Friday, May 9, 2008

When Iris Blooms Are Smiling

Near the middle of May there is one thing you can always count on if you're a gardener in Michigan - the Irises will begin to bloom.

These wonderful spring time favorites have multiplied over the years and now Iris fill various spaces in several of the garden plots on our property.

As if they know they are enjoyed, the Iris seem to stagger their bloom time. The first blooms are in the back garden used as a cutting garden. Then, waves of purple (they are my favorites) Iris will begin to pop in the other garden beds until about mid June.

In checking my garden planners for the last several years, once the Iris bloom we usually will have our first round of severe weather. May is typically a turbulent month weather wise so now that the Iris have started to bloom I can be sure of a heavy storm in the near future!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful, Kenn!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful picture! I

Those look like the smaller variety - right? Or are they the taller, "bearded" iris?

Kenn said...

This variety of Iris is a Siberian Iris (Iris Sibirica). They stand anywhere from 18" - 24" tall and typically are single bloom stems, unlike the bearded Iris which often will have multiple blooms per stem.
Did you know that Iris is taken for the Greek and Latin word for rainbow? Just a bit of garden trivia!