A few pics from yesterday...
SEISMIC ZONE (because we live in a seismic zone)
It hasn't bloomed in 2 years, I didn't expect it to bloom this year, and it's still only all of 2 rhizomes (and the blooms are small)... BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS
In the image sequence this was after the above image, and the background more or less says what it HAS to be (and I can't figure out what else it COULD be), another BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS (different lighting, exposure, WHAT?
)
BYE BYE BLUES (in the pot labeled BUSY BEING BLUE
) in all of its Space Age glory
(At least it seems like I don't have to worry about losing this one again!
)
Next is the first of the CHARISMATIC x (probably) SNOW DAY seedlings (that maiden bloomed back in 2021)... C12M-18-1 (NOT one of the two I gave garden names to). A nice enough white, I suppose.
Wonky bloom on a snaky stalk (because it's grown in way too much shade) of GILT BY ASSOCIATION
Off in the side yard (we had to check on the tomatoes) I was very pleased to see AFTERNOON DELIGHT (totally neglected, too much shade, competition from redwood roots) in bloom. DD picked this out as a child at Bill Maryott's old iris garden. At that time I didn't see what she saw in it, but it quickly grew on me. It is grown with the dark purple DARKSIDE (not shown). (The large ferns in the background are the native CA fern
Woodwardia fibriata, aka Giant Chain Fern. They hold their own against the redwood roots quite nicely.)
Back at the top of The Pit, this is a bloom in an ungroomed pot labeled BAAP.... because some years ago I was dividing plants, and discovered several rhizomes in my trimmings pile. I wasn't going to throw them away, so I potted them together and labeled the pot
BAAP, for the first initials of the irises that were divided: BLACK LIPSTICK, ADRIATIC NOBLE, ACCESSORIZED, and POEM OF LOVE. Unless there are multiple cultivars in there, it looks like one of the first two, but I'm not sure which.
Also in bloom, but no pics for various reasons: BLACK LIPSTICK, BLOOD LINE (down to the last couple of old blooms), CRYSTAL GAZER, WEDDING KISS (last bloom not fully opened), GLACIER POINT, ABSOLUTE TREASURE, PASSIONATE KISSES, TITAN'S GLORY, the probable LOVELY LOIS (a bit tattered bloom in too much shade), CITRUS MEDLEY (last bloom) and DARKSIDE (ungroomed). Plus a couple-few irises down in The Pit itself (my knees were bad enough that I didn't want to risk going down/up those steps too).
I forgot to mention what is probably PAUL BLACK (closing bloom). I recall potting up one gallon pot with a spare rhizome of it (a couple of summers ago), this thing has a violet bloom with an orange beard (so among irises that I grow, what else could it be?), the pot is labeled PAUL BLACK, but the old bloom seemed to be missing the distinctive fragrance. (It was late afternoon/early evening, it was very warm, maybe the fragrance evaporated?
) I certainly hope this is it, because my PAUL BLACK in the ground (underlaid with gopher mesh, mind you) did not bloom this year, neither did its companions AARON'S DREAM and ALIEN MIST. There seems to be some disturbance in the area, so I hope I won't lose these guys to the gophers! (Which reminds me that I'd better keep a sharp eye on those other 4 irises showing mounds of dirt nearby... I suspect I'm going to have to get my garden helper or DH to dig rhizomes for me while I micromanage them.)
Gophers... the curse of the garden!
Here's some more blooms though:
Very nice mixed pot of Iris. Great job. 
