Monday, May 17, 2010

Iris Bloom in the Spring

When I was a kid we called these "Flags" but they are rightly called Iris.  There are many varieties in all shades of red, yellow, blue and white.  Iris grow from rhizomes which multiply and spread underground.  Once established they require almost no care.  They bloom every spring without fail.  The only impediment to immortality is that they eventually get too crowded and need to be thinned out.  As a result if you stop to admire the iris in an old lady's garden it would not be uncommon for her to dig up a clump and send it with you.  And they smell like grapes.

13 comments:

Yogi♪♪♪ said... [Reply to comment]

Those are nice. Sweetie dug some Iris's up from her childhood home in SE Oklahoma and is about to replant them.

DrillerAA said... [Reply to comment]

We transplanted several varieties from Dad's house a few weeks ago. So far, the look like they're going to make it. They are lovely in the spring.

Ken Mac said... [Reply to comment]

i can almost smell them!

Sharon said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful.

Birdman said... [Reply to comment]

My FAVS! Irises! Yeah purple!

*By the way, on the bamboo front- We use it as a buffer for sound against the street noise. Works well... however once it's in-- It's FOREVER! hahaha

Breanna said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful...although Iris' aren't my favorite you made me rethink their beauty!

DianeCA said... [Reply to comment]

Lovely, We have some ancient yellow irises in our garden...really old and lovely. Last year we reduced them by quite a lot so I hope they will come up double in a couple of years. They are one of my favorites, although ours are a few weeks behind yours. Thanks for giving us a head start.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Why "flags" ?

Anyway, lovely colors. The purple ones are gorgeous.

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

-Zhu -Flags I guess because the long petals wave in the breaze.I don't know. I didn't invent that it was just what some people called them. Remember I am in Oklahoma.

Julie said... [Reply to comment]

I have my first ever in a pot growing away for our next spring. I am sure they will make it onto one of my blogs somewhere. I adore the complexity of the bloom.

Sharon's Mum Anne said... [Reply to comment]

That's a delightful picture and one I shall attempt to paint. I seem to remember "flag" iris grow near water but when I checked in my RHS encylopedia there is no mention of "flag" iris. Bearded and lots of other names, but no flags! Perhaps it's simply an old fashioned name from our childhood?

Lesa said... [Reply to comment]

My MIL called them flags too. In fact, I think most folks around here S of Lake Eufaula Dam still call them that. You can always see where the old homeplaces were when the daffodils and flags bloom in the middle of an empty field.
there is an old homeplace in our woods and flags bloom every year around Easter.

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

My grandma calls them flags too. Very pretty!!