Loyal to New England flowers

iris, a mid-spring flower in New England.

"Not only was she traditional by nature, Katherine showed a strong streak of parochialism in her approach to gardening. New England was what she knew as a child, and the roots of her ancestors went deep in the soil of Maine and Massachusetts. The things that grew in New England, therefore, were 'correct.' They occupied a special place in her heart, an authenticity not enjoyed by flowers that made the mistake of blooming in other sections of the country.''
 

-- E.B. White, commenting in his late wife Katherine White's book Onward and Upward in the Garden. For many years, they lived much of the year in Brooklin, Maine.