My neighbor Joyce kindly shared with me some babies from one of her mother’s cherished plants with the instructions to let them get pot bound and they would bloom. She didn’t know the plant’s name at the time, but I later found out that it is a Walking Iris.
The plant itself looks something like a spider plant, but the babies grow from an elongated, thickened leaf, not from a stem. And…as you can see, I did indeed let it get pot bound. For the first eight years I faithfully brought it in every winter and put it back out on the patio every spring…and waited…
Then finally, my patience was rewarded at last! It finally bloomed! You can indeed see that it is related to the Iris.
Isn’t it beautiful? I quickly snapped some photos to memorialize the event…
…because this beautiful flower literally only lasts a few hours! By late afternoon, it was beginning to wither. I had to laugh, thinking of the movie Dennis the Menace and poor Mr. Wilson who had waited 40 years to see his rare orchid bloom. With Dennis around, you can already imagine the result! (It’s still one of my favorite movies, by the way!)
Another surprise on my patio…one of the three frogs who lived in my little water feature last year is back, which might not be so surprising…
…until you see how small it is! Miss Kitty finds it highly disturbing that critters are living in her personal drinking fountain!
Soon the water hyacinths will be blooming, too…another flower that only lasts a short time!
However, I can always count on the begonias in my shabby picnic basket planter to last all summer and into the fall! You can find out how to make a planter of your own here.
Another favorite of mine is also back …my little rustic flower pot man…sporting golden creeping Jenny hair this year!
And more good news this year...my ginger lilies are thriving so I will have an abundance of blooms this fall and see the hummingbird moths return to my garden.
And, of course, back again…the staff’s favorite…a big pot of catnip!
Although Naughty Neighbor (as pictured here last year) has now found a new, loving home, a few other kitties include our patio in their rounds, so the catnip remains caged to keep it safe and sound until the staff wants to play with it. It’s so nice to see signs of summer on my patio!
I hope you are having beautiful weather, too, and beginning to get a break from all the rain we have been having!
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And we appreciate your blog! Love seeing flowers of all sorts. I’m getting to an age where I don’t want to wait so many years for a bloom. You have the patience of Job! Definitely worth the wait.
ReplyDeleteThe emphemeral walking Iris blooms are so beautiful.
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