The first bulbs I received nigh on 15 years ago from a co-worker — a Dutch fellow who knew a thing or two about irises. The bulbs had come from a community garden where he volunteered; he had spent the weekend clearing out the garden’s “old stuff” and brought the bulbs to work in a plastic grocery bag. Does anyone want some iris bulbs? he said. Gardeners like collecting other gardeners’ throwaways, see, and as he was a Dutch fellow who knew a thing or two about irises, I lunged at the plastic grocery bag and kept the best specimens for myself.
They are light purple in color, and smell like cotton candy, and the most beautiful blooms still come from the earlier generations. I try every year (well, nearly) to separate and propagate, with middling success. After 15 years, I still have a thing or two to learn about irises.
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Bearded Iris, Bearded Iris (2), Bearded Iris (3), Bearded Iris (4), Bearded Iris (5), c. 2010
(all the same flower, shot at different exposures)
Ilford Delta 400
