Blue flag (Iris prismatica)

Ooh....such a fabulous blue!

Nice, I have not seen this one before, a bit like I. sibirica? Different shaped flower?

You may well be right, Vincentdunne. This came from a friend's garden. The common name, Slender blue flag seemed so appropriate when I was looking for the botanical name, as they are so tall, slender and delicate, but it may well be the Siberian Iris. Any hints on how to identify it would be helpful. The new growth this year grew in a circle around the outside of last year's small clump, leaving quite a patch of dead leaves in the centre. Perhaps that's the way both species grow.
Also, see: http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/irispris.html

I have just posted another photo of an Iris prismatica (as far as I can tell) growing in the wild near here, Vincentdunne. Let us know what you think.

I had a look at the website, Elke, thanks for that. To me, your above plant is more like I. sibirica but it is really only a guess. Oh well .....

Amazing color there.

The I. prismatica is a North American variety, in the wild and cultivated, as far as I can tell. There's a distribution map here:
http://facstaff.hsc.unt.edu/rbarton/Iris/miss/I_prismatica.html
and
http://www.dictionary.net/i.+prismatica

"(Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs (Iris) with swordlike leaves and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem.
Note: There are nearly one hundred species, natives of the north temperate zone. Some of the best known are Iris Germanica, I. Florentina, I. Persica, I. sambucina, and the American I. versicolor, I. prismatica, etc."

That's all the research I'm going to do, I'll just enjoy the blooms now!

You are so right, Elke, we won't go there, just enjoy the flower!

Elke, as a child in the area I grew up in, iris would grow wild in the marshes/swamps all over the place. We would run to collect the "buds" and proceed to have a "bud fight"-which consisted of trying to hurt each other by throwing the buds on each other as hard as possible, usually on the back of the legs where it would sting!
Maybe that's why the iris I planted wouldn't do anything for me. haha.

Lovely story, NN. Those buds can be sharp! No doubt the iris are getting their own back now. As children we don't appreciate the potential of what we find around us - but there were probably lots of buds left to turn into beautiful flowers!