Persian Berry Iris

Leaving the Iris

| Flower Roberts

I have visited the iris this morning. The show will continue for several more weeks. I will not be here to stake and deadhead. They will survive.


Persian Berry
Shipshape
Immortality
Thunder Echo
Banana Frappè
Little Much
Night Affair (smells like grapes)

When I return in May the double peonies will need staking. They cannot hold up their heavy heads in the rain. They will survive.

Duchess de Nemours double peony

I will be helping plan my mother’s memorial service this week. It will be beautiful. My sister will make sure of that. We will survive.


No…better.  We will thrive,  because we have been loved and tended to by the best parents on the planet. Watch and see!

FLOW

‘Little Much’ Shows Up

| Flower Roberts

I was very excited to find ‘Little Much’ amongst the ‘Persian Berry’ patch this afternoon.

I try to separate out the slow-growers.

I thought I had lost this lovely lilac and white bearded iris.

What a nice discovery on an otherwise strange day.

I hope it is a sign not to lose hope.

I am struggling with my other blog and book.

I want to drop it all until the fall.

I am the FLOWER after all!

Flow movin’ slow.

If Iris were Dresses

| Flower Roberts

If Iris were dresses, I’d have quite a wardrobe.

There would never be worries about what to wear.

I’d wear Persian Berry to the ballet

and dream that I too am leaping and twirling.

Easter Sunday would call for the bright, sunny yellow of Banana Frappe’.

For a run south of the border, I’d don Thunder Echo

and dance the Tango and Rumba in practical shoes with ruby buckles.

A skyscraper evening with sparkling drinks would require Immortality with diamonds.

For a night on the town, I would slip on Little Much, full of ruffles and sparkles.

For a trip to the seashore the attire would be Shipshape,

with matching blue flip flops and a straw bag and hat.

An evening at the symphony deserves an attire of Night Affair with amethyst earrings.

But since iris are just flowers and I just the gardener,

I’ll slip on my apron with tools in its pocket and dream in my garden,

My garden of dreams.

FLOWER

 

 

Iris, Old and New

| Flower Roberts

April is the month of the bearded iris here in North Carolina.

I have one old type from my daddy’s mother’s garden.

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I moved many iris onto this bank last summer.  They have never been happier.

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The rest of my iris are hybrids.

They came from Cooley’s in Oregon over twenty years ago.

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Taco Supreme

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Shipshape

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Banana Frappe’

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Thunder Echo

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Persian Berry

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I got this from my daddy.   Hmmmm?  Depth of Field?

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This is just the first wave of iris.  There will be more in the coming weeks.

The next parade will be the peonies.  Here is the first bloom.

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Ants love the sap on the peony buds.

Ahhhhh spring at last!

FLOWER

Eye Spy Iris

| Flower Roberts

April is the month of the Bearded Iris in North Carolina.

Most of mine are showing off right now.

Enjoy the show.

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Banana Frappe’

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Depth of Field

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Immortality

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Ship Shape

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Night Affair

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Persian Berry

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Thunder Echo

I will be doing a post on how to divide and care for bearded iris after July 4th. Check back then if you are interested.

Follow the Flower!

Great Grandma Ida May and the Iris

| Flower Roberts

We had a row of bearded iris behind the vegetable garden.
They hadn’t bloomed in years.
They were crowded and full of weeds.
Nobody had time to tend them.
My sister and I were teenagers finding ourselves.
My mama was teaching junior high. Bless her.
My daddy was keeping the power on at work.
The iris never made it on the list of things to do.

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Then Great Grandma Ida May came for a visit.
She disappeared from the house.
We looked out the back windows.
There she was, bent over those iris in her little cotton dress.
Her locket was swinging from her neck as she stooped and straightened up.

She spent hours weeding and cleaning around those iris.
Giving them room to grow.

It puzzled my adolescent self why this old woman felt the need to stand out there in the hot sun bent over those iris.

The next spring they bloomed like never before.
They bloomed again the next year, and the next.

Now I have iris in my own garden.

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Persian Berry

Thunder Echo
Thunder Echo

I guess when I’m old,  my grandchildren will see me bent over them,
helping them to grow and bloom.
The iris I mean.

Follow the FLOWER.