Flower Friday. : : Bearded Iris

this was one of the nice surprises our garden produced this year. A lot of things either burned or didn't flower this year, but these blue ones are just starting to bloom and look quite spectacular.  We rescued them when we moved here from where they had been carelessly tossed away by the previous owners. They outgrew the half wine barrel we planted them in and John built raised beds for them. They outgrew those so John dug them out just before the fire and put them in the shed to dry out . The fire burned the raised bed but not the shed, so some of the bulbs have been planted where the rosemary was. We can see them from the living room. They are definitely survivors.

Our neighbors who are rebuilding were here today clearing the burned trees that are just on the other side of our fence. and working on their vegetable garden which consists of six stock tanks. Even though their house burned down along with the pineapple guava trees next to our driveway, the stock tanks just behind them survived unscathed. They have restored their well, had temporary electricity installed, and passed the soil and engineering test so their contractor is getting ready to start getting bids to start building. As everybody regroups and cleans up we become even more aware of how capricious these wildfires are. Even on a single property, some things survive and others don't, often with no explanation.

I feel quite sure that the presence of firefighters, and the defensible landscaping had quite a bit to do with that when it came to our house.

I invited the neighbors to join us for a drink (and to use our bathroom) when they finished and they have just arrived....