Iris Petal Power

The Irises are finally blooming like crazy now. I mostly just have this purple kind. A couple white ones too which are a nice surprise. I did have a nice mix of unusual varieties that I won at an iris show at the mall a few years ago. But those have either been eaten by clueless gophers or sucumbed to my poor upkeep on the so-called "border garden". I'd show you a picture of that but it is too heart-breaking. All that effort of weeding a couple months ago, and it looks the same thanks to all the extra rain.
Sheesh.
Can't win for trying around here!

I tried making paper out of these purple irises one year. Succeeded in getting a lovely, sickly shade of yuck brown/beige. It just seemed with all that intense purple colour that drips as the blossoms degrade you could make something at least lavender shaded. Nope. Unless there is a secret trick I don't know about. It is fun to put a piece of paper under the vase these are in, and as the color drips it makes cool spatters on the paper.
The lengths I go to, in order to keep myself entertained, mind-boggling ain't it?!