Could be: i. germanica

Many iris have been around for a loooong time.

Here is a link that might be useful: i. germanica

There are thousands of different varieties of old purple and blue irises. Without a photo or something more to go on there's not much hope of an ID.

Mike

thanks marsha and mike

i assumed thye were just the standard iris that you see absolutely everywhere. these might be done now, but if another blooms, i'll definitely grab a picture and post it for more help.

maryanne

Maryanne: I can definitely recommend Mike at Garden of Mu. He is a real expert on historic iris varieties. Check out his web site. There is a whole section with nothing but pictures of historic irises.

Pat

I'm sure they are the same ones as the long row of ones we had when I was a kid in a rental house. That was about the only kind I ever saw in peoples' yards. They were purple with a little yellow, think the thingies on the falls were yellow, can't remember, too long ago. This was in Iowa. Everybody tended to grow the same things back then. I suppose some had the yellow and blue plain ones.

Different purples are common to different areas. An iris that made it to one town and survived tended to get passed around. So although it might be the most common variety in any given area doesn't make it common everywhere - though its a good indication that it is. That said, check out Lent A. Williamson, which seems to thrive all over the place.

Oh, and I'm not an expert - yet. But have been studying this topic for several years now and have made many mistakes myself and learned from them. ;)

Mike