Coffee With Regina

  Posted on May 3, 2013 By George Weaver

 62 Comments

Hello, Friends!  I missed the entire month of April.  This post just sat there waiting for me to finish it.  I started the post to share my Iris with you.  I declare, I must have zillions of photographs of the Iris now.  I never paid the slightest attention to the old-fashioned iris.  I never really liked them.  My daughter included these plants in the landscape plan for this house primarily because of the nice, slender clumps of foliage that don’t die in the winter.  She had no idea what the blossoms might look like.  They bloomed for the first time this spring and they have delighted me.

This bud reminded me of a little bird.  I loved him.

As you can see, the bud base grows directly out of the side of the grass-like blade.

I am fascinated by the growth pattern of these flowers.   The intricate architecture of the leaf that allows the bud base to grow up the leaf for a considerable distance before it pushes through the side is remarkable.

The photo above was taken through the screen window of my porch.  I included it because you can see the long stem of the bud base growing inside the leaf.  The bud on the right is emerging from the leaf.

The flower above is fully opened.  The blossoms open and wilt within a day.

In the photo above, one bud base has developed and another one is emerging from within the the same bud base.  The brown tip of it is visible underneath the blossom.

Here, you can see the bud as it begins to unfold into a blossom.  The iris blossoms open in the mornings.  This one still has the droplets from the sprinkler system clinging to her petals.

This iris grows to a height of about four to five feet.  The blossoms change character and color depending on the light.  The blossoms are not large, but they are dramatic.  One day, the plant is a clump of unremarkable green grass-like foliage.  Suddenly, the next morning a flurry of lovely blossoms seem to appear as if by overnight magic.  She is a thoroughly delightful plant for the careful observer.

She is a walking iris whose name is ‘Regina’ Iris (Neomarica Caerulea).  I understand that she is commonly referred to as Giant Apostle’s Iris.  We will simply call her Regina.  This spring, she has treated me to this view from my chair on the screened porch where I drink my coffee, and I thank her.  I cannot think of a more lovely companion.

I have had a couple of little adventures since I last talked to you, but certainly nothing very exciting since I swore off robbing mosques.  I still haven’t discovered what they did with the oranges.  😉

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