A couple of weeks ago I was on a morning walk with Rockefeller and got really excited when I saw the first irises of the season in bloom. I adore irises. I don’t always take walks with my camera but that morning I did and I snapped a couple of shots:
Then yesterday I was walking Rockefeller down by the fairgrounds, without my camera, and was surprised to see a nice variety of irises planted along their chain-link fence. The blooms were past their prime but I made a note to go back today and try to see what I could capture:
Although the irises were starting to fade, some other gorgeous beauties were having their hey day. Peonies! What is not to love about a peony? Except the ants.
Back to irises. When we got home I took some pictures of my irises. They tend to bloom a little later than most thanks to all of our shade.
I also finally bought my annuals today. I always buy loads of impatiens thanks to all the trees. But they are lovely and I never tire of them.
I need to get back to that front porch quick!
Irises. Such an elegant flower. And I am not the only person to love them…check out Lisa’s photos.
Do you have a favorite flower? I am not sure I could ever pick an absolute favorite.
~~Mistress Bliss~~











Those peonies are so pretty, we had peonies at our old house, I kinda miss them. I have many favorite flowers – I have always loved roses, orchids, calla lilies……….now I am into Birds of Paradise, hibiscus….I swear it changes every year!
I have a recent love of Birds of Paradise too…so tropical and lovely.
Hi,
Great photos, and beautiful flowers in so many different colours, and I love your irises, very nice.
Aren’t they wondrous things of such frajility? Difficult to pick an absolute fave, isn’t it? I’ve decided I can’t live without a lotus – N is for Nelembo:).
Lotus are very pretty. I love seeing those depicted in Eastern art. There is no way I could pick a favorite flower…there are a few at the top of my list but all of them are gorgeous.
What a cozy porch you have! I love the photos of the peonies and of the rain drenched iris.
Thank you, Terri. Isn’t it nice to be able to enjoy the beauty of nature?
Gorgeous photos, Bliss! I can’t garden, but I sure do enjoy beautiful flowers. I have a black thumb.
I can’t garden either! This is all low-maintenance stuff, thank goodness. We have lots of shade so our gardens are mostly hostas and ferns. The most I have to do is weed a couple times a year otherwise it starts looking like a jungle out there.
Flowers are the true natural beauty, do not need clothes or jewelry, or makeup. Beautiful photos …
Josep, you say the sweetest things. You are right…flowers are always clothed perfectly!
Stunning photos – my favorite is the blue iris by the water. Peonies are one of my favorite. Love your porch too – can see you sitting there … all dressed to kill. Bliss you are very talent.
Sitting there…dressed to kill–LOL! You are too much. I am glad you enjoyed the pictures. I have enjoyed the ones on your walks too.
Yes, I read your post from the other day .. when Mr Bliss told you that you can’t sit scruffy on the front porch. *smile
Such great photos and I love your porch!
Thanks, Juhli. You have been inspiring me to get busy outside so that we can enjoy our surroundings.
I absolutely LOVE irises but am a complete failure in growing them. I’ve tried several times; always a no-go. This year seems to be an extra special one for irises, though. The yellow one across the street from you was outstanding.
Hope you liked the ones I brought you! I wonder if you should try planting some again this fall in that area where you cleared out that tree?? And I agree, those yellow ones were fabulous!
You are right, choosing one single flower above all others is nigh impossible. I would have to say, though, that irises are about my favourite – Mom’s garden always had loads and they are an instant reminder of my childhood. We finally planted some iris bulbs last fall, but I haven’t seen any yet. My new rose bushes have buds, one of the lavender plants has flowers and the first burgundy peonies has now opened. That’s all a lot for me to get excited about! I love your front porch. It must be wonderful to live in a place you can routinely sit outside. I did so yesterday evening and this morning was lovely, but the fog horn went all morning and the mists are coming in from the sea. Never mind, it all still looks wonderful from inside!
I have heard from others that they can be difficult to grow. I didn’t know this but when I have had them in my yard, they were planted by previous owners. But it sounds like you have a lot of beauties to enjoy! You live close enough to the sea to have morning mists and fog? LOVELY! You have a great place for porch sitting too.
Beautiful flowers (and great photos!) I love irises. There is a popular tradition of growing them in our city– there’s an iris farm nearby and some legendary gardens around town.
I love peonies and gardenias too, but they don’t grow easily in our climate (too hot). So I’m growing roses instead.
One can never go wrong with roses! So many varieties and scents…Love them. I unfortunately do not have enough sun to give roses a go around here. Thank you for stopping in!
Beautiful flowers! And we all seem to love that front porch… there’s your next post!
It is a cute little porch…I do like it. But if you look closely you will see that I need to repaint the table out there. Always something, right?
The first fiery iris and the solo pink peony are my favorites, but I love all these photos! Beautiful. Thank you for a great start to my online day!
That fiery iris surprised me. I don’t see that color very often and it was simply gorgeous. Thank you for stopping in!
gorgeous blossoms, I wish I have green fingers like yours. I can’t seem to keep any plants alive. So lovely to have these beauties in your home surrounding.
mongs
mythriftycloset.blogspot.com
I can’t take any credit for the flowers and plants that surround our house…the previous owners landscaped this place beautifully with mostly low maintenance plants. I do very little to enjoy so much. : )
Pingback: weekly photo challenge ~~ purple | stepping my way to bliss