Field Lilies & others who "work not"

This is just musings -- to all who might be around the Iris-List this 
late at night.

The weather in my part of the country seems to have finally settled down 
to what's "normal" for mid-June. The flash-flooding, gully-washing, 
hen-drowndin', frog-wallowin', garden-flattening amount of rain we've 
gotten over the past 3-4 weeks has had one beautiful result: the 
wildflower show this year is outstanding!

Colorado, especially the foothills (where I live) & the high country, is 
home to a huge variety of wildflowers. Not all bloom every year -- some 
stay dormant until their desired conditions occur. Sometimes this means 
just the right amount of winter cold or summer sun at just the right 
stage of development; sometimes it's dependent on spring moisture in the 
form of run-off from melting snow or lots of rain. Whatever the 
requirements are, many have been met this year.

One of my favorite wildflowers up here is the Field Lily, the only wild 
iris native to the Rockies: Iris missouriensis. Unlike other American 
iris, this one does not demand bog conditions or even damp soil. It 
does, however, flourish best in those dips & rolls in the ground where 
run-off channels thru or where there is cause for ground water to be 
closer to the surface than is apparent just looking at the dirt. 
Old-timers here used to locate their hand-dug wells where the Field 
Lilies grew, knowing they'd have a dependable source of water for at 
least part of the year.

Not far from my house there are several meadows -- small pastures 
really, where a few horse & some calves are kept &/or where hay is cut 
in the fall. Right now & for the past 3 weeks, these areas have been 
virtual rivers of vivid blue iris! It's the most floriferous & 
long-lasting display I've seen in years, & I've seen some doozies.

I have a feeling that my adult love of the Iris family was formed many 
years ago when as a kid I walked or rode a horse thru these same 
meadows. I shudder at the thot that these places, as have so many other 
up here, will be "built up" & these gorgeous flowers will be gone 
forever & not just quietly waiting underground to amaze & delight the 
passing human.

'They sow not neither do they reap' -- but oh, the Field Lilies & all 
the other colorful wildflowers of the world certainly earn their keep.

Marte in the mtns	Zone 4/Sunset 1, Colorado's East Slope
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