Yellow Iris

Summer came overnight. Early in the week, it was cold enough that I had the space heater on while working. Yesterday it was in the 80's, with a dry wind out of the East gusting around the house. The forecast for today and tomorrow is about the same.

It was a good day to weedeat. Making hay, as it were. By accident I cut a piece of my iris, with two open flowers and a fistful of buds. It's now in a bottle on my desk. Two more iris flowers opened overnight, and there are lots more to come.

The spring bulbs are done: the daffodils, crocuses, and tulips. The bluebells are the last of that group, and they're finishing up. The rosebush has just gotten started, and the peony is covered with buds. I was worried about it: last year, it contracted some kind of fungus, and the leafy parts rotted away standing. But it seems to have bounced back as vigorous as ever.

I dug out a bunch of blackberry root stocks and ripped out fistfuls of English ivy and clematis. I've been transplanting ferns from different parts of the yard to the side of the house, where not much grows. I found a seedling of some kind of tree-- I want to say bay; the leaves look like bay leaves, and the whole plant has a faintly spicy smell. California bay, or laurel, is grown here as an ornamental, so that could be it.

It was growing up against the side of the house, and we really don't need roots invading the foundation. I moved it to the backyard. I don't know if it'll survive in this weather, but if it does, it will have earned its place. They're predicting showers in the upcoming week, so we'll see.

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