Purple Bearded Irises

Irises, or Irisi, or Iris - whatever you call more than one Iris!  There is a bed of them about 16 feet in diameter in the front yard near the porch.

Funny thing is - there are only blooms around the very outside edge - none in the middle. 

Being the flower amateur that I am, once I figured out what they were I did some research on Irises.  It turns out that they are probably now planted too deep from all the leaf much that has been accumulating over the years or decades. They are probably too wet from all the mulch too, and as they have multiplied over time they are now too close together.  All these things diminish the blooms.  So the ones out at the edge are not crowded, are drier with little or no mulch right at the edge of the bed, and therefor are not too deep as they haven't been buried more and more each year under a carpet of fallen oak leaves.  In September I will need to dig them all out, divide up the rhizomes and replant them at the surface about 18-24" apart with no mulch in the bed.  Spreading them out like that I'll have extras to plant in a new bed somewhere else.  Local folks tell me this property was a showplace many years ago.  It's easy to see the remnants of that former glory all around.  It will be nice to bring some of that back.