The Lovely Iris

How you seen the Irises lately? They seem very excited that summer seems to be here - standing proud and brilliant.

Dreamsicle Iris

Eleven months of  the year, the unassuming leaf "fans" sit in the crowded garden bed, almost hiding behind the ornamental grasses and flashier shrubs. Then the heat arrives and BLAM! these gorgeous flowers open up and flaunt their incredible colors for almost a month. The tall Bearded Iris stand about 3' tall, heads and shoulders above the quieter plants - what an outstanding display for an early summer garden.

The only drawback to buying some iris for your Central Oregon garden is -  which variety?? There are Bearded Iris, Beardless Iris and Siberian Iris, all of which love our hot, dry landscape. If you go to an Iris Grower's nursery (a good one is Schreiner's in Salem, Oregon) you'll be overwhelmed by the colors: pink, peach, white, peach & white, peach & purple, white & purple, blue, blue & white, pale blue, blue-black,

Jazzed Up Iris

lavender, orange, yellow, red, apricot - the list goes on and on.

I've begun to realize that the daffodil varieties that charm me every Spring figuratively transform into Irises in the Summer - all shapes, sizes and colors that re-bloom year after year with minimal effort on my part.

And, as I said in a February post, even the great artists appreciate great flowers:

 

Vincent Van Gogh's Irises

Are you growing Irises? Tell me in the Comments what are your favorites.

Are you ready to buy some Irises? Come to the Master Gardeners Plant Sale on Saturday, June 6th from 9am to 2pm at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond - we'll have 14 varieties to choose from.

Hope to see you there!