Dutch irises and Atlanta's balls

Every Monday I buy a bunch of purple Dutch irises for my desk. Not only are they my signature flower (I love their sleek, sculptural effects) but, working as I do in a "pod" (the next generation of the cube farm), their tall stems and striking blooms provide a modicum of psychological privacy. It's a variation on the "Atlanta's balls" principle.*

Normally by Friday they're beginning to droop and get a bit stinky. This week they were taller, more beautiful and lasted so well they were worth wrapping up to bring home. And yes, they were $3 more expensive this week.                                            

One trick with this kind of iris is to pinch out one floret when it's about to finish, allowing the second, usually paler, bloom inside the "bud" to emerge. This sketch is of one of the spent florets.

* Atlanta's balls, as in John Donne's Elegie XIX:
...Gems which you women use
Are like Atlanta's balls, cast in mens views,
That when a fools eye lighteth on a gem,
His earthly soul may covet theirs, not them.

For more on Atlanta's balls and how she lost the race, click here. Actually, Donne took a liberty with the story, because it was Atlanta (or Atalanta) who was distracted by the golden balls, not her suitor.