Then we had the irises, rising beautiful and cool on their tall stalks, like blown glass, like pastel water momentarily frozen in a splash,...buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, into the light, as if to point, to say: Whatever is silenced will clamour to be heard, though silently. Quote from Margaret Atwood
It is always so exciting for me when I start to see buds developing on my irises. Each one has its own specific charm and it is just lovely to see the amazing variety. They have such an ethereal beauty and are a delight to the eye.
My garden is full of the large wild irises (dietes grandiflora) also known as the African iris (they are indigenous to Africa) or fairy iris because their fragile white petals look like fairy wings and have a tendency to disappear overnight. They are often called rain flowers as they often bloom after rain in Summer.
They just pop up everywhere and I have to keep a close eye on them as they can just take over. They are easy to pull out when young, but a mission once they have established. Planted en masse they create a beautiful show, though.
I also have some walking irises ( (native to Brazil) in my garden. The one below is either a neomarica northiana or a trimezia gracilis, not sure which. The northiana has tips that are purple rather than blue, but on the other hand the gracilis usually has pointed petals as opposed to the rounder petals of a northiana. So, I am not really sure which it is especially seeing that the camera does not always reflect the true colour as seen in the two pics below where one shows purple and the other blue. The main difference between Neomarica and Trimezia is that the axis ("stem") is flat in Neomaricas and round in Trimezias.
Then there is (what I think is) the neomarica nicotiana which has a larger flower as well as much longer leaves. They are also known as apostle plants as some believe the plants need 12 leaves before they will bloom. I am not sure whether it might also be the neomarica caerulea. This is my first bloom ever after planting it last year. I took the photo this morning early and after the terrible heat of today, the flower has already wilted.
I also have some Dutch and bearded irises like this vibrant yellow one.
I also have a more delicate cream one with hints of brown and orange.
Below are two different ones I once had. It is always rather sad to see how many plants that I used to have in my garden have died for whatever reason, but at least I have photos to remind me of their beauty.
I also have the delicate little iris which I originally thought was iris japonica, but now am wondering whether it is instead iris cristata or iris confusa (oh boy, I certainly am confused now)!
So, just being an enthusiastic gardener and no expert at all, I can simply say these are all irises and they bring me much joy each year when they bloom.