The Iris Are Back

I just love this time of year - everything is new and
green. In Texas when June arrives, everything begins to
look a bit raggedy and stressed. The silvery bush to the
 left is one of the remaining Elaeagnus, in front,  that
survived the drought in 2011. It seems to be
doing well now. I did plant it a little bit to close to the
Pink Knockout rose, which is to the right. I planted
the dark purple iris last summer in front of the
Red Knockout roses. I planted the Heirloom iris on our
embankment last summer as well and they have really
multiplied!

Heirloom iris on embankment.

Sky Spirit iris just bloomed this morning.
This one is in the backyard. Behind it is
another Elaeagnus that was almost
dead in the Summer of 2011. I
moved some of them to the back for
tender loving care and now they look great. The
red "schoolhouse" birdhouse is now
home to what I believe are Eastern Bluebirds.
They are a beautiful blue with orange bellies.

I also moved some of the Footloose iris to the front.
I think they look great by these rocks. This
is usually the first iris to bloom in my garden
and is very prolific and looks stunning planted
alongside tall white iris. I bought this
several years ago from Schreiner's Iris Gardens online.
They are based in Oregon.

Here they are in my previous garden. I brought
the white with me, but haven't seen them this year so far.