Iris

I love Irises of all kinds the larger Bearded Iris that usually blooms in May and the smaller kind. It is such a shame that they are short-lived, I would have loved to have them all year round. They usually bring beautiful tones of white, purples, and blues to the garden and make beautiful cut flowers too. Really easy to grow from tubers that multiply over the years.

Iris is a genus of plants with over 260 species. The name is Greek. The Greek goddess of the rainbow. The name is botanical as well as its common name. Irises are perennials. They are a genus in the Iridaceae family of plants. They grow from rhizomes or bulbs. They have long erect stems. They usually have sword-shaped leaves. The flowers have three sepals that droop down and are called falls. And three petals stand upright. The falls are usually bearded or simple and have stripes in colors.

Most irises are from the temperate Northern hemisphere. They are widely diverse from Europe, Asia, and North America.