2016 Top 10 Favorites - Before and After Bloom Season

I can tell you I am going just nuts waiting for my Irises to start growing. Many that went "underground" for the winter are starting to peak through the soil. So because these beauties force me to wait patiently to see what they bring, I thought maybe I could find some company out here who might help ease my pain. I thought it would be fun to list our Top 10 Favorite Irises from last year and then after our bloom season finishes for 2016 in May, June, etc; list them again... cause that list is bound to change. With that said, here are my Top Favorites Pre-Bloom Season and why they are my favorites:

1) Teagan - From the 1st second I laid eyes on it, I was in Love. No other explanation needed
2) Silver Dividends - It is a White Diamond Dusted Iris with a touch of purple and green on the shoulders and it reblooms for me approx 4 times a year
3) Clarence - It reblooms about 8 months of the year for me and it really glows in our hot sun.
4) Plum Poodle - Another heavy duty performer. It puts out the most blooms in the Spring of any of my Irises and those blooms are curly and full of life.
5) Alpha Gnu - I remember the first year it bloomed, both my son and I just stared at it in disbelief that a flower could be that bizarre and beautiful. It still mesmerizes me every year.
6) Before the Storm - Can an Iris really be that black? I didn't expect it and still seem to be in shock each year.
7) Bachelor Party - Such a pretty color pink.
8) Gladys Austin - The colors on this one just left me in shock. I could just sit there and stare at the bloom for long periods.
9) Green and Gifted - On a constant search for green Irises, this one fit the bill and it was beautiful and unique to boot. I must have taken 80 pictures.
10 De Nile - My first Aribred. Another "Could a flower actually be this beautiful????" Iris. Of course you all know the answer - YES!!!!!!

Would love to hear others List of Top 10 Irises and why they are your favorities!

It would have been grand if you had posted some of your iris pictures with your top 10. We love pictures.

If I could just get other vegetation to leave my iris beds along, they would definitely do better and I would have more varieties to share photo's of.

Some of my favorites iris at my place:

Ok - I will dig around and see if I can find some pics of these irises that I haven't posted on DG before . Brendak654 - What is that purple iris in the middle - It's very pretty!

Sorry I do not keep track of the names. Though it was supposed to be considered a black bearded iris. I wish I had a magic wand that I could have waved over my bearded iris in past years to keep unwanted vegetation at bay, but that never happened, so I have lost many. That saddens me.

Ah Sorry to hear about those you have lost. I love those black irises too. Here are the pictures I promised a couple of replies again but the one black one I listed (Before the Storm), I didn't find a picture of. Hopefully I will find one soon. I do have one posted in my plant file pics though. Here come 9 out of 10 of my current favorites:

Teagan

Silver Dividends

Clarence

Plum Poodle

Sorry forgot to attach photo - Here is Plum Poodle:

Alpha Gnu

Bachelor Party

Gladys Austin

Green and Gifted:

De Nile

I'm not sure I could pick ten! But Clarence is also one of my favorites, as well as Conjuration (when we lived in San Antonio, it bloomed through the entire winter!) and Alien Mist.

I did find a few more iris pictures of ones that I have, but again - I seldom keep up with the names. I'm thinking I should move my iris to a row (I mean a serious straight row) in the garden where I can better keep other vegetation more under control - any thoughts on that? I have a bad tendency of just popping them in helter skelter. The # 2 photo is "SHOGUN" -surprise - I do know a name.

Beautiful Ladies!
My top 10 (5 at a time)
1. Connection
2. Secret Rites
3. God Send
4, Sky Hooks
5. Amplified

The next 5.
6. Desert Legacy
7. Flame Catcher
8. Pamela Rae
9. Knock em Dead
10. Afternoon Delight

Those are some beauties!

So So Pretty!!!!!

Thank you so much, I am having a wonderful spring, the temps and wind are staying at a tolerable rate for the iris to bloom really well this year. I am sure there are new ones but we spent the day with the grandchildren yesterday and I did not have a chance to visit the garden.

So I had originally started this post wondering if a season of blooms would change the Top 10. There was more change than I expected in my garden. Here are my Before and After Top 10. Before:

1) Teagan - From the 1st second I laid eyes on it, I was in Love. No other explanation needed
2) Silver Dividends - It is a White Diamond Dusted Iris with a touch of purple and green on the shoulders and it reblooms for me approx 4 times a year
3) Clarence - It reblooms about 8 months of the year for me and it really glows in our hot sun.
4) Plum Poodle - Another heavy duty performer. It puts out the most blooms in the Spring of any of my Irises and those blooms are curly and full of life.
5) Alpha Gnu - I remember the first year it bloomed, both my son and I just stared at it in disbelief that a flower could be that bizarre and beautiful. It still mesmerizes me every year.
6) Before the Storm - Can an Iris really be that black? I didn't expect it and still seem to be in shock each year.
7) Bachelor Party - Such a pretty color pink.
8) Gladys Austin - The colors on this one just left me in shock. I could just sit there and stare at the bloom for long periods.
9) Green and Gifted - On a constant search for green Irises, this one fit the bill and it was beautiful and unique to boot. I must have taken 80 pictures.
10 De Nile - My first Aribred. Another "Could a flower actually be this beautiful????" Iris. Of course you all know the answer - YES!!!!!!

After:
1)Teagan - Some things never change (in a good way)
2) Sue Zee - This Iris was the greenest Iris I have found to date. OK It's Frog Green but it doesn't matter, it's still green and I found it mesmerizing. Plus it has confetti. This is my Prince.
3) Navajo Jewel: The Color!!!!!! It was this light Turquoise Blue and I just could not stop staring at it.
4) Mountain Halo: Now this one surprised me. I thought I would like it but I Loved it Large flowers, extremely healthy first year plant that bloomed for a good period of time. But of course the number one trait that really stood out was it's beauty!!!
5) Silver Dividends - It only re-bloomed once for me but we had a hard hail storm in the early summer and all my rebloomers have held back. Still I just love the bloom on this one.
6) Grape Expectations: This is one that no picture will ever do justice You just have to see it in person to grasp it's beauty. It has a metallic sheen that is nothing short of spectacular.
7) Diamond Blush - This one brought about one of those..."Did I really see what I thought I saw" moments. This one did not just have diamond "dust". I think it had Diamond shavings. The glittery spots were much bigger than "dust". This is the only Iris I have seen that on though I have not seen a huge amount of Irises. But I did find this trait unusual. I am very curious whether I will see the same thing next time it blooms or whether this was an anomaly.
8) Chantilly Bride - Sometimes it is no one thing. On this one it was the shape of the bloom, the color, etc; I just found it to be very attractive overall.
9) Rose Tattoo - Loaded with dots and uniqueness.
10) Butterfly Baby - Really - that pretty????

I would love to find out if others favorites changed with the 2016 Bloom Season