After a week of winter weather we have spring again. Temperatures went from -8c at night to +14 this afternoon. The irises are loving it. Of all the plants in the garden they have sprung up the most these last few days. Their bright chartreuse green tips brighten up the garden and my spirits. It’s amazing how seeing them come up from frozen ground says that no matter what’s wrong, no matter how much illness I see around me, nature forever renews itself.

This bearded iris is yellow and mahogany. Like the rest of the irises in my garden it’s virtually indestructible. I grow it in a very sunny location with almost no water as it’s under a balcony. It doesn’t mind a bit and blooms profusely. Irises like good drainage so perhaps dry soil doesn’t bother them. The Canadian Iris Society http://www.cdn-iris.ca/bearded.html  recommends that exposed irises should be covered with mulch in particularly cold sites. Well, even in -40c my irises have all survived. Amazing!