May 2024, the tall double bearded irises were in bloom, in several different areas in my flower beds.
I plant/put like things together. So my identical irises are mostly planted together.
There are multiple/different shades of purple irises in the rectangular bed (above). The only time to tell them apart is when they are in bloom.
I tied orange ribbons around identical/specific two toned purple irises the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend. I did not have enough orange ribbon for all them so I carefully marked the perimeter of the grouping. The orange ribbon is on the irises in the above photo. One has to zoom in and have an eagle eye to see it.
We went to help youngest unpack over the holiday weekend. When we returned, all the irises were spent. It was impossible to tell the different purple/colors apart. The ribbons saved me.
The two toned purple irises moved to join their identical mates in the front yard.
My husband helped me move all of them on May 31. He took the day off work to help me garden. (Between us we make up one person. I can still dig. He can still plant.)
These (white circle below) are all the ones we moved.
The irises now create a large curved border around the edge of the mass of Stella Dora’s.
This border also helps us “take back” our property, the irises extend this bed closer to the string marking the property line.
Knock on wood, this grouping should be fabulous next year.
This is how I like to design/plant. I love very large groupings of identical plants, so when they bloom, there is a wow factor.
I am pretty confident all these irises are identical. If I have a surprise next year, I will simply move the mismatch.
Below are two photos of the irises in bloom earlier this spring -
