Thursday, April 30, 2009

Irises In Bloom


Jamie and I have over forty different Iris in the garden right now. Japanese, Flag, Louisiana, Dutch, African, Border Bearded and Tall bearded, it would be impossible to choose a favorite one. Oddly enough we don’t have any Siberian… that will certainly have to change. This first iris is a Blue Flag named ‘Contraband Girl’.


Contraband Girl


This Iris is a pass along from a gardening buddy online. It’s a Japanese Iris and it’s gorgeous, but I have no idea what the name is. I call it 'Bethie’s Japanese'.


Bethie'sJapaneseC


About two years ago, another online plant friend sent me a box of un-named bearded. This is the first one to bloom and I’ve affectionately named it ‘Polly’s Blue’.

Polly'sBlueC


This beautiful pink is ‘Beverly Sills’.


BeverlySillsC


Once again another pass along, we’ll call this one ‘Judy’s Blue’.


BlueIrisC


And… ‘Judy’s Yellow’. This iris is the best bloomer in the garden. It starts blooming in December and will continue into May. It beats all I’ve ever seen.


YellowirisC


'In Your Dreams'

InyourdreamsC


'Point In Time'

Point In TimeC


'Sea Swells'

Sea SwellsC


This is Louisiana Iris ‘Sinfonietta’


SinfoniettaC


'Owen's Yellow'

Owen's YellowC


I believe this is ‘Baltic Elegy’ the storm blew away the labels and I mis-tagged it as ‘Juris Prudence’.


UnknownC


This iris is giving us blooms for the first time this year too, this is ‘Iceland’.


IcelandC

22 comments:

Becca's Dirt said...

I can't pick a favorite - they all are so awesome. The colors you captured are just gorgeous. Hope you have a great day... Becca

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

All of my bearded irises are passalong plants; I don't know any of their names. I don't even know the color when I plant them, but they all look pretty good where they ended up. Right now we just have foliage; no buds yet.

Randy said...

Becca!
We always welcome another Alabama Gardener! Good to see you here!

Monica,
Passalong plants are always the best ones aren't they? I have about six or seven that haven't bloomed yet. I have no idea what color they are so it will be an adventure! I never have been one to pay alot of attention to color combos. My theory is nature looks like a work of art and it's totally random. :-)--Randy

Dirt Princess said...

They are all top notch. Lots of great shots. I love all the purples

Gail said...

Very fine iris...just don't ask me to pick a favorite! I can share that I love the deep veining in the purple ones! gail

F Cameron said...

I love all of your irises! Stunning!

We were at the Raulston Arboretum yesterday and saw iris tectorum 'Alba' and it was a gorgeous iris, but one that I don't know at all. They had it inside the Lath House, so it must need some winter protection here in zone 7? Do you know that one?

Cameron

tina said...

So pretty! I am really enjoying all the iris this year. 40 varieties is a big rainbow of delight.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You sure have some beauties here. I have some old fashioned purple ones blooming right now. I have no idea what the name of them are. They too were pass along plants. I can't even remember who gave them to me. Ha...

sweetbay said...

Beautiful iris! We have Sinfonettia too and the color is so beautiful. Love your burgundy iris. It looks like velvet.

Jan said...

Not ever having been a big iris fan, Randy, I haven't one doubt that Polly, Beverly, Judy, InYourDreams and SeaSwells are all welcome to visit my garden any time! They're all gorgeous...my favorites are the blues.

Unknown said...

I have beverly sills and love her! She is so timeless!

Randy said...

Dirt Princess,
Purple is one of my favorite colors too, but lately I’ve really been attracted to blue for some reason.

Gail,
Would you believe I never even noticed the veining until you pointed it out? I need to spend more time looking at my flowers.

Cameron,
I’ve never seen that one before, but it is certainly on my list of must haves now. I’ve never seen an iris bloom shaped like that with such wide blades. And they foliage drapes similar to Daylilies rather than standing up. It’s very interesting… Let’s see how long it takes me to find one. LOL

Tina,
They bloom at a different time, which is good I guess, but could you imagine if they all bloomed simultaneously? That would be a rainbow!

Lisa,
Over the years I’m sure we will start to forget too, things come and go and It’s difficult to keep track of it all. LOL I hope you post a picture of yours for us to enjoy.

Sweet Bay,
This is our first year for Sinfonietta. We got it really reduced last year and looking pretty bad, but it made a remarkable come back!

Jan,
If decide to get an iris for your garden, Sea Swells is the way to go. That flower is the most gorgeous blue color I believe I have ever seen. It’s a medium height Iris.

Flowrgirl1,
Out of the entire iris collection in our garden, Beverly is the one that always captures everyone’s attention. You are right she is timeless.

Antonio said...

Irises are quite possibly my second favorite perennial. And I'd have more of them if it weren't for my first favorite: roses. But the more I see pictures of them the more I'm tempted to spade prune some daylilies to make room for more irises.

Randy said...

Antonio,
Irises are easy to grow and I think the foliage would be a good combo with your daylily foliage. You'd have Iris in the spring and Daylilies in the summer. :-)

Phillip Oliver said...

It is hard to choose a favorite although "In Your Dreams" stands out for me. I also love the Louisiana iris although I don't have any. My favorites are the Siberian and I have tons to share with you if you'd like some.

Frances said...

Oh J and R, I never tire of seeing the iris. Yours are just stunning and I love the mix of colors and species too. I have Beverly Sills, she is not quite open yet but has been identified with that unique bud color. Ahhhh.
Frances

Randy said...

Phillip, thank you for the iris offer. You know I'm going to take you up on it. LOL

Frances,
Always a pleasure to get a visit from you. I don't think I could ever get tired of Irises either. :-)

Anonymous said...

Your collection of Irises is gorgeous! I love the shades of blues too. I'll have to add some of those Louisiana to my garden this fall. Now I do have the Siberian type & they are full of buds at the moment. :)

Jan said...

Oh, how lovely. Beverly Sills is absolutely gorgeous. I bet your garden is so pretty with all these irises blooming.

Jan
Always Growing

Cindy, MCOK said...

Oh, wow, wow, wow! I love iris and since we can't grow beardeds here, it's a treat to see them! I have numerous Louisiana, and I know Sinfonietta was amongst them at one time. They've spread and intermingled so much that I no longer know who's who!

Anonymous said...

You sure have a ton of variety. The colors are just amazing.

Annie in Austin said...

Usually can't choose favorites either, Randy, but 'Owens's Yellow' just reached out and grabbed me.

And of course you need some Siberians ;-]

Annie at the Transplantable Rose