Okay, I admit it. I’m a little obsessive about these flowers. So far I’ve counted 21 individual iris blooms about to pop out. It will probably take another week or so for them to really start showing. This is up from about 15 yesterday–I think the rains last night coupled with the sunny day today have really helped the growing cycle.
Last year, I think we had about 12 blooms (some of the stalks have multiple blooms on them, but I only count them as one flower). I was especially obsessed with the iris blooms last year, but so far, this year doesn’t seem that different. I can really feel close to my mother when I’m outside looking at those green leafy blooms about to open. Purple was Mama’s favorite color, so it is only fitting that most of my irises are purple. (For those of you who don’t know, the irises, along with many of my other flowering bulbs and rhizomes have been dug in Octagon, Alabama over the past 3+ years at Mama’s (Inez Hinson). It is especially exciting to see them growing–of all the plants I’ve dug from Octagon, Alabama, the irises have thrived most. We do have some day lillies that appear to be doing very well.)