First iris of the season.....

The first iris of the season is always a surprise. This beauty is in a new perennial border garden that I made to surround my large vegetable garden at the back of our property. We had to fence in the garden, due to the hungry critters who would snack on our veggies! I didn't like the look of the ugly, but necessary, metal fence, so I decided to create a perennial garden to help disguise it- and I thought it would be nice to have flowers back there keeping me company while tending to the garden. This iris really surprised me. I had looked out there the day before and hadn't thought the irisies were close to blooming. The next morning I saw the bold blue/violet color catch my eye in the morning, and I was so excited to see that iris time is upon us.
I'll be taking lots of reference photos now. My neighbors very kindly let me come over and take photos. I'm hoping the weather reports are accurate (!) and that there will be sun and warmth for days to come.