Crayons In My Garden

Spring brings many wonderful colors to my garden; the irises being very prominent.

I have three types of iris (Bearded; Beardless - Siberian, Japanese; and Dutch) growing throughout my gardens.  They are like boxed crayons; so many wonderful colors in one place.  Now, as a kid I always yearned for that 64 color box of Crayola™ crayons, the kind my friend Judy always started the new school year with; but, I never was able to purchase a box greater than 16 colors.  I grew up in a frugal family; a trait that has served me well over my many years of life.  I do not have those 64 colors of iris, but I do have a good assortment.

lavender/purple

full orange

brilliant gold

coppery-colored rebloomer

The bearded irises, huge and showy, came from the back yard of a house I sold during my real estate career.  There was a large, rectangular bed in the back yard containing nothing but bearded irises.  The vast variety of colors was impressive.  Now, the purchaser wanted to revert that spectacular iris bed back to lawn (ho hum - boring).  Chester said I could come and dig up as many of the bulbs as I wanted.  That’s right…bulbs.  By the time the sale closed, the flowers were spent and I had no idea what color was where.  I took my chances and dug bulbs throughout the bed.  I was fortunate because I ended up with a good mixture of different colors.  Irises are difficult to kill.  I have been known to thin out iris patches, throw the bulbs aside, and have a new clump of irises growing from those tossed bulbs - no planting necessary.  Chester soon discovered that plowing the bed under did not rid him of these irises.  He told me he had these bearded beauties shooting up through the grass for years. 

medium-sized yellow/purple

purple/white

multi-colored

beard - close-up

The smaller, more bush-like growth habit Siberian and Japanese irises came to be a part of my garden through gifting by friends who are no longer a part of my life.  But, when these flowers bloom, my mind travels back to the many delightful moments shared with these friends - a perfect reminder of these memories.

from Denise

from Stevie

I have two colors of Dutch iris -purple and copper.  This single stem variety is a desirable spring addition that murmurs simplicity.

                                                                                                                                         

I did purchase one expensive iris bulb from Andre Viette’s Nursery around twenty years ago.  The color of this Siberian called out to me.  I just had to add it to my garden.  Over the years, that bulb has multiplied; I have divided that clump; and, I have divided many more clumps…. in reality, that one expensive bulb was quite a bargain. 



GORGEOUS COLOR!



Frugality is a still a mainstay of my life…just like color!