"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Showing posts with label iris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iris. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Water World


Morning has broken.  The farm where I live is a watery world.  We haven't had this much rain in a long time.  So much, in fact, some roads are closed or washed out, even major highways.  It simply will not stop raining long enough to dry out.  Water stands in the fields.  There is no way I could get in my garden to plant veggies which should have been planted a month ago.  The strawberries are mush.  Did I tell you I dislike rain?  Always, I need sunny days.  The frogs and water lilies are happy though.  Can't believe I made it outside before the lily fully opened.



I have herbs to plant and lots of lavender.



Even my little apple tree that has born its first fruits this spring, is dying from all the rain and wet.  I watch it daily as more leaves turn brown.



Well, here is something that might interest you though I should have taken a better shot at a different angle.  The iris on the left are from plants more than 100 years old.  Merely 12 inches high.  The one on the right is nearly 2 feet higher.  Hybridization I guess.  

The left plants came from an old mountainside homestead.  The log cabin has long since rotted away, though the rock foundation remains.  I heard to look for flowers blooming around the old home to find where the front of the house had been.  This site had previously been in Indian Territory and I wonder where the iris and jonquils might have come from.  My guess is that they came in bulbs, across the country in a covered wagon, from the eastern part of the United States; a sweet reminder for immigrants of their homeland.

Friday, May 7, 2010

IRIS







I've photographed some of my iris, which are stunning, but fade much too fast. The second one is strongly scented. Iris comes from the Greek word for rainbow and is grown on many continents mainly in northern temperate zones. There are about 300 species of iris. The fleur-de-lis is a stylized iris. Orris root comes from irides and its essential oils are used in perfumes and medicines. Bombay gin contains orris root and flavoring from species of bearded iris. Like an old friend, the plants come back year after year and spread through rhizomes and though mine are on the wane, I'll see them again next year. The still life painting of lemons and iris came from a flea market. I heard this story once about seeing stands of iris in fields and roadsides. Supposedly, they mark where old homesteads once stood. Sure enough, I found rock foundations of two old homesteads in the mountains, and where the front of the house would have been, were beds of iris.