May 3, 2016

Iris season is almost over here...

A dear lady doll maker friend posted as to the relevance of blogging, and it occurred to me that I have not posted regularly.  I'll make a point of it more often, if only to keep in touch with people that I've met/communicated with here.

But since I have no finished dolls (might have to take photos of wips later) I have to show off the mini-iris farm that our yard has become.  The hubs has said I can plant the whole front yard in iris if I want, so long as I don't try to do it all in one year.  This is not much of a threat, as we have a very tiny front yard.  :~)

Beware this is a photo heavy post, and nothing to do with dolls.  I have the iris virus, and have (I think) infected my mother in law with same.  At least I'll have another yard to plant when I fill mine up.

A little red noid (no i.d.) that has bloomed the whole season.

Paprika Fono...a rebloomer and very vigorous grower.

Life of Riley.  One of my favorites which does amazing things with late afternoon light.

Another favorite, but I didn't know til this year.  Blooms everywhere, vigorous growth, and not only is it amazing with purple black color, it smells soooooo good.

We do get rain in the desert!

Another noid, but it's a keeper.

These are Clarence in front and Alpenview behind...see how the falls (lower petals) and standards (upper petals) have reversed colors?

Another noid, but soooo brilliantly colored!

I think this one is Immortality, but I'll have to wait and see if it reblooms--Immortality is a famous rebloomer.

Spin Off.  Not prolific, but a gorgeous bloom.

Gala Madrid, almost four feet tall.

Alien Mist.  I love these space age iris, with the little horns on the beards.

This one is a space age (see the horns?) but also a Noid. 

Panama Hattie.  Love those stripes!

A noid...but very fragrant and hardy.

Another noid...I love the orange beards in all that pink and magenta.

Another Noid...I didn't think I liked it at first, but when the sun comes through it, it's magical.

Not a good photo of this noid, being crowded by another bud, but it has the old historic simple form.

Alien Mist again...because I like it so much.  See the horns better in this photo?

Tiger Butter.  I shouldn't have shaded it when I took its photo, but see how the under side of the falls is yellow when the top of them is wine colored?  I don't know how it can do this when the petals are so thin.

Betty Knight (very fragrant).

Dawn Glory.  Not so very tall, but determined to bloom--even bloomed in the pot when we were moving last year.

Dusky Challenger.  I hope this fellow makes it, since there seem to be no new baby rhizomes yet. Each rhizome blooms once, then sets off babies...so if it only blooms and doesn't make babies, then it is lost.  I love this one!

Hostess Royale.  Amazingly visible from a distance in spite of such delicate color. 

Another noid...I like the yellow at the shoulders of the falls.
This on is Slovak Prince, and he is beset with the aphids that have invaded this year.  They haven't so far done any damage than I can tell, but we set a population of lady bugs among them in hopes of stemming the tide.  They're awful!

Penny Lane.  Smells delightful, and how can you beat that gold color?

I hope you weren't bored with my whole season of iris blooms.  :~)  I get a little one-dimensional during bloom season. So just in case you aren't sick of iris yet, here are a few photos of the beds these iris live in (and the clematis that has bloomed like crazy this year). 





11 comments:

  1. I have to say your Iris' are stunning but my favorite would be the Betty Knight. I can see why you would want to use your front lawn to plant these beauties.

    Dolls in progress are an interesting site to see, probably my favorite.
    As to blogging...just seems my blogger reading list keeps getting smaller and smaller because many haven't posted for 2 to 5 years.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bethann--I like the vivid blue and purple ones too. I think my favorites are the amoenas (with contrasting standards and falls).

      Delete
  2. Jan, your iris are absolutely stunning! Your yard must be the envy of the neighborhood. I moved a few iris to the front of the house last summer and several have bloomed this spring. I have truly enjoyed them, iris are such beautiful flowers. I wish I could come and stroll around your yard. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sherri. I like that other people can enjoy it, and people have been known to stop and yell out how much they like it, so--win win!

      Delete
  3. You are so strong to do all this. I love to work in the yard too, but not a good time for me yet. When we get the house done and hopefully settle into just one house, I can work on some flowers too. The iris and other flowers are stunning. I am always amazed at how beautiful nature is. Your neighbors are fortunate to have you planting beautiful flowers that I am sure they are enjoying. I love to read the blogs too. Flowers, family things, dolls, anything is interesting and enjoyable.Thanks for going to the trouble to show us your flowers. I just love all their names.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The names can be really funny. One in a recent catalogue was called, "I Pink I Can". :~P

      Delete
  4. The flowers are beautiful. I really like flowers. I would like your garden

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're ever in Dewey AZ, then I'd be happy to take you through it. Very small, however--might take half an hour if we spend time at each bed. :~P

      Delete
  5. I've never, ever viewed such a variety of Iris, in one garden setting... commendable! My local "Siberian" Iris will soon be coming into their own; ready to open (I finally divided them last year and they seem quite happy)! Here in South Jersey I'm dealing with aphids on all of my rose buds... a "first" in ten years. Dawn dish detergent and water to the rescue! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yuck--aphids! I have never had such an infestation as we had this year. I'm going to grow some ascepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) as an aphid trap--they will leave roses or just about any other plant for butterfly weed. I have collected the iris for quite a few years now...when Phil and I got married, my "bouquet" was a single iris cut with my car key. (We did plan the wedding, but I hadn't thought of a bouquet.) It poked out through the chain link fence as if to say, Pick Me!

      Delete
  6. Your Irises are so beautiful! My irises just will not do anything? I wonder if they have too much shade? I am frustrated but it may be my own fault for planting them where I did!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you very much for stopping by.