Irises: Striving for a MidWestern version of Doss' Eden, 0 by doss

doss wrote:
And let's add too much property with too many problems to get done in less than 5 years - and that's pushing it. And with "noxious" weeds, the problem is keeping them away, not just getting rid of them which is another full-time project alone. You do have your hands full. And you are on the steep part of the learning curve. But here you are being brave enough to stick your neck out and step into this project full steam ahead! It takes real courage.

And I disagree with you about how good your "eye" is. When I said that the bed needed to be wider I wasn't talking about the walk by the Immortal Iris (which is beautiful), I was talking about the bed against the house that you said was too narrow. That bed by the walk where you have the "failed" bearded iris but the fabulous daffodils is lovely and I loved the two free form beds you dug together. I'm ALWAYS redoing things. It never ends. Even now, I'm still working at it. And there have been lots of mistakes in the past. Remember, I've been working on my garden for over 30 years and I just ripped it all out in 2003 and put it back in. The drainage, irrigation, paving, retaining walls were all shot. So I had to. But it was an opportunity in the end. If there were one place that you wanted to get done most of all, which part of the garden would it be? Then we will go onto part two! Would you like a blue (or red, white.....) garden area, or a place for roses, a cutting garden? It sounds like your shady place or your creek could be a sanctuary. Would you like an area that is different kinds and colors of evergreens? I love "A gardener's diary". Do you watch it? I don't know if it's on in your area, but I've been inspired a lot by it. It's on HGTV.

Another thing is that you might consider buying 10 of something and see how it works out before you buy 100 of it. I've found that cultivars can be really funny about different places to grow. I have 10 Harvest of Memory and they are placed at different areas of my little yard and they all bloom at different times and with different rebloom intensity. Immortality doesn't do very well for me at all. So I tend to get just a few and see how they do. Or I'll plant a bed with a lot of different things and see what survives. Then during the year, I'll see where the color needs perking up and I'll go to the nursery and see what's blooming, and stick it into the bed. Like being a painter, you put in the structure and then the details. You have a great start around the house. It must be really nice to sit out there.

I wish I had more pictures of the wreckage, but I took them with polariods. Here is the pool decking ripped apart and the beds above emptied. I'll show you the revived beds later with the pool redone. (speaking of dwindling funds!)