Irises

While the Human doin's of the week were pretty intense, the Irises were blooming in profusion.  We took time to watch Nature's miracle of Flowers unfolding.  Irises do so well here.  I wonder why?  Are these Soils especially to the liking of the Irises?  Is the climate just what they need?

I remember all the Gardeners had Irises when I was growing up.  The old timers called them "Flags" and their bloomtime coincided with Memorial Day.  That meant that Gardeners would take glass jars filled with Irises (and Peonies) to decorate graves.

Our Irises come from various sources. We brought some down with us in our move 5 years ago.  Richard used to have quite the collection of Irises, but we really did not have the best place for them.  Or just maybe, we did not know the best place for them.  Some came from both our Mom's.  One is my Aunt Louise's.  Caesar's Brother is a Siberian Iris.  I just love its growth habit.  We originally purchased it for our gardens up North.  I gave a start to Mom.  Ours had long since died out, and she had her blooming in profusion in her little Garden on the south side of the house.

Our Irises are about 2-3 weeks early in their bloom time this year.  The Rains and Winds this week meant some did not last long.  They too are precious forms of Life right here in our midst.

This one is a puzzle to Richard and me.  We don't remember it in North Dakota but we surely did bring it down.  We wonder if soils have changed its original color.

We have 2 Irises that are almost alike.  Richard's Mother and my Mother each gave me Irises for the gardens around our new house.  That would have been back in the late 1970s.  As I recall, Richard's Mother's had the lighter "falls" (lower petals).  My Mom's were the darker falls.  But never mind, both of these flowers came home looking the same.  I cannot tell the difference between them.  Again, I wonder if it is soils.

This Iris was growing in the yard of the house my parents owned across the street from where they lived.  When we arrived here, Mom and Dad were ever on the look out for plants to transplant to our new little Farm. They would ask if I wanted something.  When I said "yes", Mother would grab the plastic bags and Dad would dig.  I really didn't understand the urgency.  Being Octogenarians, they did.  Dad passed about 7 weeks after we moved here.  Mother said the Iris was originally from her sister Louise.  Aunt Louise had quite a collection of Irises.

And I just love this Iris and its story.  When we were developing our Iris Garden up North, we bought this Siberian Iris which was called "Caesar's Brother".  As it grew, I shared it with Mother.  Time passed and we lost ours.  In fact, I forgot all about it.  When we  moved back here in 2007, to my surprise, Mother had it growing on the south side of her house.  Of course, I wanted a start.