Siberian Iris in Violet, White and Cobalt Blue

June is finally here and my siberian irises have bloomed! Above is 'June to Remember', which is an often sought after but rarely found cobalt blue color.



Here's a close up shot of 'June to Remember'. This iris is available from Joe Pye Weed Gardens. I posted more details about this and other siberian irises last year (see that post here), but my pictures are better this summer, thanks to a better camera lens.



Here is the first flower from my young 'Blueberry Fair' iris plant. I ordered this one from Schreiner's Gardens. You can see that the flower form is very similar to 'June to Remember', except 'Blueberry Fair' is more violet than blue. This picture doesn't capture the violet as well as it shows in the garden, sorry.



White 'Rolling Cloud' iris flowers drift amid the catmint. Siberian irises are a nice addition to your garden if you want something a little different. Nearly everyone seems to grow bearded irises, but few grow siberian irises.



Another 'Rolling Cloud' iris with Kathy's pink cranesbill geranium and purple 'Bonanza' clematis in the background. Siberian irises are not as easy to establish as bearded irises. They require good conditions and a few years of patience before they start putting on a great show.



Here we have 'Tanz Nochmal', which is also a beautiful true blue. Although siberian irises only bloom once a season, I'll always make room for them in my gardens. Where else can you find such blues?



The last siberian iris to bloom in my garden is violet 'Worth the Wait.' I have to agree with the name. I'm still waiting for my 'Just Because' siberian irises to bloom. Maybe next year will be the year, especially if I don't transplant them this summer and put them through transplant shock!



Here's a wider view of my 'Worth the Wait' clump, with white heuchera flowers and pink 'Sister Elizabeth' english roses in the background. The english roses are blooming now, so stay tuned for more photos of these prettiest of all flowers.

Bearded Iris in Pink, Blue and Violet

Here are photos of some of the bearded iris I have in bloom. Above is the border bearded iris 'Pink Bubbles.' It's a bit smaller and blooms slightly earlier than the tall bearded iris.



The rest of these are tall bearded iris. This one is 'Rippling River', which has great rippling ruffles and a sweet fragrance.



Another shot of 'Rippling River'. Some of the stems leaned over under the weight of the flowers. These aren't planted in full sun, and we've had an unusual amount of rain this month. Perhaps they'd be sturdier in full sun and with less rain.



This flower bed features 'Rapture in Blue' bearded iris, mauve pincushion flower (Scabiosa), '6 Hills Giant' catmint (Nepeta) and a white 'Rolling Cloud' siberian iris in the background.



Here's another shot of 'Rapture in Blue'. It's so elegant - I think I need a dress that looks like this!



Here is the unnamed iris from my grandmother's garden. It looks like 'Titan's Glory' to me, and it has a wonderful fragrance.



Here's another view of grandma's purple iris, with 'Esther Reed' daisies on the left and a forest of delphiniums ready to burst into bloom.



This is 'Mer du Sud', which is nearly the same color as 'Rippling River'. It doesn't smell as good or have as many ruffles as RR, but none of the stems bent over.



I'll finish with another shot of 'Rippling River.' You can see a slight variation in the color between this picture and the one above. All of these iris change color a bit in different light, making a pretty show all day. None of them bloom more than once in a season, but that makes for less deadheading, so I'm not complaining.

June 2010 Bloom Day

I always mean to participate in the monthly Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, but it usually doesn't happen because 1) I only have flowers blooming six months out of the year, 2) sometimes I have another post all ready to go that week, and 3) I forget. But this week all I have to post is a bunch of pictures of flowers blooming right now . . . so I'm joining in the fun. Above is a hazy sunset photo of 'Walker's Low' nepeta, which is blooming all over my front yard right now.



Here is the VERY blue 'June to Remember' siberian iris. You know how all those catalogs cheat and make flowers look more blue than they really are? Well this one really is this blue. It's a stunner.



Here are more unnamed asiatic lilies from Lowes. They're rosy-orange. I'm proud of myself for opening up and letting orange into the color scheme.



The baby 'Rozanne' geraniums are starting to put out a few flowers. The flowers are so interesting, with shades and blue and lavender and a magenta cast that you can only see in certain types of light.



I pulled out all my normal shasta daisies because they smell bad, but this spring I planted some 'Esther Reed' double daisies. They're great for cutting - I remember how pretty they were in the giant bouquets I saw last June at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Give me an armful of peonies, delphinium, double shasta daisies, and maybe some sage, and I'll be happy all day.



My 'Clementine Blue' columbine is putting out more blooms. I have seeds to grow more but keep forgetting to plant them. I'll get that done soon, maybe.



The 'June Bride' heucheras are in full bloom. Recently I started new plants for a neighbor by cutting off some woody stems, pulling all the leaves off except a few at the top, and plunking them into potting soil in the shade. They've grown their own roots now and are doing fine. Did you know it was that easy to get new heucheras?



I'll finish with a shot of 'Rolling Cloud' siberian iris with 'Six Hills Giant' catmint in the background. The evening light makes the picture special. I keep meaning to get up and capture some morning light shots, but it gets light around 4 am this time of year, and I'm not that early of a bird. Evening light will have to be good enough for now!

Wedding Flowers and Temple Landscaping

My brother got married last weekend at the LDS temple in Richland, WA, and of course I took some pictures of the flowers and landscaping around the temple. The roses were in full bloom and were breathtaking!



The landscaping made good use of large masses of plants. I'm not sure which rose this is. The flowers look too big to be 'Bonica' and too full to be 'The Fairy'. Maybe they're J&P 'Pink Simplicity' or something.



Isn't this a lovely scene? Especially for us pink lovers! There was a high wind advisory in effect, and several rain storms passed through in the days before and after the wedding. But were lucky to have sunny, calm weather for photos after the wedding.



I was fascinated with the evening light filtering through these hardy geraniums. They looked magical.



Right now this area is mostly green, but the curving swathe of daylilies will erupt into bloom soon.



This rose is my mom's favorite color. My husband gets a kick from pointing that out whenever we come across some especially vivid hot pink.



The temple had plenty of my favorite shrub: 'Otto Luyken' laurels. What good taste the designers had!



We brought a few of our own flowers to the temple, including this giant fake one in my daughter's hair. You can see the deep blue-violet of 'May Night' salvia and vivid hot pink of 'Knockout' roses in the background.



The wedding colors were orange, aqua and white. The deep orange roses and white peonies in the bridal bouquet were lovely.



I think this photo turned out really cool. Look at that gorgeous sky and white clouds behind the steeple. The temple is such a beautiful place.



And here's the happy couple right after the wedding. Congratulations, you two!