Garden Flowers with the OHC - Our Iris Study

The Iris Study from the Spring Splendor series of Outdoor Hour Challenges made us look deeper into a garden flower we see every spring. According to the Handbook of Nature Study, the garden iris is "quite valuable for this lesson." We will be on the lookout for wild iris but for now we took a closer look at the garden iris.

Did you know that the word "iris" is Greek for rainbow?

 
We have been noticing the variety of colors and sizes of irises in our neighborhood this month. They started blooming earlier in May and now most are past prime but I tried to remember to take a few photos for our official study this week.


Hello in there! This is what the bees see as they fly in for some pollen....rubbing up against it with their backs. We marveled at the design and beauty of it all.

"The bee alights on the lip of the sepal, presses forward scraping her back against the down-hanging stigma, then scrapes along the open anther which lies along the roof of the tunnel. The tunnel leads to the nectar-wells at the very base of the sepal."
Handbook of Nature Study

This one is our favorite color combination...in my dad's front yard. He promised he would share a bulb with me for next year's garden. If you have a friend who will share bulbs, here is a video on How to Divide Iris Bulbs.

That looks easy enough to do and I know just where I will plant these beauties.



Another close up image for you to really see the parts and delicate details. These were actually right alongside our walking trail...not sure who would have planted them but they were very pretty to see with the sunset behind them.


Okay. Does this look like a Georgia O'Keeffe painting to you?

"In some varieties of iris there is a coating resembling plush on the style which forms the floor of the tunnel. Through a lens this plush is exquisite-the nap of white filaments standing up tipped with brilliant yellow. Various theories as to the use of this plush have been advanced , a plausible one being that it is to keep the ants out, but the ants could easily pass along either side of it."
Handbook of Nature Study

We were not able to observe any insects in our irises but you can be sure we are going to keep our eyes out next year when they are blooming. In the meantime, I am going to try to draw an iris in my nature journal using watercolor pencils.

Mr. B used the link in the original challenge to look up the Pollinator Partnership. We came up with this list of flowers to add to our garden to encourage bees to visit. I know that the Native Plant Society has a plant sale periodically in our area and I bet we could try there for some natives to add to the garden.

• Blue elderberry
• Showy milkweed (we have tried this in the past and not been successful)
• California goldenrod
• Western blue flag

We already have quite a few of the plants suggested on the Pollinator Partnership list and hundreds of bees to observe. There is always room for more.


Just a few reminders to participants of the Outdoor Hour Challenge. There will be no challenge posted this week...the next one will be on June 8, 2012 with the start of the Summer Sizzle series of challenges.

Don't forget to send in your May blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

The latest edition of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter will publish on Friday, June 1, 2012. You must be subscribed to the blog in order to receive the download link. It is a beautiful and informative edition that I know you are going to want to have in your collection. You can subscribe on the sidebar of my blog. 






Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!