the gift that keeps on giving

The blue flag iris stems I photographed five days ago have been siting on my kitchen counter ikebana-style in a shallow pasta bowl with water and flower frogs. I thought the whole arrangement would last a day, maybe two. But here we are, five days later and it is still looks great. All the original blooms have faded, but hidden behind each of them was another bud just waiting for it’s chance to shine. And what elegant buds they are…like a Japanese tanuki hair brush dipped in purple paint ready to make marks on a fresh sheet of washi paper. Swoon.

blue flag iris– flower and bud (Iris versicolor)