I can think of several times when I was stopped in my tracks by the power of an iris. The first was several years ago and I was new to their power. I wasn't prepared for the impact early one morning when I saw the first bloom of ADOREE.



Another was while walking through a friend's garden, admiring the colors, the beautiful pastels, and there in the midst of all, was a clump of the dark and mysterious RISE LIKE A PHOENIX ! I was flabbergasted.



Have you had a memorable garden encounter?

LOL, Jan, for a moment I was wondering if ETs had invaded your property, and I was all excited!

Or, barring that, you had an encounter with some wildlife or other, which could also be interesting (or, depending on the critter, potentially frightening and dangerous).

Marilyn ~ "Close Encounters of Amazing Irises"...

me, too (of wild thoughts, marilyn). hehhee. iris encounters of the breath taking kind.

will have to post later. cannot find the photo i was looking for.

The first thing that came to my mind was a snake or falling tree. Thank goodness this thread has a happy vibe.

Everyone seems to be drawn to Momentum when they visit my garden.


I love bright unusual colours. The blacks and Popstar seem to grab my attention.


The blend of colours in Honey Dripper is more beautiful than the camera captures.

Robin, I hope to encounter POPSTAR in my garden this year, hopefully!

I really do consider first meeting with a never-before-seen iris as an "encounter" - but some meetings are more dramatic than others. I also talk to the irises - praising some and encouraging others!
Also whooping with delight...

At first i read close encounter of the 3rd kind and had to reread. Glad i did. As long as there is no weird visitors we all should be good.

janwax said:I really do consider first meeting with a never-before-seen iris as an "encounter" - but some meetings are more dramatic than others. I also talk to the irises - praising some and encouraging others!

Clearly my irises deserve better. My idea of encouragement is something along the lines of "Grow, dammit!"

Yes, Richard, we are all slaves to popular culture, myself included! :lol

Remember though, 50 or 100 years from now, the Close Encounters meme may be totally forgotten. I really should try to see that film again...so much I don't recall.Isn't there a scene with a big pile of dirt in the middle of someone's dining room table?. Was he a gardener?

Haha Marilyn. Never hurts to be tender.

I have had several of those over the years. I think the first one was with Carnival Capers some years ago.

I was totally smitten. It still brings a big smile to my face when it blooms.
The next one to do that to me was Enchanter, another Blyth iris.

And we can't forget Captain Thunderbolt.

Then I discovered Paul Black's irises, and I think the first one of his to do that to me was Ball Room

Then came New Face

Then I discovered Joe Ghio irises, and the first one to blow my mind was Role Reversal.

Then Super Hero

and Picture Book

Somewhere along the line I found Keith Keppel's irises and one of the first ones that blew me away was Reckless Abandon.

Then Tuscan Summer

More recently Sugar High

Bond Girl

Then Sunset Boulevard almost made me faint.

I haven't even started the Thomas Johnson's yet I think I'm hopeless.
Without at doubt Born This Way just made me weak in the knees.

Catch My Breath almost made me loose mine.

And now I better stop or I'll be listing every thing

I say we do a gardening version of it and members from the forum play didn't characters in it. Call it close encounters of the gardener forums or something. Have one character that's like a small time pusher, but instead of drugs in his trench coat it's opened up to flower seeds, manures and hand tools.

Loved your image of the amendments pusher, Richard!

Tom, what a wonderful list ! I agree and have been thrilled by many of them.

Speaking of Ghio... His EMBLEMATIC was one of my earlier loves, but he's been
feeling a bit out of sorts,, and I'm reminded that I should feed and rescue him - or at least part of him. (Which reminds me, I should say, that I sometimes assign genders to my irises (I know, silly.) For instance, Joe's sweet, pink
MAGICAL not only knocked my socks off, but she's planted in 3 places. in 3 different beds!

Tom ~ What a beautiful list of irises!

They are all beauties...it is apparent why you like them. Sometimes it is hard to capture their beauty in a picture, but you have really done them justice!

Thanks for the thumbs and acorns I had a hard time stopping, I think by the end I'd have listed all of them

Tom, I enjoyed the writing almost as much as the pictures themselves. The story framed the pictures well.

I have several on your list. Some I've seen, but other I'm impatiently waiting on for their first bloom. Others I might just have to try to get, sooner or later.

janwax said:I can think of several times when I was stopped in my tracks by the power of an iris. The first was several years ago and I was new to their power. I wasn't prepared for the impact early one morning when I saw the first bloom of ADOREE.

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Adoree')
• Uploaded by Betja

Another was while walking through a friend's garden, admiring the colors, the beautiful pastels, and there in the midst of all, was a clump of the dark and mysterious RISE LIKE A PHOENIX ! I was flabbergasted.

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Rise Like a Phoenix')
• Uploaded by dimson67

Have you had a memorable garden encounter?

Jan, I very much look forward seeing the beautiful Adoree in my own garden. I sure hope I don't kill it before bloom, because not all Blyth's do well here.

I often love strong colors, so that Rise Like a Phoenix made such an impression on you sounds terrific. I have it on order since a few weeks.

janwax said:I can think of several times when I was stopped in my tracks by the power of an iris. The first was several years ago and I was new to their power. I wasn't prepared for the impact early one morning when I saw the first bloom of ADOREE.

• Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Adoree')
• Uploaded by Betja

Jan ~ I have been contemplating on obtaining Adoree ever since I first saw its picture. I am really trying not to order any more irises....

I don't think I have Adoree anymore. It's been a wimpy grower but usually had at least one increase to keep it going. This year it bloomed and I didn't see any increases. Maybe next spring there will be one, but nothing going into winter. It's such a nice one too.