Good morning, Wren! Today, some lovely iris photos.
Guerilla Gardening Update: The irises did not winter well in the patches on Delaware Avenue (the city basically just dumped mulch down, and irises need decent soil that's a bit more sandy and loamy). This bums me out, as I had relocated them last fall (when it was unclear when we might be selling our house and moving) hoping to be able to subdivide in the future, and had no idea what colors or varieties I was planting. I hope I didn't lose any precious varieties. Some of the newer cultivars seem to take a bit longer to get established than those trusty heirlooms. But of course these newer varieties often have enormous, thrilling flowers so it's worth it to grow them!
I have many irises to relocate and even though fall is best for transplanting them I am going to dig more up tomorrow. I'll put them in at Emack and Bolio's, so I can subdivide them after they're established. I also planted some at Christine's place yesterday. She has gorgeous sandy, loamy, soft soil in Delmar, I am so jealous of it! I hope the irises do well there.
I love irises! These photos were all taken in my yard last year. How about that gorgeous purple one? I'm not sure what the variety is.I have so many that keeping track of the names feels like a fool's errand. I also love the burgundy one; the beard is a deep orange, almost rust. The lavender/tan one is a vintage variety called "Shaker's Prayer" or something with Shaker in the name (ETA: It is actually "Quaker Lady" ha ha). I like how it bridges/balances the colors between all the yellow and purple varieties of iris many iris lovers seem to have in their gardens, bringing out subtle tones in both. I also have a deep purple one called "Dracula's Shadow" and a lovely pale blue one I can't identify, as I got it in a grab bag of irises from Ebay. I think it may be a "Princess Grace of Monaco." It has a glistening quality and a soft yellow beard.
Can you grow bearded irises in Florida? What about Siberian ones? I think there may be southern varieties, like the Louisiana Iris. They're gorgeous, super colorful.
