War of the Irises

During winter the ground, covered by its blanket of leaves, appears to sleep. But underneath where we cannot see, life goes on. After the winds sweep away the cold and the sun warms the earth, new growth appears. Our trees and shrubs show their new fresh green colors and perennials pop through and say "Remember me?" But since we really don't know what might be happening beneath the ground, there is the potential for surprise. This year I have seen the proliferation of some unusual colored bearded iris that last year produced only a single bloom. About six years ago, a neighbor gave me a clump of them. Not knowing about growing iris, I had bedded them in a corner of the yard where they were obviously unhappy and barely stayed alive, never blooming. Two years ago when I bought and planted my first iris bulbs, traditional purple ones, I moved the languishing brownish irises to the same bed. Over the past winter they gained in strength and in numbers and dominated over the underground purple brigade. Here is one of the surprise winners of the battle.