Iris ‘Helen Collingwood’
April 22, 2021. The temperature at 6 a.m. was 34°F. and after dropping to 32°F by 7 a.m. it began climbing up again. 61°F at 5 p.m.
Iris ‘Helen Collingwood’
The garden seemed unbothered by the cold night and a couple more irises opened today. One came from my former late-1970s neighbor Henrietta. This tall bearded iris features pale lavender standards and bright violet-purple falls. Sweetbay identified this passalong last year as Iris ‘Helen Collingwood’.
Iris ‘Helen Collingwood’
Iris ‘Helen Collingwood’
The second newly blooming iris is a reblooming type with ruffled petals. Also a passalong without a name, it came from a plant swap in my current neighborhood in October 2013. The petal color strikes me as a clean, clear, pure yellow, with a touch of white on the falls below the yellow beard.
Tall Bearded Iris
Tall Bearded Iris
Tall Bearded Iris
A few more flowers opened on the Paeonia lactiflora ‘Coral Charm’ (Coral Charm Peony); a bud on my passalong rose bush is showing color; and two snapdragon plants from years past have survived and appear ready to bloom. The snapdragons suffered a lot of rabbit damage last spring so I am happy to see them return.
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
pbmGarden 
‘Helen Collingwood’ is a knockout.
I think so too, a real treasure.
I love passalong plants, as they come with a history.
So true.
All beautiful! Your environment seems ideal for Iris, Susie.
There’s something special about this cooler, extended spring–the irises are loving it. Last year I don’t think they were nearly so wonderful.