From “Iris Genetics” in Garden Irises by The American Iris Society, edited by L. F. Randolph:
“There are two distinct types of color pigments in the flowers of the common garden irises. One is an anthocyanin pigment that is found in the cell sap of the flower and occurs among different varieties in various hues ranging from blue-purple to violet and red-purple. The other is yellow, a plastid pigment occurring in values ranging from very light cream to rich golden yellow. Each of these colors is inherited independently, but they often occur together in the same flower as blends of various kinds.
“When both blue-purple and yellow are present in the same flower, the result is a blending of the two colors. Colors produced by this blending effect may range all the way from light orange-yellow through tans and browns to orange-reds and nearly true reds, depending on the relative amounts of the purple and yellow colors present. Neither pure color completely obscures the other (epistasis) nor is obscured by it (hypostasis). However, if the purple is intense and the yellow is pale, it may be difficult to distinguish the blend from true purple. Similarly, small amounts of purple change pure yellows to dull colored or ‘dirty’ yellows and another generation is required to recover the pure yellow color.
“When making genetic analyses of blends and other combinations of characters it is necessary to deal with each character separately; the geneticist must first determine the effects of individual gene differences. Having done this, it is then possible to proceed with analyses of more complex situations involving the combined effects of two or more genes, as in the case of the purple and yellow blends.”
From “Blends” in The Iris Book by Molly Price:
“The blend or polychrome, one of the most delightful patterns in irises, results from the mixture or infusion of two or more colors in the same parts of the flower.”
Hello!
This is the second of two posts with a mixed series of photos of Iris pallida and Iris x germanica plants from the 2026 Spring and Summer Collections at Oakland Cemetery!
The first post is Iris Blends (1 of 2).
Up top, I’ve included two quotations: the first is a scientific explanation describing how irises produce colors and blend them together; and the second is a variation of that explanation that’s easier to take with you when you observe how irises classified as blends show off their delightfully mixed-up colors.
In the first post, I explained four different kinds of lighting I encountered on this photo shoot. That post’s galleries included photos taken in diffused light and in situations where lighting needed to be inverted between background and foreground, like these:
This post’s galleries show the sunny series, where the subject was directly lit by the sun with some spot lighting coming from the side, or where the entire composition was basking in full sun, like these:
I prefer compositions like the first pair, where I’m working with scattered, indirect light. But it was a worthwhile experiment to take more photos in full sun than I usually would, and I can imagine now seeking out more subjects lit like the photo on the left where there’s enough shade to keep the background soft and a little dark but the flower is still allowed to shine.
The one on the right, on the other hand, I think needs a different approach to avoid the blotchy, grassy background that comes across as pressed visually against the iris leaves. I took that photo standing above the irises; on another visit, I think I need to get down to the iris’s level — eye to eye (iris to iris!) — to see if I can bring in some distant blurred background rather than the nearby grass. Of course, the 2026 irises have left town for the hot summer, so I’ll have to take a shot at that next year.
Thanks for taking a look!
