Monday, June 6, 2011

The stately iris

This post is dedicated to my favorite flower in my entire garden: my purple Siberian iris.

The color is so amazing. They catch your eye even from the road behind my house. It contrasts nicely against the blooms on the chives. (In case you're wondering, that's a peony almost ready to bloom on the left.)


Sure, there are other kinds of iris, like these yellow bearded iris which are also blooming in my yard now. But they don't hold a candle to the elegant leaves and the distinguished beauty of the Siberian iris.

I spent almost the entire weekend preparing my rear garden for planting. I turned every inch of soil and spread wildflower seeds. (The green stalks are dying daffodil leaves.) Man, those iris look good!

Why wildflowers this year and not a ton of vegetables like years past? Well, I'm scaling back my vegetable garden this year. I have many weeks and weekends already booked this summer, so my time for weeding and watering will be limited. Wildflowers require a few initial days of watering followed by an entire season of no maintenance. Plus, I'm tired of feeding the local fauna and having so little to show for all my efforts. They've never bothered my lettuce, peas, cucumbers, and bell peppers, so that's what I'm planting this year.


Some day I'll be brave enough to dig up my Siberian iris and divide them. I'd love to encircle the entire yard with them!