It is of no importance when I dug up two of my grandma’s bearded iris bulbs. What is noteworthy, however, is how the petals shimmer of imaginary glitter when the sun hits at just the right angle. And how it gifted us its first bloom on Mother’s Day.

I don’t remember by grandma as a gardener. She did bake the most delicous blackberry cobbler. I have her recipe, but it’s never as good as when she made it. 

I was in charge of stirring up a box of quick-set pudding one visit. As I read the instructions, she told me to just add a bit of this and a bit of that. I looked at her and thought, “That’s not how this works.” Her reaction was probably the same when I asked for the blackberry cobbler recipe. 

words + photograph Julie Johnson