Sunday, 3 February 2013

First colour

On Friday I managed to get home a bit early. Arriving home before it was dark meant that I saw the first few Iris Reticulata flowers sticking up out of the soil around the base of my Crab Apple tree at the front of the house, so on Saturday morning I was out there with the camera...

This one is called "Pauline"


I always welcome these Irises because they are the first plants of the new year to flower, and thus remind me that we have "turned a corner" and Spring is not too far off. I know we are only just into February and there could be a lot more cold weather (maybe more snow) to come, but the situation is very much different to what it was before Christmas.


This very pale one is a variety I have not had before. It is called "Katherine Hodgkin".




I don't know what type this plain blue one is. It is definitely not one of those I planted last Autumn. This particular flower is very small and I suspect that this is because it is from a very old bulb that has lost its vigour. Every year I plant a few more bulbs around the base of the Crab Apple tree, but it still doesn't look over-crowded, so presumably some of them die off.


I found it quite difficult to photograph the Irises today. Despite it being sunny for most of the day, there has been a very strong breeze, and the flowers wouldn't (couldn't) stand still!
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6 comments:

  1. Jo3 February 2013 at 16:39

    I like Pauline, her petals look like velvet. No sign of the Iris Reticulata I planted in autumn flowering yet.

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  2. chocolatelikesnow3 February 2013 at 16:43

    The Katherine Hodgkin is beautiful.

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  3. Sue Garrett3 February 2013 at 17:43

    Katherine Hodgkin is flowering in our garden too - well at least the ones in the front garden are.

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  4. Rainy Day Gardener3 February 2013 at 18:07

    I miss the little mini-iris' that I had growing in my old garden. You have some beautiful varieties! Cheers, Jenni

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  5. Linda3 February 2013 at 20:35

    Hello Pauline and Katherine, pop on over to Occasional Scotland and meet Gordon.

    Your mystery flower might be a Chionodoxa, 'Glory of the Snow', or Scilla. See http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Plant-trials-and-awards/Plant-awards/10-AGM-plants/10-AGM-small-blue-bulbs

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  6. Kelli4 February 2013 at 13:27

    Your can't beat a bit of Spring colour. The irises are really great. I like the lighter blue one. My irises are always quite late to flower.

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