Most irises are finiky somewhere--difficult to meet condidions over a continent.

Rita, I can't get over the intense colors you get back there! Wonderful!!! Mine are quite faded in comparison, unfortunately, and I have to plant the dark colors where they get half-day shade or they will burn -- which I think keeps them from blooming so much. Love your FLORENTINE SILK! Mine didn't bloom again, of course!

Betty, I can't understand why you have so much problems with FLOREWNTINE SILK. It does just fine here, just like all the others. But the intensity of color I do understand. It is no where near as hot here as it is at your place.

Rita -- could you please take a couple close-up shots of your *Gypsy Romance*? I'm trying to identify one that looks very much like it. Thanks.

Ok, will do tomorrow if it doesn't rain. I know I got mine from Schreiners. I think it has been around awhile but I could be wrong.

Lots of pictures to post!

Waverunner


Waverunner and Highliter


Tumelo Sunset


Starring


Sea Power

Purple Essance



Purple Essance again


Nigerian Raspberry


Merchant Marine and Tunelo Sunset


Pledge Allegiance


Magnificant Masterpiece


Magheralin



Jumping Jack Flash

The blooms keep coming-

Jennifer Stout


Fennifer Stout again


Harmonic Elegance


Harmonic Elegance again


Grand Admiral


Garden Beam


For Lovers only

Florentine Silk


Florentine Silk again


Fiery Figgure


Caberet Act


Caberat Act again



Visiting Royalty


Pacific Fire

And the blooms continue-

Pretty corner


Same corner



Tower Square Iris Garden



Part of Tower Square



Part of Tower Square again



Magnificent Masterpiece

Florentine Silk


Here is a dutch iris


Another view


Backyard



Backyard



Backyard

More shots of the back yard iris bed.

I didn't forget! And here is GYPSEY ROMANCE today-


Another shot of Gypsey Romance



And somewhat similiar looking iris FASHIONABLY LATE

OK Rita -- thanks for posting individual photos of *Gypsy Romance* (and all the others -- OMG they're gorgeous!!!). I'm posting a picture of the Iris that I think is *Gypsy Romance* in my garden -- do they look the same to you?




and



BTW -- thanks to you, I added *Merchant Marine* to my Iris beds last year. It bloomed for me this year and OMG -- I LOVE IT!!!

I really don't know. Different gardens, different lighing, different cameras. But it could be. That is the best I can say.

Merchant Marine is in my top five favorite iris but then I really, really like blue iris.

Rita, some really nice iris, and the bed shots are really pretty. Mary Ann, that looks a lot like Gypsy Romance, but the best way to tell for sure is to get a Gypsy Romance rhizome and plant it next to the one you have, they should bloom at the same time, and you can compare the blooms.

Oh Tom -- I know about the *acid test* -- lol. It isn't that important to me -- I'm not a hybridizer or anything. And I can't waste the space or money duplicating something I already have. But I do like to know the identity of the Irises that I have -- and I'm content to have a label that says *Gypsy Romance?* -- with a question mark. It was given to me by a friend who is an Iris enthusiastic -- in a bag marked *Batik*, which it isn't. He does have *Gypsy Romance* - so there's a good chance this is it. What I didn't ask him is -- if he has any other Irises that look like that. Next time I see him, I'll do that. But I thought, perhaps, that Rita would recognize it since she has that variety. To me, they look alike enough for a question-mark identification.

I have it too, The first bloom was "frost affected" and not too nice, A new bloom should open soon, and I'll take a few extra close pictures for you too. The color of the beard is so unique, it should give it away.

I am not very good at IDing things or even saying what they could be. And I figgure there must be lots of look alikes out there. Well, maybe not as bad as daylilies but still. But if you have a list of known possibles then it becomes something doable. You should look in the friends garden or ask and see if there are any GYPSEY ROMANCE look alikes there. If not then you have an ID by process of emination.

MTB seedling opened while it rained. (photo from last year).