some of her irises and "ditch lilies" I was more then happy to take them off of her hands. Oh but these irises were not just any ordinary irises. They were the old heritage varieties and they came from her mother, Grandma Hartman's family's original homestead.
Several of the varieties that Grandma Loralye had come down from, or multiplied from, the original bulbs that had been there when Grandma Hartman was born in 1903. Some came from the late 1800's and
other's from the early 1950's.
Grandma Loralye also gave me what she called a "Ditch Lilly". She had dug out several "pretty flowers" from the ditch a crossed the road before the county started spraying the weeds in them.After asking around I found out that it's actually called a Dutch Iris which is another old variety of Iris. It looks very similar to a few of the varieties that are native to America. There are 30 native varieties of iris so its possible that this is a variation of one.
Grandma Hartman lived to be 101 so I a chance to get to know her. Now when I look out my window and see the irises bobbing in the wind I think of her. That's the nice thing about flower bulbs. When they start multiplying you can split them off and share them. It's even better when the variety comes from someone special. It's a way to keep memories and history alive.
I've tried to identify these irises but I really don't know what they are for sure! If you know or think you know what they are don't be afraid to comment! **Not Pictured is a almost all white iris with yellow just around the edges**
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| Augusta Hermeana A.K.A Grandma Hartman |
Sources Used
http://facstaff.hsc.unt.edu/rbarton/Iris/NANI.html
http://www.irises.org/About_AIS/History.html
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/iris/Blue_Flag/iris_virginica.shtml
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