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I enjoy this time of year because there are so many lovely flowers around. Some in my own garden, others in the gardens of friends and neighbours. And of course, there are the temptations of nurseries and garden centres.
One of the flowers that has attracted me most over the years is the iris. There’s a wonderful array of flowers of all sorts of colours, markings and sizes and I’d love to grow lots of them. But where would I put them? For now, I’ll just have to settle for having a few that I especially like, and that are easy to grow.
Siberian irises are amongst my favourites. The flower in the top photograph was simply labelled ‘Iris sibirica’, so I have no idea of the cultivar. I do know that the iris in the bottom photo is ‘Currier’ and I also have ‘Silver Edge’. (I photographed ‘Silver Edge’ for this post last spring.)
With all of these Siberian irises, a large part of the appeal for me is the intricate veining on the lower petals (actually sepals, known as ‘falls’). The combination of lines and spots is irresistible as a subject to photograph. Of course they are there to serve a more important purpose – that of creating a well-signposted route for bees to the flower’s pollen. Lucky for us that practicality in nature can be so beautiful!
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Stunning photos Ann, the colours are wonderfully intense!
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Thank you Liz! They are such beautiful flowers and photographing them is pure joy. 🙂 It would be very tempting to buy more but space is an issue…hehe!
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I love your enthusiasm! 😀
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These days my life pretty much revolves round my garden…and photographing it etc. When the garden is a bit more sorted out, I’m hoping it will also be the inspiration for printmaking and other creative pursuits…lots of fun!
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Look at those tiger-striped caterpillars leading out to each petal.
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They look like they should be something very bitey with sharp teeth… 🙂 (But that would probably be disastrous for my garden, not just these flowers!)
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Well, since we’re fantasizing, we can imagine those “caterpillars” to be benevolent to your plants.
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Phew!
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Gorgeous!! Perfect photography, Ann!!!
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Thank you for your kind comment, Indira! It always makes me happy to know that someone has enjoyed my photographs. 🙂
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The intense colors and vibrant patterns in the second photo remind me of one of our wildflowers that also happens to be in the Iris family: the so-called Pleatleaf iris. Looking at my photo of the Pleatleaf, I can’t help wondering if it was involved in creating your cultivar.
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Oh, that’s ever so pretty! It’s looks do suggest there may be a few genes in common!
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I love irises too. Currier is a wonderful colour. I noticed some of my Dutch irises had been nibbled ☹️
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Argh! S&S seem to love irises – I get lots of damage on what would otherwise be a very pretty bearded iris and last year ‘Silver Edge’ was well-chewed too. I do like the colour of Currier – makes me want to try more varieties but I’d need an elastic-sided garden!
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I’ve run out of room too. Now it’s a case of only replacing things that die or have outlived their use.
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We’ve been clearing an overgrown area but it’s mostly already been earmarked for things…but there are still a few odd weedy bits…
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These images are really marvelous, Ann! Though I once had many irises in my garden, I confess to never looking at them nearly as closely as you have helped me do in your post.
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Thank you! I do love looking at plants closely – and you encourage me to look at birds much more than I used to! 🙂
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Both nice species, Ann! Ours, mostly bearded, are hitting their stride now too.
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I love bearded irises too…and I’m always tempted by them in garden centres & nurseries. I need more space!!!
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That’s a good idea. Pollen this way ⬇️
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Absolutely! I’ve read that bees can see the markings that show where pollen is much better than we can. (Makes sense!)
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Wow Ann! These Iris images are just beautiful! The markings are so interesting. I would frame these!
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Thanks Syd! I love the markings on these irises. I would love to be able to print them out but my printer stopped working a couple of years ago and was simply so expensive to run that I never replaced it. Instead I’m gradually loading my pics up online so that they can be licensed, sold or printed for myself from there – that takes time though!
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My good printer is not working anymore either. I rarely print mine on the low cost one – I am picky on how the colors look as it can be very different from they look like on line so I know what your mean.
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I had the HP B9180 printer – made lovely prints that have lasted well but if it developed a fault you were in big trouble. After a while there was no repair service for them any more.
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I also love the details you showed in your photos, Ann, as well as the saturated colours of the blossoms. I share your like of blue and purple flowers.
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I’m glad you liked them – they’ve certainly made me smile while they were in flower. 🙂 Thank you Tanja!
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