Irises: Help identifying iris characteristics, 1 by subyz

subyz wrote:
We bought a house a few years ago (eastern Virginia) that apparently had two types of bearded irises. One type dies back in the winter. The foliage turns brown and dries up. The others stay green although there is a little browning around the tips. The evergreen variety certainly had more and prettier blossoms this year ALTHOUGH I would swear some that were blue last year are now reddish purple. There are even a few that now look more like a light, nearly white Japanese iris with only streaks of purple. Is that possible?
I divided the plants the first year we were here so now I have half a row of one variety, half a row of the other, etc. Not as attractive as I had expected. I'd certainly appreciate information and suggestions.