This year, there are more blue flag iris clusters in our north field than we’ve ever seen before; perhaps they like more volatile weather.
These graceful plants (Iris versicolor) are natives, but mildly invasive ones. Nonetheless, we welcome them so long as they stay in our fields, which we let grow wild in the summer.
The plant’s “flag” designation reportedly is from the middle English word “flagge,” meaning a rush or reed. However, it also is commonly called the wild iris, harlequin blue flag iris, and northern blue flag iris. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on June 7, 2022.)