The Iris Moment

I love irises! Especially the majestic tall bearded ones. (Although I did have to stake some of mine for the first time this year after they flopped over, so I might revise my opinion of the tall kind in future.)

Anyway, here are some of the rainbow of irises I've had in the gardens this week (many from my Rainbow Border, which contains a progression of rainbow colors; white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and back to white again). Since irises are one of the only flowers that come in every color of the rainbow, I thought they were important to include in the border:

White irises 'Immortality' in the Far White Section
of the rainbow border. There are some white irises
in the Near White Section too, but they
were surrounded by oxeye daisies
and didn't photograph well.

Pink irises in the Pink Section. These flopped over and I had to
stake them... although they are very pretty in an old-fashioned
pink color.

'Red at Night' in the Red Section. This is the first time it's bloomed
after being planted for two years.

'Avalon Sunset' in the Orange Section. Very distinctive.

Yellow iris in the Yellow Section.

Unfortunately I don't yet have a green iris or a blue
one in the Rainbow Border yet, although I will
remedy that this fall. I plan to order a
green-flowered iris and perhaps divide this blue
one from the North Border to add to the
Rainbow Border.

The Purple Section has this same kind of purple iris that
was here when I moved to this property, although this is
a photo of my front border, since the ones in the Purple
Section were done flowering.

Some small yellow and burgundy irises next to my
front porch that I got from a friend who was
moving to Liberia for a couple of years.

Some yellow and pink irises that were here when I moved here. I have
divided them and moved them around, adding many to the Front Border. 

The Iris Time is such a lovely time of year, and its arrival (finally) is so well-deserved after such a hard winter. Apparently I'm not alone in admiring these classic flowers: The Sissinghurst Garden blog recaps the trendy flowers at the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show in the UK; irises are one of the flowers enjoying a moment of popularity at the Show. Despite the threat of the borers, they remain a perennial favorite for many gardeners among late spring flowers.

Thanks for reading! -Beth