Iris
Also known as flags, some of the ones in the yard (the bright violet Japanese ones) were here when we moved in in 2011. The rest were given to me as rhizomes from a lady at work whose parents raised them. It was quite a job digging up space for all of them. Most of the variety of color has gone and what are left for the most part are the purple and white ones below. And one yellow beauty. I’d love to buy a bunch more fancy rhizomes, but frankly I don’t have the motivation to dig up space for them and take care of them.
rainbow vanishes
leaving few colors behind
beauty’s flag still flies
Can you think of something that leaves but still remains?
Tao Talk 
I think this is my favorite flower. So brilliant and delicate all at the same time.
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Happy they are your favorites, Violet. Excellent description of them.
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Lovely write up. I mixed pea gravel,”lava rocks”, shale, soil, and peat moss in a cement mixer to amend our alkali clay-loam soil. We made a 81 cubic feet, 3 cubic yards, or 2.3 cubic meter “starter bed”, just to see how we like iris. We loved them. The materials helped with ‘lifting” the corms and with trans-planting.
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Lemuu-el, thanks so much for the recipe! Does the soil composition affect the colors of the iris? I really don’t know much about them. Including what you call their roots. Corms, not rhizomes. Extra info much appreciated. Also, how do you keep the grass out of them?? Impossible to separate, unless I dig them all up and remove it.
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The ‘roots’ are rhizomes, but I call them corms which isn’t mainstream. 1Q: Soil composition affect iris color? 1A: I marked the various color types. Some were vermin dinner and some died and were replaced by neighboring iris. 2Q: How to keep grass out? 2A: The ‘recipe’ makes the grade soil a bit more loose. Easier to weed. Grass and weeds do tangle a lot. 3Q: Grass be gone? 3A: Agricultural cloth helps a bit and doesn’t hold too much moisture around the rhizomes/corms. Aside: We “lift” the iris about every 3 years. They’ll eventually grow so low that their blooms and green tops no longer show up un spring. Next lifting we’ll probably dig about 18-inches, 47 cm down and place a stone bottom in our iris bed. Best wishes to you.
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Many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions :)
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Sure thing, hope it helps you.
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I’ve seen these before and like them. I don’t believe Jennifer has any. I’m looking to get her a snowball bush. I tried before and ended up getting a miniature Chinese snowball bush…completely different.
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Max, I remember you saying you wanted to get her one. Hopefully you’ll get the right variety next time.
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Sorry about going on and on with something that had nothing to do with the post. I’m notorious about that.
I’m about to do it again. Ron just emailed me and the way he put the email is that Yoko has died. I can’t find anything about it right now, but I assume he heard it on radio. Have you heard anything?
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No need to apologize — ever! Say what you will in however many words you choose. Off-topic is AOK also! No didn’t hear about 92 year-old Yoko Ono.
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Ok…yea I’m glad also. I don’t like her but NO….I don’t wish that on anyone. Ron just worded it so wrong lol.
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These are so beautiful, Lisa … my favorite garden flower.
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You and Violet both! They are beauts aren’t they.
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Irises are one of my favorites, too. My mom always had the front flowerbed full of them and I love how they smell. :)
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Barbara, I’m glad they remind you of your mom :)
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Lovely.
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:)
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Lovely! I’ve got a few purple Dutch irises that bloom in my yard each year and they always make me happy. @samanthabwriter from Balancing Act
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Nice! I bet they do :)
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Nevermind… he said a life is now out. It’s a book or doc about her! I’m sorry… the way he worded it… it sounded the other way. Totally sorry!
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Oh ok. I’m glad she’s still among the living.
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These are beautiful! We grow them and have near 300 different varieties. Yours are gorgeous.
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You can find them on https://anitasirisgarden.wordpress.com/?_gl=1*2nj0pq*_gcl_au*OTAyMDE3NjA2LjE3MzgwMjY1MTc.
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Oh those are gorgeous! How did you get interested in Iris?
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300 sounds like a real love affair :) That’s awesome. Thank you on the iris here in the yard.
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I love irises, their colors are so pretty!
<a href=”http://multicoloreddiary.blogspot.com“>The Multicolored Diary</a>
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Yes they are :)
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Iris is a wonderful flower :-)
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They do the most with what they are given — a day. Most wilt after a day.
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I’m a sucker for a showy flower.
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I love Iris’s! They are simply beautiful. In answer to your question, I was thinking maybe AGE – moments pass and fade but its effects shape who we are. Just a thought…
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Works for me. Thanks for reading and your comment.
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