"When the Saints come marching in,"... they'll be carrying Irises

"When the Saints come marching in,"... they'll be carrying Irises

Arcata Fleur-de-lis Hiroshige Iris Irises New Orleans Saints Sun Valley Van Gogh

At Sun Valley Floral Farm one of the things we do best is grow irises. Dramatic fields and hoop houses bursting with tall, vibrant irises in a dynamic range of colors. Our most impressive iris crop is our “Telstar” Iris.  The Telstar is the only iris variety that is guaranteed to open.  The iris has captured the world's heart, and you will be surprised by all the references to the iris we see every day.
 

A Telstar Iris abstract

In ancient Greece, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, the messenger of the Olympian gods. She was often represented as the handmaiden and personal messenger of Hera. Iris was a goddess of sea and sky--her father Thaumas "the wondrous" was a marine-god, and her mother Elektra "the amber" a cloud-nymph. For the coastal-dwelling Greeks, the rainbow's arc was most often seen spanning the distance between cloud and sea, and so the goddess was believed to replenish the rain-clouds with water from the sea. It is rather fitting, that Sun Valley grows iris. We are just a mile from the roaring Pacific Ocean in Humboldt County, legendary for the heavy rains which fill our rivers with salmon and nourish the giant coastal redwoods.

Arcata Iris Fields

The iris has captured the imagination of artists through the ages, many people's favorite image of an iris is the Vincent Van Gogh oil painting, Irises. Currently, number 12 on the Most Expensive Painting List (Wow, this list is wild!)



Van Gogh's "Irises"

Van Gogh was inspired by the Japanese wood block style of painting called, Ukiyo-e. The image of irises below represents this style, created by the artist Hiroshige in 1856.

The Fleur-de-lis is based on the shape of an iris. Fleur means flower in French and Lis means lily, however this classic French image is based on a stylized version of an iris. There is some debate in the origin of this iconic symbol, perhaps after more research I can dive into the Fleur-de-Lis Conspiracy Theory.   As big burly NFL Football fans cheer on the New Orleans Saints, make sure to remind them that their team actually has the picture of an iris on their helmet...very manly!

Iris grow in the wild in North America, Europe, Asia and Northern Africa, and with their elegant petals and tall stems, it is no wonder why they have been adopted by so many people and so many cultures. The state of Tennessee even has the Iris as its' state flower.

For more iris appreciation check out, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in New Jersey, which is a living iris museum with over 10,000 plants. In Europe, the most famous iris garden is arguably the Giardino dell'Iris in Florence (Italy) which every year hosts one of the most famous iris breeders' competitions in the world. Both of these Gardens are pretty quiet now as prime iris season is spring, however, at Sun Valley we have a great selection of iris year round.

The noble iris has captured many a persons' heart...but some folks may just take it a bit too far, so be careful if you fall for the lovely iris.

To learn more about our Irises (or our other flowers), visit Sun Valley's Flower Resource Pages, they are a great place to increase your knowledge of flowers.

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-Lily

“The earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson