Sarracenia in bloom. 5.21.2021

 The others are starting to bloom too.  These get rainwater from the wellhouse roof.  Seems to work well.

Rufus Photo Shoot for "Playdog" Magazine.

 Playdog exists only in my mind of course.  But Rufus is entirely real.

Ponca is Alive! 5.16.2021

 One of the pokey looking Ponca blackberries has put out some new growth.  I wondered if it would survive.  This is the most vigorous of the three.  We'll see how they all do as the summer comes along.

I imagine it will lose the red colors and become a more typical green as it grows,  Pretty colors now.

An Itoh Peony and a Couple of Irises. 5.16.2021

 I dont know the name of the Itoh peony.  Most of mine are yellow-ish.  This one is a year after planting - not bad for a peony.  The irises are Wabash and American Classic.

A Few More Bearded Iris Photos. 5.15.21

 Here are a few photos from this morning.  Some plants were photographed earlier, using Iphone.  This time it's with Nikon SLR.

I really think the hand me down varieties are nice.  Most seem healthier than the bought newer ones.  My guess is that the newest ones are over-hybridized for lush flowers, but not for disease resistance or durability or hardiness.  The hand me downs are ones that flourished over the years in local yards to the point where they had overcrowded their spaces, and were thinned out resulting in rhizomes to give away.  Ones that did not do well and were not liked, did not survive to the point of being given away.   So local gardens did the sorting out of the better ones.

However, there are some newer ones that are very nice, such as "Victoria Falls".