jumping the gun ... the MTBs

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I went out to see which new SDBs and MDBs had popped, only to find this MTB! I nearly missed it!

This is maiden bloom for LITTLE EGYPT in my garden.

Wow! I don't usually go for the MTB's, but this one is really pretty! It must REALLY be jumping the gun to be blooming right now in your zone! I'm sure it was a welcome surprise!

If I hadn't decided to pull out some of the monster dandelions in the median bed, I would have missed it altogether! I don't even have any IBs blooming yet, but here's this little MTB. It is a definite bright spot in the garden, as long as you're looking its way. ;-)


Another MTB looks like it's getting mighty close to popping, too.

Second MTB of the season and another first time bloomer for me - APRICOT DROPS.

Must have been the evening backlighting, but NEW IDEA really isn't as rosey as this pic implies. It's actually pretty similarly colored to LITTLE EGYPT which I posted at the head of this thread.

EDIT: After seeing NI and LE blooming together, it has become apparent that they really are quite differently hued. NI is definitely raspberry, while LE is more burgundy. They're both perfectly lovely when backlit with evening light.

This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 5:58 PM

SMASH is a darling little reblooming MTB (hasn't rebloomed for me, though).

OOOH! I LOVE SMASH!

ABRIDGED VERSION is a new bloomer this year. It's a nice orchid pink, but the form is a bit off-balance in this first bloom. There are several stalks and lots of buds coming. Perhaps the other flowers will be better balanced.

ROSEMARY'S DREAM shows her lovely colors here for the first time this year. Such delicacy.

TYKE adds dramatic contrast to the iris bed with a vigorous clump crowned in flashy near-black and white blooms.

I really needed to cut a bloom and place it by my monitor so I could adjust this photo's color to match the living flower more accurately. FAKIR'S FIRE is absolutely stunning in the garden. Irridescent raspberry color with a deep, dark thumbprint that commands, "Look at ME!"

This message was edited Jun 6, 2005 9:21 AM

Laurie that is beautiful!! How do you adjust the color? I have trouble with the purples looking more blue then purple. Do you have to change it for each photo?

I use Photoshop to crop and make whatever adjustments need to be made to compensate for funky lighting, camera angles, off-color, etc. My camera is especially bad at yellows. It turns true yellows gold and golds orange. Makes me crazy! I have to do a lot to each pic in Photoshop to try to get the yellow tones even close to accurate. And yes, I have to work on the photos one at a time.

That pic of FAKIR'S FIRE was significantly too light when it came out of the camera, so I had to darken it quite a bit. I'm still not sure I got it right without a flower sitting right here for me to compare it to.

Thanks Laurie, I'm sure it must take along time to get these photos just the right colors and all your hard work shows in your photos. Thanks for sharing them with us!!

I'm truly enjoying all these MTBs that are blooming for the first time in my garden this year.

PETITE MONET couldn't be a more picture-perfect plicata. So tiny and delicate, I can see why these little gems are so popular in floral arrangements.

AACHEN ELF is a vivid reminder of how great things come in small packages.

No iris says "classic variegata" like the one and only HONORABILE. I'm very glad to have the real thing growing in my garden so I can make comparisons with an HON lookalike I've been growing for years. Unfortunately, the lookalike doesn't look like it'll be blooming this year. Oh well, there's always next year.

Laurie this the one in my garden(very very old) that I have called HONORABILE. Does this look like the real thing.

I wouldn't dare hazard a guess. I've been told that there are a number of HONORABILE lookalikes in gardens. The only way to confirm whether or not you're growing the real thing is to purchase the real thing from a reputable source (like Superstition Gardens) and grow it side-by-side with your lookalike so you can make detailed, point-by-point comparisons of all growth, plant, and bloom characteristics over the next year or two.

BANGLES is a cutie with an interesting, almost geometric shape. Those standards maintain a perfect, pointed dome for the life of the flower.

Thanks Laurie.

STEFFIE has definitely charmed me in her debut bloom. Who could resist such a delicate beauty?

I had my choice of posting the best angle or the best color for this cv. I chose the best angle. BOLD IMP is another first-time cutie, but he's more dramatic in real life. His standards have a bright copper sheen to them that's not apparent in this photo. Really an eye-catching iris. I can't wait to see him mature into a full blooming clump.

I love the varied coloration of the MTBs and a full blooming clump can be eye catching in any garden. Keep the pics coming, Laurie.

Your wish is my command, Wanda. Here's another newbie for me - the bright and bouncy WELCH'S REWARD!

Oooh. I planted Welches Reward too late last year (october!) & it was sickly this spring. Couldn't survive the 2 hard freezes we had in April. :(

What's a MTB?

MTB = Miniature Tall Bearded

From the AIS website at:
http://www.irises.org/classification.htm

"Miniature Tall Bearded (MTB) -- this second class of small TBs (16 inches to 26 inches) is distinguished by daintiness and delicacy. The blooms are smaller than on a BB and the stems are thin and wiry. An MTB clump looks like a cloud of butterflies. They are often called "Table Irises" because they are so well suited for arrangements."

Thanks Laurie,
I though maybe medium... but 'medium tall' didn't make sense.
"Miniature Tall" makes even less... *LOL*
Isn't that a conundrum or at least an oxymoron?

Either way they are beautiful
Dovey

SECOND OPINION is another nice first-timer. It looks better when it's not rain-soaked, though. Nice contrast.

MERIT is an adorable surprise with his multicolors and abundant freckles. Too cute!

My favorite this year. A Minnesota transplant :o)

Tyke

Love that one, almost like a Black & White.

Thank you. Tyke does have a very dark purple falls that in certain light it does appear black and white.

Roni

ALATELY is yet another perky little variegata blooming for the first time here.

LITTLE BAY DENOC didn't impress me when he first showed me a few flowers on a small clump. This year, however, he bubbles with brilliant blue blooms that just make me go, "Ooooo!"

This message was edited Jun 15, 2005 9:17 AM

CAROLYN ROSE is another charming little MTB who has clumped up beautifully this year. For some inexplicable reason, however, I neglected to take a clump shot. DUH!

Oh Laurief!!! I am swooning! What I didn't know was out there in the big wide world of irises...I was just thinking to myself, "Where does she put them all..?" Where would I put them all...? And I thought of a possible site for them on our farm - where they could be seen from the road, on the north slope of the cow barn. It looked like it was in sunlight this morning, I will have to check the lighting and maybe plant a little test patch of irises there...With a fence around them, just in case...Cows don't seem to care for irises - although they love daylilies - but they can do a whole lot of damage just by wandering into an area...

Hooked: I am not an expert, but to my eyes, that clump of Honorabile looks identical to laurief's.

Sharon,

You'd be amazed in what a small space I have all these irises planted. In fact, they are planted so obnoxiously closely at this point that I will have to have one of my farmer neighbors come in and plow up a chunk of my hayfield so I can create a new planting area to space things out reasonably. Right now I can barely get between plants to photograph them as they bloom, and there's no way I can invite anyone to come out here and view them unless they happen to be tight rope walkers!

That northern slope of yours would be ideal for medians. SDBs in particular will bloom quite happily with just a few hours of direct sun a day. TBs require more sunlight to do well. Oh, and you can pack a whole lot more SDBs into the same space than you can bigger irises. ;-)

Laurie

Thanks Sharon, I appreciate another opinion!
Bonnie