First Flower of the Season

After waiting the long months of winter, the first flower of the season is always a delight. The first flowers for me this year have been the Iris reticulata, and it was indeed a delight to see them. A few years ago, I planted three varieties into my Blue Garden: 'Harmony' (dark blue with a yellow splash), 'Pixie' (very dark blue and small, as you might have guessed) and 'Natascha' (very pale blue, or as some describe, white with blue veining).

'Natascha' turned out to be a very washed-out color, more of a dirty white. Perhaps in another climate the delicate colors would show better, but under the New Mexico sun, when I saw it in the corner of my eye, I kept thinking that someone threw a dirty sock in my yard, only to turn and look to see 'Natascha'. It turned out also to be a weak plant, but this lack of strength turned out to be a good thing. It saved me from having to dispose of it when it dwindled out after a couple of years.

'Harmony' is likely to be what you see in the photo, and has turned out to be the most vigorous as well as the best color for my garden. Because I irrigate very little, plants have to be tough. 'Harmony' hasn't spread or multiplied very much, but it has survived. The photo is the last of the flowers.

'Pixie' was planted near some lavender, and has amazingly survived after being swamped by the lavender. The lavender was taken out and replanted last year, and the remaining clump of 'Pixie' bloomed better than ever.

So why don't I coddle the Iris reticulata more? Although they are a delight the first thing in the spring, the flowers only last a few days. That's right. In my yard, they rarely last even a week. Then the scraggly foliage elongates to a foot or more long, and lasts for a more than a month. Because the flowers are small and close to the ground, they can't be planted farther back among plants, and the foliage becomes an eyesore. Perhaps they would be better planted in an herbaceous border, where planted a little ways back, they would be seen first thing in the spring when most plants are underground, but the foliage obscured as plants grow in. Perhaps I could also plant them more densely, so that the foliage becomes a statement of its own, with some low-growing plant among them to contrast, and to provide interest when the iris foliage is gone. Something like Origanum dictamnus, or Origanum 'Kent Beauty', or Sedum 'Vera Jameson' or Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. Something to consider in the fall.

Addendum: the same plant 3/12/08