siberian iris

my mother’s older brother was really into gardening and he gave my mom some starts from his siberian iris.  of course she gave me some starts off her plant and i had them growing at my old house in seattle.  when we moved from seattle to northern california there were a ton of plants i wanted to bring to my new house. but, since we had a long journey south, i could only bring one plant.  so i choose to bring this plant.  when we arrived in northern california in july it was scorching hot and i kept water on it so that it wouldn’t die.  i eventually planted it under our little patio and for the last three years i thought it wasn’t going to make it since i didn’t get any buds.  i just remembered that it takes about 2-3 years until it produces a flower.  well…lo and behold, i spied a bud on it the other day.  ok, so the next day i went out to check on it and one bud was missing!  hmmm….and my rose bush had this happening to it’s buds…

it might be difficult to make out, but the stem is cut off where a bud used to be!  i’m sure the local wild turkeys aren’t getting to it, nor are the squirrels since this is too high for them…so my only guess is that deer are munching down on my plants.  so now, i’m covering my iris every night with a light weight sheet…

luckily this isn’t the scene in our front yard, since it isn’t too attractive!  so, i’m hoping that i’ll have a flower in a few days and i’ll post it.  i love that this is the plant that my uncle george gave to us!  despite him passing away a few years ago, his memory still lives on.  this is a nice way to remember loved ones…

got this image off the internet…i think this is what it will look like when it blooms.  it has been 3 years since i’ve seen the flower, so my memory is foggy as to how blue or purple it is.  can’t wait to for it to bloom and share it with you!