The color of the spring foliage on this #Iris pseudata is just amazing. 🌱

Happy Easter! #iris 🌱

Happy #Caturday! Pearl is enjoying a box while Gingersnap enjoys a sunbeam. Beautiful day in Oly. Hope yours is too.

Soon...

I. tenax is one of our local Pacific Coast #Iris species. It grows on the prairies, along roadsides and in clearings at the forests edge. Found in various shades of lavender from dark to near white. So easy to grow in our climate, but threatened by habitat loss. 🌱

Got to hang out with this little goober again this past week. My friend's kitty, Dobby. He is a sweetheart and a nut. #Caturday 🐈‍⬛

I posted pics of #Iris foedtidissima the other day. Here's what the fall display looks like when the seedpods break open and show off those lovely orange seeds. 🌱

A lovely version of #Iris crysographes, grown from seed collected in the wild in China by the fabulous horticulturist, Dan Hinkley. A sino-siberian species and one of my favorite garden plants. The blooms are so dramatic. 🌱

#Iris tectorum is a lovely species that is so good in a part shade border. It is a crested iris, but has been successfully crossed with bearded irises. Mine is unusual as it is tall, and has a branch and four buds total. Most are shorter with just two buds. I'd like to get the white form someday. 🌱

This odd looking species is Iris foetidissima var. citrina. The flowers are rather drab, but the foliage is lovely in the dry shade garden, and in the fall seed pods open and show off pretty orange seeds for the winter. #iris 🌱

My Iris magnifica is blooming right now and looking so pretty. A member of the sub-genus scorpiris, it is bulbous and grows in the mountains of central Asia. Blooms are nearly white, just off to a pale lilac shade. Notice the standards pointing down under the center of the flower.🌱

This iris is a noid - 'no i.d.', having lost its name, if it ever had one. It is 6 inches tall and has a single bloom on each stem. It blooms early with the daffs and is such a cheerful flower. Grows like a weed and very reliable. I've had it for decades and really enjoy it every spring. #iris 🌱

#Caturday throwback to when we had our dear Mr. Dandy. He loved hanging out with a local stray, Frankie Meezer, who would have NOTHING to do with us, but loved Dandy. They were best friends. Miss those boys. 🐈‍⬛

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Oural' from 1937 is my last one in this series for this nurseryman. I love the bright yellow and red tones. I hope you enjoyed this small peek into the vast work of a master hybridizer. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Florentine' from 1937 is what used to be called a 'fancy plicata'. Not one i have grown, but I've seen it in a few gardens. Always looking good. The cool lavender is washed over the white ground petals to striking effect. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Louvois' from 1936 is a uniquely colored iris. There is no mistaking it for anything else. A good grower and bloomer too. A favorite among historic #iris collectors. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Broceliande' from 1935 is very striking. The dark chestnut-red with the pronounced reticulations down the falls really catches the eye. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Voltigeur' Is a fine red violet variety from 1934. Great grower and bloomer. Photos were taken 15 years apart. Amazing how far digital cameras have come. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Madame Louis Aureau' from 1934 is one of my favorite plicatas. Such a good grower, fantastic form and gorgeous flowers. It was heavily used in hybridizing and is behind many of today'🌱s plicata lines. #iris

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Séduction' from 1933 is not one i have grown, but I got to see it at a friend's garden. An interesting plicata with pale speckling around the petals but dark speckling at the hafts and a colorful heart to the flower. #iris 🌱

My friend's kitten, Shrimpy, is getting big so fast! Happy #Caturday.

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Alice Harding' from 1933 is not one I have grown, but is very popular with collectors. One of the early tall light yellows to enchant gardeners, it was very popular in its day. Photo take at Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Geneviève Serouge' from 1932. I got this in error in a trade many years ago and fell in love. I have grown it ever since. Sublimely beautiful. A nice color blend that is heavily diamond dusted and sparkles like crazy. Great grower and bloomer too. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Béotie' from 1932 has a wonderful smokiness to it, and an under glow of blue that is caught by the eye, but not the camera. Very hardy and prolific. A classic. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 1931 was such a good year for Cayeux iris. Today's selection is 'Charmeur', in palest pink, almost white. Really loved this one but haven't grown it for years now. Looks so good in the evening sun. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Sérénité', from 1931, came to me by accident but quickly became a favorite. It's a great grower and bloomer. So colorful. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Président Pilkington' from 1931 is an outstanding garden variety. Light tan standards over lavender-blue falls with great growth and bloom habits. Very hardy. One of Cayeux's best. #iris 🌱

#Caturday throwback to when I had a tiny tuxedo kitten. He grew to be 18 pounds of big fuzzy love. Tuck was amazing and I miss him so much. 🐈‍⬛

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Évolution' from 1929 was very popular in its day and still is with collectors. Colorful blooms, great growth habits and reliable to bloom, it has it all. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Député Nomblot' from 1929 was extremely popular in its day. Widely grown and well regarded, it was heavily used in hybridizing. Old shots, so poor quality. I haven't grown this one for a long time, but it did great while i had it. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Yves Lassailly' from 1928 was a favorite of mine for many years. I've always loved odd-colored #irises and this one fits the bill. Off white with old gold hafts and a pale lavender wash to the falls. So pretty. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. Today's variety is a fantastic old red, 'Numa Roumestan' from 1928. It was always a good grower and bloomer for me. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Hélios' from 1928 is one of the first tall, large flowered yellow varieties to hit the market. It was quite popular in its day. I did not have it long, so only a couple of pics. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Farandole' from 1928 was a nice iris, but I don't remember it being a stand out. Old photos, so small and not the best color representation. I haven't grown this one for a long time. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Floridor' from 1927 is one of the best #irises I grow. The color is totally unique and it is incredibly fragrant. A very good grower and reliable bloomer too. 🌱

I missed #Caturday! Oh well, here's a picture of Marley I took this week. He's just as handsome today. 🐈

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Fascination' from 1927 is not one i have grown - yet - but I did see an amazing clump of it at Eagle Ridge #Iris Garden at the Convention last year. So pretty! 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Thaïs' from 1926 is a bright spot in the garden border. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. Today's variety is 'Sensation' from 1925. Not my best photography work, but it documents a rare variety. 'Sensation' lived n up to its name and was a very popular garden #iris. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. 'Azyiadé' is a beautiful luminata from 1925. The white heart just makes the flower glow. #iris 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Ferdinand Cayeux. Mon. Cayeux started his nursery with his BIL Léon Le CLerc in 1897. The Cayeux family is now 6 generations into #iris business and it is still going strong. I'll share the varieties that I have grown, in no particular order. 'Ma Mie' is from 1906. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. One last variety before we finish up with Mr. Bliss. 'Marsh Marigold' from 1919 is a rich little IB in gold and red. Not the greatest form, but great color. Also a photo of Mr. Bliss himself. #irises 🌱

Miss Gingersnap wishes you a happy #Caturday.

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Tristram' from 1919 is a bright gem of a flower in the classic amoena pattern of white standards over purple falls. White reticulations and a yellow beard set it off nicely. Classed as a TB but never got that tall for me and likely would be a BB today. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Tom Tit' from 1919 is a nice little MTB sized purple with a pretty satin sheen. Sadly I only have this single photo of it. Must not have been much of a bloomer while I had it, but it sure is cute. #iris🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Tenebrae' from 1922 is another lovely variation on a theme. Again in red violet with plush falls. I didn't have this one long, but it was a good grower and bloomer while here. #iris

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Sweet Lavender' from 1919 was always a stand out in the #iris garden. Such good color, form and growth habits. 🌱 Very old photos, so apologies for the poor quality.

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Romola' from 1925 is an interesting blend of warm and cool violet tones. A little gold in the heart warms it up and catches the light. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Pioneer' from 1924 is a nice red-violet on tall stems. Excellent grower and bloomer. 🌱

Favorite hybridizers: Arthur Bliss. 'Mystic' from 1920 is a fresh and light bloom on a smaller scale than the others. 🌱