Thanks for that very helpful information, Bonnie and Keith!

Bonnie, I don't sing them to sleep, but I'm in the habit of talking to blooming flowers,
and even to the tomatoes and lettuce! I tell them how beautiful they are.

Good for you. However, don't let talking to your plants get to be such a habit that you slip and do it at the plant outlets.... I won't mention who might have done that.....

I don't talk to the plants,,,,but I sure have plenty to say to the weeds , it dosen't seem to help, though ! ...Arlyn

How about telling the weeds that you are getting out the Round-up?

LOL Paul.

You can only fool them with that once. Otherwise they don't believe you.

Only one clump left in my yard, and it is ensata species - a wild japanese iris that grows around this area. When it blooms I know it is really summertime in the south.
A zen shot: (you need to open this for the full effect)


Also a couple of close ups:

Love it!

Arlyn

How pretty, Leslie!!

Reckless Abandon

Nice one, Paul !..Arlyn

I ditto Arlyn's note.

A beautiful clump-shot!! And what is that pretty thing in the back on the left-hand side, hmmmmmm?

The iris in the upper left corner is Treasure Trader......

Beautiful species iris Leslie! I grow a few species irises. Now that many of our waterways have been 'tamed' by our Corps of Engineers a lot of our former habitats no longer support their growth and where the irises do congregate it seem to be impeding the flow that the 'powers that be' have envisioned. Therefore, some iris species are beginning to be classified as a weed or even a noxious weed. It reminds me of what happened to the Native Americans in our country. I keep mine in pots.... no, not the Native Americans, the species iris. smiles

Paul, the first time I saw Reckless Abandon on this site I loved it. It is a TB and I am trying not to purchase too many of that class. The last time I saw it I commented on how lovely it was but this is just too many cases of love at first site. I will put it on my list. smiles

Thanks, Paul -- that Treasure Trader is a beauty!!!

Bonnie - I know what you mean about them being called weeds. The native species Yellow Flag grows everywhere there is a pond, but they have been labeled a nuisance plant now. I got some species cross on order, and the first thing the grower told me was "they are sterile, so you won't have to worry about their seedlings taking over the waterways." Sad really. And there are a lot of native LA iris that have been lost forever because of taming.
My ensata species is a slow grower, but I would hate to relegate it to a pot. I have some other JA iris on order to flank my species.

Eventually the only species available to growers will be the most popular, most prolific and hardy that nurseries make room for. Then they will be hyped as 'native' and 'saved from extinction'.... and the price will reflect all this reverence for our old 'flags'...... getting off the soapbox now.