Antique Iris

"With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy." - Lope de Vega

I can't resist showing you one of the varieties of iris I have blooming in my yard.

This is an antique-looking variety of iris. I don't know what it's called - a relative or friend gave me a bunch of them after I first bought my house, and I planted them in part sun/part shade. I divide them every few years; cut a few and bring them inside. The individual blooms, when they open, don't last long: just a day or two.

These would be considered bearded iris (see that bit of glorious golden fuzz there). The petals are deliciously velvety soft - a sort of maroonish-purple. And the top part is a sort of golden tan.

P.S. If you are a lover of iris, you may also want to check out the blue iris in Saturday's blip.