August 29th, 2018
Iris Redux
When these die, there will be another year and different irises to desire.
August 29, 2018 · Shared with Your friends
We gardeners have our phases and about 20 years ago I fell for bearded irises. I had the Schreiner’s print catalog memorized and could amaze my non-gardening friends with my ability to identify each iris by name. (Gardeners know this isn’t much of a feat as we spend hours comparing photos and so, of course, we know the names of our irises, roses, daylilies, daffodils, etc.)
A friend of mine recently took a class on gardening and listening to her excitement sparked my own. After all, in Austin, now’s the time we usually restart our gardens after our horrible summer…and even though the weather isn’t cooperating, the urge remains.
Last night I went online and ordered half a dozen irises from Schreiner’s. Their annual sale coincides with the best time to plant in the south.
Why did I give up on irises? In 2002, we had a really wet July and most of the fancy bought ones rotted. Then my yard got too shady. Then my knees gave out and I couldn’t be bothered with digging them up and dividing them. Then we had the horrible year 2011 of 90 days of 100°F or hotter…when I gave up on gardening altogether.
Why rekindle my romance? Well, I cleared out a whole section of yard when we had planned to build the ADU and cut down some trees. So now I have a big blank canvas in full sun to fill. And life’s too short not to enjoy a flirtation…even if I know the relationship is fleeting. When these die, there will be another year and different irises to desire.
by M Sinclair Stevens