The people who have been on this thread a long time already know this story. But for the newbies:
When I was a young girl (elevenish), we moved from an established suburb of Chicago to the nether-regions of suburban-land. Our new home was the first street in a sub-division to be -- out in the middle of what had been a meadow. My brother and I packed our lunch of PBJ sandwiches and a Skippy peanut-butter jar of milk every day, and took off on our bikes to explore the area surrounding our new home. On one trip, we found the foundation of an old home -- right in the middle of tall waving grass. And peeking through the grass was some color -- what was that???? Investigation provided the answer -- it was Irises. Irises of a color I had never seen before. I grew up with the standard purples -- but this was different -- tan standards, maroon falls. I was enchanted. That evening, after my Dad got home from work, I told him about the beautiful Irises growing out in the waving grass. Bless his heart -- he grabbed a shovel and off we went to find them. We did -- and he dug them up and brought them home, and planted them right in our garden. *My Iris* -- right there in our garden. I was very proud.
Years later -- more than twenty years later -- I opened a Schreiner's catalog for the very first time -- and there was a picture of *Suave*. The closest I've ever seen to the Irises growing in the waving grass of my childhood. I ordered it, of course -- and it grows in my Iris bed today, more than forty years later.
I never learned the identity of the Iris growing in the waving grasses of a meadow of my childhood -- but that unknown Iris sparked a love that lives to this day.
And that's my story.
Alan and Mary Anne! Haven't seen you here before but love that you have come to join us in the love of iris. Please stick around to post your spring blooms. We all love seeing new iris, and old iris, and very old iris!
But I have always loved irises.
