I may have lots and lots of roses (that bloom sometimes), but did you know I also have lots and lots of irises (that bloom sometimes)!  Like roses, irises are decadently beautiful, come in so many colors and varieties, and (traditionally) smell heavenly.  (Also like roses, many of the newer, frillier varieties don’t have very much scent, but so it goes.)

The season for irises is shorter than for roses, and also earlier, which means that all of my irises that are going to bloom this year have done so.  Not as many of my irises bloomed as I would have liked (and I don’t think the weird, suddenly it is very warm! weather helped with that) but I did still get plenty of pretty flowers from them.  And so, now I would like to show off all of the prettiness!

(Also, apologies, but I haven’t kept track of the names of my newer, fancier ones; they do have nice, fancy names, I just don’t remember what they are.)

Although the season for irises is shorter than for roses, you can string it out if you get several different varieties.  For some reason, shorter irises bloom earlier than taller ones.  So, below is sort-of-by-type and sort-of-by-blooming-order.

Dwarf Iris – mid-March/early April

Dwarf irises are the earliest flowers of the spring around here.  Mine showed up mid/late-ish March this year, but in sunnier gardens I will often see them in February (which is pretty boggling to someone who grew up in Montana).  These dwarf irises come from bulbs, which is different from all of the rest of my irises, which are bearded irises and come from rhizomes.

Short Plum – beginning of May

This beautifully dark-purple iris is always the earliest of my bearded irises to bloom.  It would probably do a bit better if it wasn’t constantly under siege by the vinca, but it’s still gorgeous anyway.

Dwarf white – May week 2

These white irises are some of my favorites.  I got them from a local iris farm a couple years ago and I think they’re definitely grown enough by now to divide them this year.  So, maybe next year I’ll get to see them in two places in my garden!

Dwarf white-and-purple – mid-May

This dwarf iris got put into my back garden where it is in more shade (and somewhat besieged by cherry-bells), but it’s still looking pretty lovely.

Dwarf purple-pink – mid-May

As you can see, this one’s got itself wedged in a corner a bit (also in the shady back garden).  I think I need to move or divide it some this year, just to rescue it.

Reddish-purple – May week 3

This iris is one of my newest and is even prettier than the picture, with a rainbow of reds and purples that is quite mesmerizing.  I hope it continues on happily in my garden.

Purple-and-White – May week 3

My daughter picked out this iris a few years ago.  As you see, it is quite chipper.

Old-fashioned Purple – late May

The old-fashioned irises aren’t quite as sumptuous looking as the fancy new ones, but they are much more prolific (there were already tons in these gardens when we moved here) and they also smell the most divine.  The ones that are most prolific in my garden are these two-toned purple ones.  They seem to be pretty happy to grow in several different spots, and they pair somewhat gorgeously with my earliest-blooming rose.

Old-fashioned White – late May

This one is a classic and I only wish I had more.  I’m never drawn to white irises in a garden center, but with my shady gardens they end up glowing so wonderfully.

Old-fashioned Yellow – late May

I’m often so ambivalent about yellow flowers, and then they end up being exactly what you need to make a garden cheerful.

Variegated Iris – late May

The variegated irises are a bit smaller than the regular bearded irises and have simpler blooms, but their foliage always makes a beautiful accent to the rest of the garden.  So, even when it’s done blooming it’s beautiful all summer long.

Ruffley Purple – end-of May

I put this very fancy iris right next to the driveway where this year it produced so many flowers on just one plant.  It was quite extravagant.

Old-fashioned Burgundy / Mauve – end-of-May / beginning-of-June

Most of my old-fashioned irises are the basic two-tone purple, or the yellow, but some fall within a range of reddish-pinkish-purplish colors.  I’m not sure if these two should be classified as two different colors or if the difference is coming from them growing in two different spots (one very shady and choked by choke-cherries).

Ruffley Two-tone Blue – beginning-of-June

This one is one of my favorites just because of how visually sumptuous it is.  It is fancy and new and has almost no scent, but I don’t care because it is so yummy.

Purple-and-Bronze – beginning-of-June

I used to have a bunch of these beautiful irises and I guess they didn’t like how I divided them, because this year only this one bloomed.  But! it was still be-a-u-tiful!

Happy memory of irises!  We look forward to enjoying you again next year!