Flowers have this innate ability to lift my spirits.
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I love flowers and there are a few that automatically make me happy. So, in this cae, Iris are kind of a proxy for all flowers. I think of them right now because they are sure signs that someone cares. (For me) they are immediate and touching and fragile and a reminder that you have to enjoy what you have in the moment, because they don't last forever.
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I have actually seen purple / blue iris in the wild, growing on the coast of Northern California. But I couldn't find any pictures (
I saw it a long time ago kids, back when pictures were captured on "film" and to get another picture you had to find a "negative" and they used that to print a reverse image.) But I saw this and it is very close.
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Of course, the side picture will be the flowers Eddie got for me yesterday that just made me feel better. They are my 3rd favorite flower, but my favorite to put in a vase and also to receive. I mean, they just are very "me". The almost Bruin colors. The showiness, but the quick burn rate. It is a flower you need to appreciate to enjoy. I have heard people say they are cheap, and they rather have roses. To which one must say, shallow. I mean,
if you like roses better, great. But if you want them because it proves someone spent more money on you - shallow.
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My favorite flowers are wild California Poppies, but you cannot put them in a vase. They die almost immediately after being picked. England uses Red Poppies to signify their Veterans' or Remembrance Day, and they solve that problem by using Red Paper Poppies to pin on. California Poppies are stupendous, but only bloom majestically when everything goes right. A wet winter in the desert and then warm spring at the right time (but not too hot). And their blooms travel as they populate new areas. To see them you actually drive around the desert (or check on-line) to see where they are blooming the next few days. It is like a scavenger hunt with a great reward.
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Tied with California Poppies as my favorite, are Birds of Paradise. I know they are originally from South Africa, but they are the official Los Angeles flower and you will find them all over LA. They remind me of home. They, however, are also rarely a great vase flower. You see they bloom sort of fan-ish, opening outward. And so slowly, when live, that new flower is appearing as the first few "petals" are turning brown. And, unlike your roses and tulips, they won't bloom after being cut. It is hard to find the right Bird of Paradise to put in a vase. I would say impossible, but Laura and Dan had them at their wedding and their florist somehow managed to find a lot of them in perfect phase.
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So you see, it isn't just Iris I love, but the feeling that flowers give you. I close with 2 Van Gogh paintings of Iris. In them his frantic swirling, his wild moments of agony and ecstasy, they are all subdued. Unlike his "sunflowers", which explode in riot, his Iris give a calm warmth. For his pictures and craziness, I probably like his sunflowers better. But for love of life, it's hard to be Iris.
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