The kitty likes to sleep on my chest right under my chin and the big guy likes to sleep on my legs. So while I'm pinned down (and only able to use one hand), I'm going through and cleaning up my photo folder.

When I had two Maine Coons that sleeping on the legs trick would get pretty heavy. Shorty was so long that he would stretch out on my chest and cover my whole torso. He always tried to do that while I was sleeping. Had to train him not to do that.

Leslie: They are all pretty special but Sculptired Wild and Chocolate Fountain are amazing!!!! I have Butterfly Baby but it almost bloomed out on me 2 years ago. Hope irt strengthens as I love it too!!!

Leslie: I would like to see you trying to do eliminations to find your 10 favorite Burseens. I bet your head spins

Ha!!! That is why I am putting it off. Though it will only be my favorite 10 that bloomed last year so I might not lose it completely.

My kitty inspired top 10, or you can call it "Monty's growing list".

These are all 2018 first time bloomers.

Ring Pop


Tuscan Summer (can't wait to see this year's bloom)


Winning Hand (photo taken at sunrise, or at sunset)


Colours of the Wind


I Must Have It (the name describes us all )


Enter the Dragon


Din


No Fear No Peer


Spectacle


Electric Candy

From my pictures from 2018, these are some that were great and most prolific.
Blue Rising
Blue Rising
Fancy Aflutter
Strawberry Shake
Bottle Rocket
Ask a Lady
Coralina
Dance Recital
Restless Tide
Charmed I'm Sure
That's All Folks
I have another shot of the plethora of That's All Folks but can't find it now. It is a great bloomer.

So, I am holding off on the TB's until tomorrow......spread things out a bit. That includes those B irises too that make my head spin.

I am going to give you the best beardless & species iris of 2018 now. The beardless iris are a great way to extend your bloom season, add variation, and give you some of the truest blues and reds to be found in irisdom.

I will start with the Siberian Chilled Wine. I would like to grow more of these at some point.



For it's perseverance alone I have to give credit to my sadly neglected species X iris Ally Oops. It keeps on growing.



The extremely reliable JI Blushing Snowmaiden. Always the last iris standing at the end of bloom time. Wish it would increase faster but I need to better my JI skills to help it. Not it's best looking blooms this year.



I know what you are thinking - "wait, it has beards, it is a TB" but no, it is a species X! And I love it's beard. Species X Chocobeards:



I had to hunt this iris down but finally got it. You could say I squealed with joy that LA When Pigs Fly bloomed this year.



Possibly the most striking iris in my garden this year was the LA Black Widow. Pictures do not do this one justice!


A very unusual colored LA, I have several seedlings growing from this one. LA Silver Dollar Smoke:


The always incredible LA Prix de Elegance. It's blooms are enormous and have great substance.


Another nice Sib, the dainty little Moon Silk:



And while I have more nice, fancy LA's, this one is a favorite of mine and it is unregistered. Sold only as Pale Yellow it was one of my first LA's. It's color fades over the days but I really like both it's starting and ending colors quite well. You all probably remember it from all my bumblebee shots.

Rob - Where did you find Din! "Must have it" indeed!

Jane - I love Ask A Lady. Reminded me I need to replace it. Blue Rising is really nice.

Thanks Rob... ....for the awesome photos!

There are so many of these I like. Thanks for the awesome photos, Leslie, Jane and Rob!

I am now more excited for Spring than ever!

Leslie, I had to peek through my fingers on those beardless irises.

You're welcome Monty

Some really great Iris ! What I am trying to figure out, is why it all seems so rather difficult to capture the true essence of an Iris flower. It must not always be easily done.
But, I do think that 'Tuscan Summer" sure does come very close, to seeing it in person ( without having ever having actually seen it!) Just what exactly is it? Being "digital", in format, the camera settings, lighting, or what?

Leslie, Your
IBs are beautiful.

Jane, Blue Rising

It's all the above...the camera (mine is a simple digital camera), the time of day (sunrise/sunset, noon, etc..), the weather (sunny, cloudy, overcast), the lighting (where the sun is- behind you, above you, in front of you), plus the time you put into getting a good photo. I simply walk up and take a few photos of each iris that are in bloom at different times of the day....and in different weather conditions. I just point and click and move on to the next bloom. Sometimes the photos come out nice, mostly they don't. That's ok, since I shoot them for my personal database and only upload the better ones into the database here.

Golden Panther, Point of No Return, Tuscan Summer...be still my beating heart. We're experiencing subzero temps throughout the month of February so you can imagine how much I'm enjoying your photos. I just hope my garden (and I) survives this brutal winter. Janwax, I love how your first photo after stating you weren't watching the SOTU was Foreign Agent. Whether subconscious or intentional, I found it hilarious but the bloom is beautiful.

@UndertheSun Thank you. I wonder if ever the sun is behind the bloom, if it is better to use 'backlit" as a setting.

@Lestv Your 'Prix de Elegance, is great looking, too.

It is a shame, I missed out on my catalogues, during a move..& wished I had been able to get some, ordered before autumn, but this past summer just had to be amongst one of the most inconvenient one, in many years...

@commgoddess lol I caught that too & had to do a double take on it...Conspiracy theories & all, last one I heard was about a pizza place.

Rob: I am crazy about your Ring Pop. I.have to get that!!!

Leslie: Black Widow is stunning!! I hate the spider but love the flower and see the resemblance. Next..Burseens, Burseens, Burseens

Jane: Such a beautiful Strawberry Shake pic.

ShawnSteve: Diamond Dusting and the textured Irises just don't come anywhere close in photos to what you see in person. But there are some great chatters out here that share details, like Bonnie (hey folks, where is Bonnie??)

Conspiracy


Foreign Agent


Secret Agent and Pepperoni Pizza do not have pictures in the database...

Lestv said:
For it's perseverance alone I have to give credit to my sadly neglected species X iris Ally Oops. It keeps on growing.

My favorite for today. Besides the amazingly intricate patterning, it thrives on neglect! What more can you ask?