Irises of the Day. Blutique, Owyhee Desert, and Loreley. 5.11.19

Blutique.  5.11.19

Today has three "Irises of the day". Mostly, the iris of the day is one that comes into bloom on that dat. I tried twice before to grow "Owyhee Desert" but had disease problems in those iris beds, and gave up. It turns out to be as nice in person as in the photos. Blutique was a surprise. I thought that maybe the ones I planted in early July might bloom this year (Owyhee Desert among others) but doubted the September plantings, such as Blutique, would bloom in their first May here.
i was wrong.  Most of the new ones are blooming.

I think "Blutique" will make an awesome large clump in a few years, and "Owyhee Desert" will be striking as well.

Both are fragrant.

Loreley.  5.11.19

Loreley has been grown since some time between 1900 to 1919. It's a sturdy variety, and seems more disease resistant than most. I've been growing it since 2012. The color variations make it interesting, and it's a nice coincidence that all three of todays irises have variegated flower patterns.

Owyhee Desert.  5.11.19

Pepper Plants. 5.11.19

Pepper Plants, started from seeds in January.  5.11.19

I'm moving these on to outside life.  I potted them up from tiny 6-packs into these pink packs that were saved from petunias that I bought last year.  Peppers like it warm, and it's been in the 80s during the day.  The largest, in bloom, are Cayennes, followed by Jalapenos.  This year I want to keep them in containers, for protection from soil herbivores and to keep them warm for better performance.

Sarracenias. 5.11.19

The Sarracenias are coming to life.  The yellw flower is on "Extreme Green".  5.11.19

Iris of the Day: Victoria Falls. And Others. 5.10.19

Victoria Falls.  5.10.19

Moving into more active iris blooming season. I'm impressed that so many that I planted last summer and fall are coming into their first bloom.  True, only one flower per rhizome (Except the ugly "My Friend Jonathan" which has two flower stalks), but it gives me a chance to see how they look.  They may also be smaller than they will be when established.

Today's most interesting is the modern "Victoria Falls", a fragrant, pale blue, rebloomer.  The color is nice.  In the sunlight, there appears to be a dusting of diamond dust on the petals, that glitters in the sun.  Very nice effect, which I have not seen before.

Of others, "Blutique" is not open yet, but the white spatters on blue show through the bud.

"His Royal Highness", the other half of the package that contained "My Friend Jonathan', is OK.  Strong looking growth, dark blue, slight fragrance.  Nothing that makes it stand out from other blue irises, but not bad.  Also marketed as a rebloomer.  I was thinking, maybe "My Friend Jonathan" might be more interesting if it actually reblooms in summer, when the light and other other flowers are different.

Blutique.  5.10.19

I recall "Spiced Custard" as being a larger flower.  It may be that my rescuing it from the edge of the woodlot, it didn't have time to build energy for a better performance.  I don't detect any fragrance.

And finally, a white iris with a golden beard.  This resulted from my pollinating "Spiced Custard" with pollen from "Immortality", many years ago.  I grew a number of seedlings, but this was the only one I kept.  It looks as good as any, with a golden beard instead of the white one of  "Immortality".  Mildly fragrant, smells like an iris.  So for my own record keeping, it's "Golden Caterpillar", short for "Golden Caterpillar Ascends The Snow Covered Mountains to Visit the Temple".  :-)

His Royal Highness.  5/10/19

Spiced Custard.  5.10//19

My Hybrid, "Golden Caterpillar".  5.11.19

Iris of the Day: Repeat Performance. 5.9.19

Tall Bearded Iris "Repeat Performer"  5.9.19

I planted "Repeat Performance" late last summer / early fall. Due to the timing, I didn't expect a bloom, but here it is. Very large, lush looking flower. Nice fragrance.  We'll see how it does as the clump establishes.  The name emphasizes that this is a repeat blooming variety, so we'll see if it does that, too.

The photo below shows the largest group of clumps that survived and bloomed in the woodlot border.   Very nice, I think.

Back to front, Iris flavescens, Alcazar, and Lorelei.  5.9.19

I