Irises

When I moved to this house, there was a clump of irises to one side of the steps. On the other side was a clump of Hosta. The Irises didn't do anything the first year, so I deemed them too plain and boring, dug them up, threw them in an 8 qt basket in the garage, and divided the hosta so each side of the steps were the same. About a year and a half later, my husband asked my if I was going to do anything with those irises. So, I planted them along the west side of the house. One flower bloomed, and I found them to be quite unappealing lavender with yellow throats. So, I ordered a collection of 12 different colored irises. During the impending remodeling, those irises have been moved at least once. Now, five years later, they have gotten very thick and last year they finally put out some sporadic blooms. This year, however, is the year of the irises. I have literally dozens and dozens of blooms. Even the original lavender and yellow that are now thriving both along the house and in the perennial bed are quite impressive in large groups.

My favorite is a two tone blue that has five or six stalks blooming. There are also peach, a lovely cornflower blue, peach, yellow, white, white throated purple, white edged with lavender. I've run all over taking pictures in all sorts of light. My amateur photography simply doesn't do them justice.

And finally, my most impressive Bachelor's Buttons. It's amazing how well perennials do when you don't dig them up and move them every year!