Broken Color Irises

I recently spent some time photographing at the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in New Jersey (yes – that means lots of blog posts with iris photos!). Established in 1927 in honor of Frank Presby – a founder of the American Iris Society, Presby Gardens has thousands of varieties of irises on display for a few short weeks in the spring.

To me, the most spectacular irises I photographed were the Broken Color Irises. I wasn’t familiar with these irises before visiting Presby Gardens – but they certainly caught my eye when I spotted them. Each iris is different from the next – each having a unique pattern of splashes of color. It turns out the splashes are the result of a genetic instability in the plants.

Here are some of my favorite photos of the broken color irises I photographed.

Purple Streaker