Black Iris Flower

I've written before about this unknown iris that I grow in my garden. It was a mislabeled perennial in a box from Menards a few years ago. I've also shared pictures of it in the past, but I couldn't resist sharing this picture of my "black" iris flowering this spring. Just look at this Gothic-looking beauty for yourself.

If I recall correctly, the bloom was suppose to be brown, but what unfurled  instead a year later after planting the rhizome was this dark purple bloom. In some lights-in particular when backlit- it really looks more purple, but when the weather is cool, rainy, and cloudy I'm presented with the black iris you see in the picture.

To give you an idea of the color variation you can compare it to the original post "Black iris-A Garden Surprise" from 2007 and what the blooms looked like in 2009 when I wrote the post on how to plant iris rhizomes in your garden.

What started as two small pieces of rhizomes has grown over the years into several nice iris clumps and my favorite bloom in every spring in the garden. Heck, my favorite perennial I have ever planted in my garden. I can't believe I was once disappointed that the flower didn't turn out to be brown.

Have you fallen in love with a garden "mistake" before? Do you have any black irises planted in your garden?

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