Grand Iris Tour 2022

Better late than never!  The iris season has actually been completed for a few weeks now, but we did manage to get a few pictures.  Never mind that the pictures we got this time around were of flowers we cut to bring inside so we could enjoy them more.

I actually liked the photo above because it shows off the water droplets on the falls of this particular German bearded iris. 

The Genuine Faux Farm still has a fairly wide range of iris varieties and some of our old friends, like Proud Tradition (at top of this photo) come back to visit us every year.  I know both of us would like to treat our friends a little better, but we just never seem to get that extra care onto the top 100 of our lists, no matter how much we want to.

This year I was reminded why I like the selections we have on our farm so much.  Some of them feature colors that are bold and beautiful.  Others, like this one shown above (I do not recall the name at the moment) have subtle features that show colors blending slowly as you progress from the edges of the petals.  This one has what is known as a "plicata" design, which is where fine lines of color (purplish) bleed into another (white).

Kevin's Theme might be a favorite of ours over the years.  These plants never seem to thrive like other varieties do.  Even so, we have seen a bloom in our gardens every year since we moved to the farm.  It's usually only one or two stalks at most.  But that's nothing to complain about.

Then, sometimes we get a surprise.  This flower was HUGE!  I did not succeed in taking a photo that showed a contrast with an average iris bloom.  But, it had to be about 1/3 bigger than the others.  

We know and have had some larger varieties, such as Banana Frappe, bloom for us in prior years.  But, neither of us can recall this one rewarding us with a flower until now.   

Hey!  We'll take it.

If there is one color family iris seem to feature the best, it is the deep blues and purples that draw our attention.  Sometimes the color looks so deep and luxurious that you almost get the feeling that it would be like velvet if you touched it.  

Here's to some beautiful blooms in 2022 - and hopefully an even more successful year for iris in 2023.