Sibling Assignment # 99: A Tribute to the Iris

I gave the sibling assignment for the week. My internet was down last night so I am a bit late on this post. When I woke up at 4:00 a.m. I peeked out and saw the lights back up flashing on the modem. Alas, I went back to enjoy a few more hours of sleep figuring I could catch up with the online world later.

We are all thankful brother Raymond Pert is out of the hospital after his attack of C Diff he contracted after his pneumonia. My siblings will be posting soon. The assignment: " A Tribute to a Favorite Flower" using words and/or pictures.When I gave this assignment I thought it would be easy. Now as I am surrounded by blooming flowers and remembering the many other flowers I love it was hard to narrow it down the choices and honor just one flower. I had to go with what is sitting right next to me now filling the air with a sweet fragrance and a beauty almost impossible to capture in still life. I honor the iris.When the smelter smoke filled the air in Kellogg and the grass turned brown, the iris plants still managed to bloom. When I had a sandy hillside that got hot sun all day in the first garden in the Tri-Cities desert I had unsuccessfully tried many flowers, but the iris was the one that endured. You can drive down an alley filled with broken cars and fences faded from the sun, but out of gravel a clump of irises will thrive. I've heard of people throwing iris plants in a heap behind the house and find them still alive months later. The iris is the champion of hardy flowers.

This flower also represents heirloom gardens. Heirloom gardens are ones created by passing plants family member to family member or friend to friend. I have iris plants that came with me when I moved. When our friends up the road built a new house, they gave us irises that had been with them in their garden at least thirty years. My dear friend EM brought me irises from her garden to add to my wedding garden. Each spring as all these beautiful blooms open up, they not only show off their glorious colors but remind me of important people in my life. I love that about the iris.

I love the fancy iris Mom gave me that came from the iris farm down at St. John, Washington, but often it is a old-fashioned hardy stock iris that do the best in my garden. It is hard for me to pick a favorite color. Sometimes it just depends on how the light catches the bloom or what companion plants surround it. An iris, no matter where it comes from or what it looks like always has that unforgettable spring scent.
The other thing I love about irises is they surprise you. One day you have lush green leaves and suddenly you look over your shoulder and the plant is blooming. It happens quickly. I am also surprised at how long they will last. Don't you love a flower that you can always count on to perform? You can read articles and books about what should be added to the soil, when they should be divided, and when to cut them back. Just follow your instincts because that is what keeps them thriving. Irises are the common sense members of the garden family.

Lily also knows how to surround herself with beauty!