I’ve bought some beautiful plants this spring, but I made a hard and fast rule that I’m not featuring them until they’ve survived their bootcamp year in my garden. It’s hard to resist because they’re as stunning as celebrities fresh from the greenhouse spa and pampered with perfect light, bottled water, and regular dosings of fertilizer. But it just ain’t right to let them sashay in and steal the show until they really live here. Rules are rules.
However, as I was leaving for work yesterday morning, I noticed that a bloom had opened on my new eye of the tiger iris, and it was just as gorgeous as the tag promised. The bloom was fresh and perfect and wasn’t going to last the day—a moment I wasn’t walking away from without taking a photo because I’ve walked away from too many photos in my life to take care of “more important things”—so I glanced at my watch to see if I had time. As usual, I was running late, but I could skip the Target errands. We only needed toilet paper anyway.
I was happily snapping iris photos when the dogs went ballistic because the tame deer had stopped by for a visit. Now this deer is not just numb to the suburbs, some dumbass clearly tamed it and let it go. It stops by every once in a while and is completely unmoved by three scrawny dogs yapping at its knees, and it doesn’t flinch when Mr. Sorry grabs the dogs by the scruff and hauls them off so they don’t torment the poor thing. Through it all, the deer just stands there, calm as a cow. You’d think I’d take some good photos, but I refuse. Some human made that critter that way—and that ain’t right. Rules are rules.
So I got some photos of that one perfect bloom and was drooling over several other fat buds that had burst their seams and would be fully open by afternoon. That iris was just so stunning that, come to think of it, I was going to make an exception—just this one time, of course—what would it hurt? And it would be a perfect photo for my next post (which was not going to be this one, by the way).
When I got home from work, I grabbed the camera, eager to take some shots of those freshly unfurled blooms in the late afternoon sun. But I couldn’t see the iris from the porch. So I walked out to the bed where I last left it and—much to my disgust—the deer had chomped every single one of the fat buds. Nothing else in the bed was even nibbled, only the cheater’s iris. Gone. But I do have the photos.
Oh my! OHHHHH MY!
Giggle, OH My!
poor little deer, poor little iris. Giggle.
Jen
This made me throw up a little. What a shame.
That’s exactly how I felt myself.
As much as I feel for you (and I do, I hear horror stories all of the time) my basic instinct is thanking the good Lord I don’t have deer around my place. I might become a hunter.
I’m SO sorry. Liquid Fence. Stinks to high heaven, but it will protect your iris.
Hmm. Wonder if liquid fence would also keep Spike in the yard? LOL
Just look at the lines on petals…. They almost look like blood veins! …. Such a lovely picture. ~ bangchik
It is (was) a beautiful iris, no doubt.
It is a gorgeous bloom…glad you broke your rule and took a photo. Those deer are forward…unconscionable sociopaths! They eat my lilies and phlox before they even put out juicy buds! I have some fox urine spray and it works wonders!!!! I haven’t needed to reapply it after every rain, either.
I had to give up on phlox, which I love. Sounds like I’d better be stinking the place up with some liquid fence and fox urine.
I looked at my pale blue bearded iris today and thought, how pretty. I looked at your tiger Eye and thought, how perfect!
First of all … omg that thing is spectacular. Onto the list it goes! Second of all, damn that deer and the human who screwed it up further (I say further because deer are truly screwed up creatures without any help from anybody. Any animal that walks OUT of a state park, past goodness knows what tasty treats, to come to my yard, which smells a bit like Deer Off and garlic, to dine, is screwed up.)
So happy you got a photo. That would have been completely tragic otherwise.
Top looking Iris
“Que Sera, Sera” (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
I have never seen a tiger iris before, but it is stunning! I’m not much of a gardener by any means so forgive me if I ask a stupid question, but….how long does the smell from the liquid fence and fox urine last?