Bearded Irises, Peony, Chrysanthemums, and Columbine

My bearded irises are blooming! My bearded irises are blooming!

They are spectacular and vibrant! I love bearded irises so much that I think I have about 12 different kinds but mostly are in the purple color palette. A few were inherited from my mother-in-law and that’s what inspired me to grow more bearded irises! They are one of the easiest plants to grow and naturalize.

I also have other favorites that are blooming too!

Come see my latest bloomers!!!

BEARDED IRISES

These purple bearded irises here are called “Lady Friend”. What a ridiculous name for a beautiful flower! Who came up with these names?

The following bearded irises came from a collection of my mother-in-law and I have no idea what they are called. This year is the best bloom so far. They are so prolific and happy looking in the ground instead of a pot where they came from before.

These blue and cream colored irises below are adorable to me in a way I can’t even describe to you! I think of the word “angelic” when I see these flowers. Blue and cream is a favorite color combo for me. It’s too precious!

Brace yourself for the next purple iris down below though. They are wildly different irises!

Would you look at that crazy dark and dangerous purple! WOW! Incredible coloring! I am really in love with this color and this bearded iris! I am ecstatic to see them flower so much this year. They liked that I divided them out of the pot that I got from my mother-in-law. They were not flowering when they were crowded in the pot. I took some other bulbs out and they are super duper happy! Sorry but I don’t know the name of these irises.

PEONY “CORAL SUNSET”

I have heard that it is really hard to grow peonies out here in southern California where it is usually too warm for herbaceous peonies like this one. I defied everyone’s warnings and bought a few peonies. I’m kind of a rogue gardener. I never go with convention. This is the second peony I have that flowered. Last year was this “Kopper Kettle” peony and so far I haven’t seen it with a bulb yet so I’m crossing my fingers that it will flower again for me. We had a bitterly cold winter so maybe it likes it and comes back soon. I hear peonies do better in cooler weather which helps them to flower.

This flower starts out a deep dark coral color and each day it changes colors. See the progress below. It changed to a lighter salmon color, then into a peach color. As of yesterday afternoon it is a bright yellow, the prettiest yellow I’ve ever seen.

Look at the adorable pink center, I don’t know what it’s called.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS

These are one of my favorite mums. They are HUGE in size, about 4 inches wide and the colors are so bright and cheerful. These always makes me smile and think happy thoughts.

Garden bed full of daisies, blue borage, purple dondo blue in the background, and a whole lot of colorful nasturtiums.

COLUMBINE “ROCKY MOUNTAIN”

CALIFORNIA POPPIES

That’s all of the flowers for now. I will show you more bearded irises next week. I saw some buds in a few new bearded irises already. Have a nice weekend everyone! Thanks for stopping by and reading all the way to the end if you did!