May 30 ... and the season is ENDING.

May 30, 2012 was a good day for some new cultivars at Diamond Rise.  First there is the 2011 Black introduction 'Blushing.'  It is described as a great flower for a small garden and so it is. A very short TB (though it's hard to judge height this year) this is perfect flower a fan of apricot, subtle blends and warmth.  Most of all it is the warmth of this bloom that engages.

Again, Kudos to Mid-America for a rhizome that produces this kind of stunning bloom the summer after it was purchased.

Blushing

Adding to the space age look is a flower sure to please my husband.  Whenever I bring home flowers they are white. Here is 'Fimbriated Space' in its full bridal glory.  The spreading falls and the horns lift this short bloom above its actual height.

This was purchased from Nola's last year.

Fimbriated Space

Heres a beautiful bloom from what was labeled 'Reparteé' from Pleasant Valley.  To be fair it was part of an end of the season bargain package of mixed "named" cultivars.  If anyone has a clue let me know.  I can tell you that it is not 'Poem of Ecstacy' which is a much larger and more heavily ruffled combination of the same colors.

Bought as Reparteé

Poem of Ecstasy

'Before The Storm' remains the most impressive of the "black" cultivars.  The reason is while all of these irises are truly a deep purple, this one leans toward red in its pigmentation while most tend town blue.  As Gomez Addams might say, "If only irises would bloom at Halloween, querida!"

Before the Storm

Dana Borglum is such force in the world of siberian irises.  To my eyes, Lake Keuka is a the most perfect in color and form.

SIB Lake Keuka

Purchased from Borglum several years ago, Tiger Honey is one of those TBs that decided not to be so "T" this year.  Blooming at about 15", it would have not made its classification.

Tiger Honey

Kudos to Pleasant Valley!

Finally, here is the last bloom of Golden Panther.  I purchased two of these last year.  This one was from Pleasant Valley.  It was about half the price of the other from Schreiner's.  The Schreiner's rhizome was in a Dykes Medal Winner collection.  While both rhizomes were healthy, Schreiner's was very fancy!  Each rhizome was tagged with a full color label and packed in lots of ... whatever that stuff is.  Pleasant Valley was in newspaper.  Seems that PV was a better buy on all fronts.

The Last Golden Panther of 2012