Blue Iris, After a Summer Rain

"Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?" - James Montgomery

In yesterday's blip, I showed you one of my antique iris blooms.

For today's delight, I present to you the star of my summer yard. This is a reblooming German iris, and its name is Victoria Falls.

I bought a single rhizome through the mail a couple of years back. I planted it in the front flower bed and it did pretty much nothing for two years. Then I moved it a few feet to the right, and it started going crazy!

This year I have had about a dozen blooms at a time. They're looking a bit crowded; I think it may be time to divide them. Add it to the list for later in the summer.

The blooms made the stalks heavy and they fell down in the first good rain, so I had to put some little trellises around them to help them stand.

We've had rain and thunderstorms every day or two in the past week or so, and Saturday was no exception. I took advantage of a break in the rain in late afternoon to photograph this beauty covered in raindrops.

I just can't help myself: I find myself photographing these lovelies at morning, noon, and night. They look different - paler or deeper shades of blue - depending on the light and conditions.

The blooms won't stay forever, but when they're done, I can certainly hold onto the pictures, can't I?