Garden Surprise

Last Fall, Larry Bristow, Behnke’s Website Manager, shared some of his iris bulbs from his new home with me. Apparently, there were many different colors in a section of his garden, so when he gave me the bulbs to plant, we did not know what to expect. (My garden editor, Mr. Stickler, tells me that these are called rhizomes, not bulbs. Rain on my parade. I think of them as bulbs because you can often buy iris rhizomes packaged in the fall when the tulip and daffodil bulbs are sold.)

Earlier this summer, a beautiful dark purple iris showed up, but the rest never set bud. Till now! We have been watching for almost two weeks, wondering what color it was going to be. As it swelled up, I was sure it would be a light lavender as the outside had purple tints. Surprise! Yesterday I woke up to these gorgeous white blooms.

I don’t know about you, but I love white flowers. For me, they just tell me everything will be okay. While I love all the other colors in my garden, seeing a white bloom, especially at night time, makes me happy. Do you have any pictures of your garden you want to share?

Stephanie Fleming, Beyond Behnke’s