Show me Your Irises!

Okay, my irises are under snow & I need a fix RIGHT NOW--I can't wait until Spring!

Show me your Irises in bloom from last spring.Here's one of my beds...

Here ya go Wandasflowers. Here's just a little sample to help you through a cold Cedar Rapids evening. :-)
Hope you like it.
Iowaron

This is just a little out of focus but I thought Newt the cat was so cute sneaking up on something here next to these yellow Iris.

Oooo... awesome pictures! I gotta post some sibs... this is Soft Blue

Hey you guys, LOVELY!

Wanda here is a dose of spring from my old iris bed.

Iowaron--WOW! where's your garden? I may need to do a little "mid-night raid" some Spring night! That border must stop traffic!

OOH!!! Your irises all look so beautiful! How will I ever make it to spring?

Here is one of my favorite--Steppin Out.

Those are all so beautiful!!!! That's what I want, a nice variety of cutting flowers. I bought numerous iris' and day lilies this past fall hoping to see flowers this spring and summer. Many were said to be drought and heat tolerant, so even tho people say it will be tough to get them to bloom, maybe mine will, (hope, hope hope) Now, this is zone envy in the reverse. LOL
Molly

Wanda, that is a beauty!

I put in Steppin Out several years ago. I kept dividing & adding clumps since I loved them so much. The darn things love a hot dry summer & icy cold winters. They're super easy & bloom like crazy! can't beat 'em!

Here's another one that bloomed & bloomed, didn't fall over & had huge butterscotch blossums--- Amber Tambour

Nice also. Kinda reminds me of my Gold Galore with a bit of orange.

Would you have any of Steppin' Out to share? They just blew me away with that gorgeous color!

Happy New Year everyone!
Poor Old Father Time is bent and frail, and his beard is long tonight. We are all waiting for the New Baby New Year to be Born. Meanwhile, here are some Tall Bearded Iris that bloomed back when Father Time was young and spry. (Like some gardeners we know :-)
Ron

Wonderful

What a lovely riot of color, IowaRon!

LimeyLisa Kay

Absolutely stunning! I have to ask though, what do you have blooming in that area once the bulbs and iris are done?

Hi ecobioangie,
Glad you asked :-) In this particular border bed, the first visitors in the spring are the daffodils,Texas Blue Bonnets, crocus and scillia. As spring progresses, the iris and daylily foliage start coming up to fill in any bare spaces. There are several large peonies that hold their flowers for several weeks, that bud out with the iris. When the Iris are pretty much done, the daylilies and bulb lilies take over. By mid August, most of the large plants have bloomed, and the colorful moss rose ground cover can get the sun it needs to go crazy. We do plant a few annuals here and there occasionally, but normally the foliage and moss rose carry the bed until the Asters and cushion mums burst open in their blazes of color. These take us into our first frost and time to put the garden to bed.
One of the joys of gardening is the wide variety of flowering plants that bloom in different seasons, thereby allowing us a constant stream of beauty to behold.
(even in our Iowa winters, frost on the ornamental grasses is beautiful:-)

Man, you have all that in there??? There must not be an inch to spare! :) I'm so stuck on spacing everything out like they say to on the tags/books, that I have a very sparse look right now. My garden is only a year and a half old. Perhaps some day I will have a lush look like your own...

Great border there Ron. You've given me some good ideas for filling those empty spots!

Thank you for your kind words. I was a firm believer in the proper plant spacing and lining them up in rows until I started running out of room and my lovely bride said NO MORE FLOWERBEDS. (So now I plant where there is room in the existing beds, making very full and lush displays. We keep two churches in flowers every Sunday (ours and a neighbors) so many people get to enjoy the Creator's handiwork. I'm looking forward to the Dave's Garden Round-Up to meet you all and to have an opportunity to participate in the plant exchange. (That means I get to dig and divide some of my overgrown plants, and swap them for some we don't have. Now that's going to be great!)

Meanwhile, just to help Wandasflowers through another cold Iowa evening, here's a picture of some miniature iris. I'm sure they have a name, I just don't know what it is. They are up and blooming just after the snow goes away in the spring (mid April) and only get about 3-4 inches tall.

These were growing at an abandoned homestead, so of course I had to give some of them a decent home. They have just a hint of blue and must be a very old variety. I call them Homestead White or sometimes Barely Blue but I really have no idea what their name is.

Neither do I because they ain't there! lol

oops, silly me, sorry, here is the picture.

Hi MaryE,
That is a pretty clump of Iris. I particularly like the split rail fence behind them. Great picture, thanks for sharing it.
Iowaron

Very pretty Mary, worth the wait. ;)

Here's a look at my oldest bed - about 70% of it is in the picture. An incredible 90% of these plants bloomed last spring!

:D

Absolutely stunning puttytat! We must talk when you get ready to divide some of those clumps. :-)
Ron

BTW, where's wandasflowers? 'Twas she that got this thread going and we haven't heard from her in a long time. I'll see if I can lure her out of hiding with this heirloom beauty named 'Perfection'.

What a glorious riot of colors puttytat, stunning.

It's Snowing! Here's the same border that I posted here on December 23.
Ron

Here's a longshot showing parts of both yards in bloom...these are also well established beds. Yes, Ron, we most certainly can talk at dividing time!

What a beautiful sight Puttytat, especially in mid winter.

Ron, was in hurry to get to the snow and missed your pic somehow. I love the little speckles or splotches and the deeper veining. We might have to talk about that one at dividing time! Most everything is now buried under 10 inches of snow.

Llilyfan, you can count on me to bring some 'Perfection' to the Round-up for you.

Oh Puttytat, what a gorgeous display border! Definitely a spirit lifter for our frozen Iowa evening. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Ron

Ron, & puttytat, it never ceases to delight me when I look at established gardens. They just do 'something' to the heart. I don't call gardens finished cause I truly believe: "a garden: never finished, always a work in progress." Oh what a joy to realize that someday mine will have that 'been here awhile' look that yours have.

Has anyone seen Wanda?

Can this one entice her? Creative Stitchery 42" small flower

Here's one named 'Amethyst Flame' that should get Wanda back into the conversation. Note the garden phlox and lilies that are in this iris bed, ready to take over after the iris are done.

PS: the pale blue iris in the background is a perfect beauty named 'Tidal Wave'. Oh, there's a big peony in there also.
Ron

Love those iris, but the bed itself is spectacular! I once read that if you have weeds, you don't have enough plants! I can't imagine a weed daring to grow in there. Maybe I'll sneak in and make them a little room! LOL

Does Amethyst Flame have a dark edge on the standards?

Is Tidal Wave as silvery looking in person? If I just tuck them here and there I have plenty of room. At least all the weeds I have seem to indicate a lot of available space!

Hi Llilyfan,

'Amethyst Flame' does indeed have a little dark edge on the standards, and deep velvet purple/blue falls.Very perceptive Sue.

'Tidal Wave' is the most perfect pale summer blue you can imagine. The bloom measures between 7-8 inches tall and stands up well to the elements.

Oh, did I tell you, we got the Gilbert H. Wild Pre Season Sale brochures in the mail today? www.gilberthwild.com
and I'm a happy boy:-)
Ron

You're right, lilyfan, at least my garden is never finished!

Here is the "north section" of the earlier posted beds - this was early in the bloom season, mind you. I took some later overall shots but lost the folder when my hard drive crashed :( - but spring is coming again and there are new faces in the field!