Walking among my iris

My mother didn't like iris'.  She said they didn't bloom for a long enough time.  A former neighbor didn't care for them either; she called them "old flags", sneering as she dug them up.  
I love my iris.  They ask for so little.  Oh, you can fuss with them if you want; a search on the Internet tells me they must be divided every once in awhile if they are to thrive.  But in the old yard, I never did a thing but enjoy them, and they bloomed faithfully for years.  The sister-in-law who is living in our old house likes to do things right (in other words, she isn't lazy like me), so she moved them and thinned them and treated them properly.  They don't mind that, either.    


The flowers I moved back here from the old yard hold fond memories of the friend who gave me the start of them.    
And then there are the ones I ordered online; they are the ones that continue to surprise me.  Remember a few days ago when I showed you my first iris of the year?  

 It's really showing off now!  

This is my second one to bloom.  

Right next to it will be my third.  See, above the fully-bloomed flower?  It appears to be some sort of yellow.  This is the first year I've gotten to see these particular ones bloom.  The wind broke the only would-be bloom off one last year and my dog broke the other one before it was fully flowered.  So these are surprises to me.  Oh, I'm the one who ordered them, but surely you don't think I would remember what color iris I ordered two years ago?  I do recall that these are supposed to bloom a second time each year, but only if you prune and fuss with them at the proper time.  I probably won't do that.

These, behind the house, are in full bud, but none of the blooms have opened up so I can make a guess as to what color they are.  That's what makes my morning walks around the yard so exciting; eventually I get a surprise, and can tell the color of the next iris to bloom!  

One of these is showing a little color.

This one is farther behind.  

Here's my point:  My mother complained that iris' bloom too brief a time, but I've found that if you have several varieties, the iris season lasts several weeks.  I believe my red one was the last one to bloom, last year.  

And by the time my last iris blooms, the day lilies will have begun showing their colors.  Then the coneflowers and hibiscus will start, and last all summer until frost.  Flowers are one of God's best ideas, and I am exceedingly glad there are so many varieties of flowers that don't make me work too hard.