we might not appreciate them as much, but still…TOO SHORT.

In the town of Randersacker, Germany there was a yard with irises we would pass on the way to dinner at a favorite restaurant. I loved it in spring and was tempted to see if I could ask for some rhizomes from the owner, but as they would be in gardens I would only temporarily have, I never bothered.

I’ve a weakness for the beauty/shimmer of iris. The colors are just stunning, so when the local iris club/association has their sales (at least twice a year) I am hard pressed not to buy a few more rhizomes on faith alone.

The best iris like hybrid roses and racehorses have long pedigrees. I write down the name but then once it is in the ground the name is usually lost. If you are really into iris you are probably cringing at such cavalier treatment, but such is life. The name isn’t as important to me as the flowers.

My best friend in high school isn’t as enamored of iris as I am, but that is rooted in her family history. Her father collected iris every chance he got and their small city backyard was turned over to rows of irises, which sounds fine until you think about weeding out the grass. And that was the job that fell to my friend and her brother. I can see how iris would lose their appeal if your main dealing with them involved work.

Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow and a messenger for the gods. You can see the shimmer in the iris flowers that made the Greeks think of rainbows and iris flowers come in every color of the rainbow including reds, rusty browns and limey greens which makes them a little unusual in the plant world.

Most common would be the blues and purples. ‘Old’ stands of iris sometimes revert to that blue type. But even that is lovely to me and I have a few of those, which being ‘common’, makes it easy to cut to bring in. Another part that makes them precious is not only is the ‘season’ of flowering short, the flowers themselves only last about one day, two at most. Since there may be three or four buds on a stem and they don’t all open at once the blooming is extended over several days, but again way too short.

I give you the Rainbow Goddess of the Garden, Iris.