Wednesday Wisdom #1 - The Iris

The iris is omnipresent right now in southwestern Ohio. Most often a sublime purple ruffle, but also occurring in other shades, the iris stands tall and proud at the back of garden beds. Because it is a bulb, it continues blooming years after a gardener has abandoned a particular plot. For this reason, it is often surrounded by tangled shrubbery in unkempt beds.

 I know how it feels. Living in a small Midwestern town full of downright ugly properties (and even uglier political views), I often feel gaslit by my environment. Glennon Doyle’s “not this” is a constant refrain.

For me, beauty is worthy of devotion, of sacrifice, of hard work. I have spent virtually every cent I have not to mention countless hours of my own time transforming my property into a space worthy of me, my family and my guests.

The iris always makes me think of Rohuna, Umberto Pasti’s garden outside Tangier, Morocco. He traveled the North African country rescuing native Iris bulbs from construction sites and now has a hillside overlooking the Atlantic Ocean covered in them. Ngoc Minh Ngo’s photography of the garden in the book Eden Revisited: A Garden in Northern Morocco is breathtaking.

If you find yourself standing a foot taller than those around you, figuratively or literally, or if you find your growing conditions less than ideal, the iris is here to remind you that you have options. You can transform your environment, or, you can be transplanted to a more suitable location.

Just ask the gardener.