Sketch - Key West

Found this sketch while I was looking through some things today. Painted on the Casa Marina beach in Key West, FL.

Sketch

Not my best work. Posting anyway. When doing botanical sketches/watercolors, I'm always on the fence about the background. What to do. Leave it blank, or with a muted colorwash fill? Try to approximate the actual background in a blurry way? I think the most successful botanical sketches I've done have used the texture/form of the plant as an abstract element in the background. Or I could go all Georgia O'Keeffe and just say "there shall be no background!"

Iris reticulata

Finally in bloom today are these Iris reticulata, which I've been planting every fall (I'm aiming for large drifts, eventually). I adore these dwarf iris, and especially the fact that they are found in so many variations of purple and blue. In my garden alone, there are three shades; a clear ultramarine blue in addition to those pictured.