by hankinslawrenceimages | Jun 13, 2012 | Flowers, Iridaceae Family
Siberian Irises (iris siberica) are one of the late spring stars at local botanical gardens. Their blossoms add wonderful splashes of color among all the shades of green.
Ceasar’s Brother Siberian Iris © 2012 Patty Hankins
Siberian Irises are members of the iris family – native to northern Asia and eastern and central Europe. Like other irises, their blossoms have six segments. The inner three petals stand upright – and are known as standards. The outer three sepals droop outward and are known as falls. Their flowers tend to be smaller and more delicate than those of bearded irises. They do not have the fuzzy beards found on the bearded irises.
Sky Wings Siberian Iris © 2012 Patty Hankins
Siberian irises can be found in shades of blue, purple, yellow, white and red. The ones I’ve photographed have been in the blue/purple color range.
Siberian Iris © 2012 Patty Hankins
Like other irises, Siberian Irises are perennials. Once established, they need very little care. They prefer moist well-drained soil, but can grow in drier soils. They are fine in everything from full sun to partial shade.
Sky Wings Siberian Iris © 2012 Patty Hankins
Most Siberian Irises grow to 12 to 25 inches tall. Some varieties can grow to 40 inches. The foliage looks like a narrow grass and can change to shades of yellow and orange in the fall.
Sky Wings Siberian Iris © 2012 Patty Hankins
The irises have pretty much finished blooming for the spring in the DC area. I’ve photographed lots of wonderful irises this spring – so don’t be surprised to see additional blog posts about irises in the coming weeks.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jun 8, 2011 | Flowers, Iridaceae Family
Every spring one of my favorite flowers to photograph at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland are the irises. This year was no different. In addition to the Snake’s Head Iris that I wrote about in April, I’ve photographed several other lovely irises. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed photographing them.
In March, I photographed some early blooming Katherine Hodgekin Irises (iris histrioides). These adorable irises grow in a big cluster in one of the beds at Brookside every spring.
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
And then one day in late May I photographed several beautiful irises.
First is Beautiful Visions – a Tall Bearded Iris. In shades of rose, pink and peach – Beautiful Visions adds a spectacular splash of spring color to the garden
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
Next is Dorthea K Williamson Iris – a Louisiana Iris. This is the first Louisiana Iris I’ve photographed.
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
The final iris I photographed this year at Brookside Gardens was a lovely yellow siberian iris.
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
(c) 2011 Patty Hankins
by hankinslawrenceimages | May 11, 2010 | Flowers, Wildflowers
Sorry about the delay- I got busy with a show and never posted the final wildflower photos from my spring trip to Tennessee and North Carolina. All of these wildflower photos were taken in Asheville. I’ve found two absolutely spectacular places to photograph flowers in the Asheville area – the Asheville Botanical Gardens and the North Carolina Arboretum. If you’re in the area and looking for wonderful flowers – I really recommend visiting one or both of these public gardens.
I spent several hours on the last morning of my trip at the Asheville Botanical Gardens. Here are a few of the flowers I photographed there.
White Trillium – Trillium Grandiflorum
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
Flowering Dogwood – Corus Florida
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And a wonderful Siberian Iris – not a native wildflower but still a beautiful iris
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I then headed over to the North Carolina Arboretum. I hoped to photograph some of the wonderful azaleas in the Azalea and Rhododendron collection. I was really pleased with what I saw and was able to photograph there.
Here’s a wonderful Astrinum Gold Florida Azalea bush
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally – the last wildflower I photographed on my trip – a single pink ladyslipper growing in the woods along one of the paths at the Arboretum
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
I hope you’ve enjoyed my photos from my spring wildflower trip – I had a fantastic time. I’m already starting to plan my next couple of trips. If all goes well I’ll be back in North Carolina to photograph the rhododendron in June and then heading to Colorado for summer wildflowers in July.
