Georgia O’Keefe was famous for her irises. So was Van Gogh. He liked the blue ones. They’re complex. And when you look closely, very abstract. Irises are found just about now, in many Maine gardens. This is a fluffy German Iris.
The ancient belief is that the iris represents a warning that needs to be heeded, as the flower was named for the messenger of Olympus.
The fleur-de-lis, based on the iris, has been used used by numerous European royal families for centuries. Especially in France, since Louis VII first used it in the 12th Century.
Florence based it’s coat of arms on the native white iris. And when the Medici family took over, they reversed it to a red iris on a white background. They’re still trying to develop a red variety.
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