Garden Surprises

There is one clump of Japanese iris in my yard that has consistently been the last iris to bloom each year. Only after all of the other iris, bearded, Japanese and Siberian, have finished does it bloom. For a long time I blamed it on the shade. It was growing quite close to an enormous holly bush. My neighbors removed that bush years ago, allowing more sunlight into that bed. Everything took off, especially the Blaze rose that had been struggling since before I moved into this house. The poor thing had been climbing the holly bush in its desperate search for light. Still, the laggard iris bloomed last.

This year I didn’t think it was going to bloom at all. All of the iris in my yard finished blooming and it didn’t even have a single bud.

This morning on my way to feed the stray cat that has taken up residence in my yard (s/he is not nearly as attractive as Macavity), I saw this. And more buds. I’m beginning to think that the iris is just doing it for attention. It’s not as large or showy as some of my other iris. It doesn’t have as many flowers as some of my other iris. So maybe it feels it can’t compete with them. That it can only truly be appreciated separately from the other iris.

Or maybe it’s just lazy.

The Hyacinth Bean Tepee may be a bust this year, but the poppies are wonderful

I love all the different colors and sizes of the blossoms. I will be more careful and not plant them as thickly again in the future. And I will do some thinning out if this happens again. For now, I love this burst of color.