In Love With Irises

My most recent love affair is with Irises.

Is it because they are in bloom here in Washington?

I am intrigued by the colors, shapes, and details of the lines. I have begun a watercolor painting of my neighbor's beautiful purple, lavender, and yellow-orange, Iris and have patiently awaited the bloom of the Iris I was gifted with last fall.

They are just beginning to open.......


Look at this lovely specimen!


We had a terrible wind and rain storm last evening and this morning I found one of my beautiful Iris on the ground. Hoping to be able to stake it for support, to my dismay, I saw that a slug had chewed through its stem. Then, observing the others...........I found one bud tip chewed off.

THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Tonight with flashlight in hand, I will eliminate the guilty slug or slugs. No mercy!