Our "tiny" Iris garden...

Well, compared to many other Iris gardens it's tiny...LOL

And here's a panned-out view of part of the yard/other gardens...

Good things come in small packages! You have some real beauties there!

Thank you Mattsmom :)

Very nice looking yard and gardens ;)

Thanks Ayrica :)
I took down our Woodpecker feeders because I had just mowed the yard. I just realized I have to put them back out...LOL
Here's a pic I took from a few days ago...

I'm jealous--that's bigger than my spot:lol: I do plant in containers too though--and am pretty ruthless if I have a dud performer or don't LOVE the bloom:)

Dmac,
I understand your ruthlessness completely! there are 5 of ours that are going bye-bye making room for 5 new ones...
One rotted...Westpointer
One was mis-labeled...a bonus...didn't like it.
And 3 just aren't quite as nice as I expected....
All the others are keepers :D

I'm thinking I would be more indulgent if I had the space to keep adding at will--that's a dangerous thought! ;)

I'm taking out Best Bet, Harvest of Memories and Island Sunset--possibly Boysenberry Buttercup--blooms are pretty but seem small. I have to move either Oretta's Shadow or Blueberry Bliss. They are very similar in coloring to me. I think B.B is staying put--tall, thick stalks and big flowers.

Here's another view showing 'Persian Berry'...

It's terrible having to get rid of them...but it does keep our garden in check...so to speak. I was upset that 'Westpointer' rotted. It was actually one of the top ones I was looking forward to...
For me the most impressive was 'Rain on Frost' and a surprise one that really impressed me was 'Christmas Rubies'. 'Trillion' was awesome and it's looking like 'Cajun Rhythm' will be blooming tomorrow...Can't wait!

what is the orange one in the middle of that last pic?
I really like that.

I just saw a picture of Rain on Frost and it's on my list now:lol: Trillion is also:)

Frilly,
That's 'Golden Panther'...
Here's a close up of one of the blooms...

Dmac,
LOVE 'Rain on Frost'! I got it last year when it was $40...a brand new intro of Wild Iris Rows...Worth every penny!!! It is now a steal for $10.
http://www.wildirisrows.com/introductions-2009/
Here's their home link...
http://www.wildirisrows.com/index.html
It was the 1st one to bloom in our garden too. Here's another pic of it...

Wow "Rain on Frost" is a Beauty !! Guess I'll have to add that to my "Got to get" list for next year.lol... Soo Many Gorgeous Iris Out there its hard to pic just a couple !!

reminds me a little of Clarence,


Oh, good, I have Golden Panther, planted last fall, didn't bloom this spring though, maybe next year!

The heat and humidity is fierce today...Whew!
Tonight I have to turn around all of our porch railing planters (except hers) because we'll be getting winds with gusts up to and excess of 50 mph out of the south all day tomorrow...yikes! Our porch faces the south...Grrrrrr. Usually on days like that I will bring the planters into the garage, but with Mama protected by the winds by having all the planters outside, at least I can turn them around so the flowers on the backside will get the brunt of the forcefull winds and she will still be protected. Some of the Petunias have died already from all day yesterday winds being in excess of 40 mph...and they were out of the south.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind replacing some Petunias...I just don't want to have to replace all of them...LOL
I am concerned for when severe T-storms roll through though...
Most either come from the south and head north or they go from west to east. There has been many times that not only did I bring in the potted planters, but our furniture too. We have a glass top table and 2 adorondack chairs I bring into our livingroom til the worst of the storm passes. I'm sure you are all familiar with the severe T-Storms that have the huge gusts of high winds (here they are between 50-70 mph) for the 1st 5-15 minutes as the storm approaches.
What do ya'll suggest "if" one of these storms roll through?
The last time, Mama wasn't even in her nest when a storm was coming...she was in the neighbor's tree. I was considering taking her planter into the house for the 5-15 minutes...just until the worst of the winds pass, to protect the eggs or hatchlings, and then bring it immediately back outside. Not only do I fear the eggs will take flight, but the nest too. It is not securely attached to anything, just sitting on top of the potting soil. At least when the female robinds build a nest in a tree, it is more securely inplace with mud-pack.
I want to do the right thing folks :)
Here's a pic of Mama today...she gave me her backside pose. While she was bathing, I checked and none of her eggs hatched yet. I'm an impatient Godmother...LOL
We will have severe T-storms rolling through tomorrow late afternoon/evening

The best thing to do with severe storms like that is head for the basement. Good for you to help Mama.

Hope you and Mama fair well Susan! We have storms like that here too and seems like a lot of Severe T-storms/tornado watch/warnings as well. Really hate the wind damage but the hail and driving rain seems worse for my containers:lol: beat up plants and soil half splashed out all over the patio = }

Love Wild Iris Rows--I placed my first iris order with them back in 07 or 08. I ordered very late and ended up immediately placing a second order after receiving my first:lol: I think I'll have to order again soon for Rain on Frost:lol: Window shopping on line I found one called Doodle Strudel that reminds me of RoF. Love Golden Panther! I guessed that one right!! Really striking color

Just ordered "Dardanus"--OK, 3 of them--from Odyessy Bulbs. I'd been wanting that one forever and decided to just go for it.

.

Hello IrisMa and Dmac,

I'm sooooo embarrassed! I goofed. That post for our female Robin was supposed to go to the thread I started in birdwatching...not in this thread...oopsie!
Well, if you are interested in the whole story of Mama and her nest on our porch, here's the thread...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1096652/
Anyway, sorry folks :)

Dmac,
Oh, you MUST get 'Rain on Frost' ($10) AND 'Cajun Rhythm' ($5) there!!! This is the pic I just added to another thread here in the Irises forum and in plant files...it's a Stunner!!!
Here's the pic I just added today...
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/279250/

This message was edited May 23, 2010 7:51 PM

I watch the bird threads as well, at least the pictures.

well if it were me, I would bring her nest basket in the house, or at least lay it in a corner on the porch where it won't be blowing around and could fall.
As for the furniture, we finally bought a heavy set, with a tile top, and it doesn't blow around. Sometimes if we have a storm that is just really bad, a chair will blow over, so I just go out and lay them all down on the patio before it hits. Also be sure to secure BBQ grills, my mother had a large heavy grill that blew over. I guess they are kind of top heavy anyway and also catch wind easy.


One year I had a Robin put a nest in a crabapple tree, and it was a very shallow nest. The babies kept flopping out onto the ground. They were just getting feathers. So I would go out there and pick them up and put them back. At first mama was scared of me, and didn't like that. But she caught on quickly, and pretty soon, she would just sit within a foot or so of her nest, and I would replace them. Then I got the bright idea of putting a sheet under the nest, so I tied one up underneath. They still fell out, but didn't get hurt, and mama didn't seem to mind once she spent some time inspecting it.

dmac085, I ]will pay postage for any irises you are dumping. I have several assisted living homes I place irises because it is their favorite flower. D mail me if you have any interest.

SusanLouise, I see a whole bunch of grass that can go by by for new iris beds. Just start slowly. About 5 feet on the perimeter. It will not be noticed. Then before you know it the grass is 5' x 5' and the irises are the rest of the garden. If not, you had better get out of this forum because it will get you in trouble.

Let me tell you a story. When DH and I got married in 1974 I was married with a ring of 3/4 carat diamond. It was beautiful and I loved it. As the years went on I became employed and made more than reasonable money so each year I would go to Christensen Jewelers. They had an annual sale where you could trade in your old diamond and move up in size. So over about ten years, each year I traded in and moved up in carats and clarity color. At the end I ended up with a wonderful 3 carat diamond. Now you must realize that this had been going on for 10 years.

Then one afternoon when we were having lunch in San Francisco, he said, "Honey, your ring looks bigger. I said, it must be the light. We are now married 36 years and he still does not know. I guess it is a good thing he is not in DG. No big deal, I bought him a bigger diamond for his ring.

But you could cut into that lawn area one year at time and maybe no one would notice. Just a clue from an 36 year married woman on how to deal with a husband that need lawn for the children or the dogs. Do it slowly and he will not notice. LOL. ROTFLOL. And that is a good thing.

WormsLovSharon,
We have other interests besides Irises. Not every Iris lover feels a need to dig up every blade of grass to appreciate them. Someday we hope to live on an acreage with more land. We only live on 1/5 acre. I have also developed our backyard into a certified NWF backyard habitat. We have 4 huge gardens....one of which has just honeysuckles (refer to one of the pics above). I enjoy many varieties of flowers and plants...Daylilies, Sunflowers, Coneflowers, Salvias, Agastaches, Roses, and so many others...like 4 butterfly bushes and 20+ host plants for butterflies.
If we just filled our yard with Irises, we'd only see blooms for a month or a little more, but this way we see blooms of different varieties from April through the beginning of November. What is grass in the summer is the area we add more feeders for the birds in the winter.

"If not, you had better get out of this forum because it will get you in trouble."

That wasn't a nice comment...If that was meant to be funny, I did not find any humor in it.
I don't plan on leaving the Iris forum. I've enjoyed the forum for over a year with no problems adding to my ever growing "want" list just like anyone else here.


This message was edited May 24, 2010 2:56 PM

This message was edited May 24, 2010 2:59 PM

I think someone was refering to iris addiction & meant to be funny. You certainly have put your iris bed to good use. I enjoy TB irises but do not grow many, preferring to work with the smaller types. However, that doesn't stop me from enjoying TBs in other people's gardens, even enjoying small plants that we see while driving on errands.

I've been led astray in the iris forum by all sorts of informative enabling iris friends--I know the comment was a wink/nudge. Some of us tend to have no control. I tend to lean towards what I have the most success with and what works in the small space I have available. I pot up quite a few of my iris so I can see what the bloom will turn out like then rotate into the bed if I love it. Most of my lilies, hosta and daylilies are in containers too. I can't keep a coneflower alive to save my life. I love gardens that have the year round bloom/interest thing going on but I can't seem to get that going:lol: Will definitely be looking forward to photos of your garden in full swing throughout the year Susan:)

It looks to me that your yard is pretty well proportioned for many things ;) You should consider yourself very lucky for all the beautiful plants that you have. I too hope that one day my yard will have more flowers (of course) Although I do enjoy my open spaces.. I love a large assortment of flowers!! Along with the irises I've purchased this year I have different plants from previous years. There a few peonies, hostas, lillies, tulips, and lilacs. I just love the assortment, but I'm happy with my grass too. Nothing compares to running barefoot through freshly mowed grass and I'm glad I have plenty of it ;) Please Susan do keep us going with pictures.

Heres another pic of my grasses.. since I have no irises yet to show you ;) cant wait till next year !! I'm jealous I have to confess.. I tried honeysuckle as well as trumpet vine a few years back and the only success I had was killing them ;( Maybe somewhere I could get a few pointers ;)

It is tough to kill trumpet vine, it will be back.

WOW, I guess I blew it. I forget that that all women are not as aggressive as myself. "I am Woman". For you younger gardeners that was the early 60s. My DH loved the grass and I loved the beds. He does nothing with either but it was our garden.. So each year I encroached on his grass and eliminated it by a foot a year. We have been married 36 years so I do not think he is unhappy. I totally apologize to anyone I offended. I meant it as an old lady's joke.

We still have quite a nice area of grass in our back yard. With three young grandchildren, they need play areas. Perhaps when they are older & not interested in playing in the yard, I may make some new beds. But then again, maybe not. I am not getting any younger & it gets harder every year!