I'm so excited to see this display in front of my house. My neighbors stop by and chat when I'm out taking photos and deadheading and I really enjoy it. The other beds are just starting but I'll post them too. Have to take more photos tomorrow.
I'm just as thrilled to share them with my neighbors at DG - or maybe even more thrilled. :-)
And we're thrilled to see them, Doss. They are beautiful.
What a beautiful display. I love it when people garden in the front of their houses so I can enjoy the blooms on my walks. What is the name of the Iris in the foreground behind the peach one? The purple and peach one?
Susan
Beautiful shot. I used to put my new ones down by the street for the neighbors to enjoy. One Saturday morning I noticed a new Camry or Lexus stopped and a teenage girl moving among the iris enjoying them. Went about my business and a few minutes later walked by the window again and noticed as the girl moved, so did my iris. The mother will the motor running was pointing out which iris to take and the girl had about two dozen. The mother saw me heading down the drive and yelled for the girl to get in the car and sped off. The new beds are up the hill well away from the road.
That mother should be ashamed of herself! Some people don't realize that we wait a whole year to see those blooms for just a few days. I have been very lucky to have had no losses on my ones that are growing by the street. I live across from a Park where there are lots of walker, but they just stop and look, but don't take.
Susan
What a lovely bed of color, so very springlike. Thank you for sharing your blooms with us.
Doss, that is SO beautiful! And I was wondering the same thing that Susan asked, about that beautiful pinkish and blue iris.
NeilTR, that is absolutely disgusting. I would consider that child abuse - getting her KID to do the dirty work for her. Someday that kid will be an adult and realize how terrible it was for her parent to use her that way. My stuff is all planted in my front yard because that is where the sun is. Every once in a while I hear stories like that and I cringe - so far I have been lucky though.
What a charming display!
I am wondering if you planted them in a random fashion, or if you had a plan of 'who' whould shoulder up to 'who'?
Either way, the results are all for the eyes to enjoy.
Thanks for posting...will watch for more!
Doss that is so pretty...wish I was there too to share with you. Mine are still just the seedlings and the dwarfs...
D
Thanks everyone - makes all that digging even more worthwhile. :-)
It's a shame when people can't be trusted, Neil. I know that it could happen here too but so far, so good. People even come by in the winter to read the name tags.
I did plant them in random fashion. They are so beautiful that it really doesn't matter what the arrangement is and I love the chaos that reigns.
This bed should continue to change through the spring and I'll be sure to keep new photos of it, and the other beds posted.
Thanks for being so kind to come and look at them with me. I wish you were here too.
I think that the flower behind the peach one is "Let's Be Friends".
Most of the iris with their names are on the threads:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/587840/
and
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/594207/
Doss, thanks for posting they are lovely! I am trying to build my collection of rebloomers. Do you have many and do they rebloom well for you in CA?
I am going to Iris City Gardens tomorrow! I can hardly wait.
Teresa
Let's Be Friends, that is such a sweet name.
Oh, have a good time at Iris City Gardens! I bought some Louisianas from them last year and they were so nice and helpful.
I do have some good rebloomers. Most of these have been in the ground since only last fall. I took a good hard look at these iris beds and decided to redo them. So I don't know about fall rebloom.
This spring though 'Square Dance Skirt' has performed amazingly already. I highly recommend it. It's really a big flower and striking carrying a lot of buds. And yes, anything that will rebloom, reblooms here.
As to Let's be Friends. Margiempv says that it fades for her in the desert sun. It doesn't do that here though.
Do you have other rebloomers to suggest? Have you seen Judy Mogil? It is a flat looking TB.
The owner is also in my daylily club. They do seem like very nice folks.
My two favorites are "Harvest of Memories" (a yellow TB) and "Lenora Perle" (a peach median) Both are great fall bloomers. Concertina is a lovely pink median with a blue beard and she' quite a performer. Cantina reblooms for me in August. It's a stunning flower but a little slow to establish. Matrix is a lovely white rebloomer that does very well.
Things that rebloom in zone 9 though may not rebloom in zone 6. I believe that Harvest will rebloom just aboout anywhere.
Here's Sutton's rebloom reliability chart. I haven't ordered from them.
http://www.suttoniris.com/html/rebloom.htm
Also, Nicholl's specializes in rebloomers for colder regions. They tend to be expensive though.
http://www.nichollsgardens.com/
I hadn't seen Judy Mogil but it is really beautiful. Here it is at Iris City Gardens.
http://www.iriscitygardens.com/bearded3.html
I have a few 6 falls iris. "Gazoo" is white. "Six Pack" and "What A Mixture" are blue ones.
This is Cantina
This message was edited Apr 26, 2006 10:11 AM
Doss
How beautiful!I love your iris bed and all your iris are so pretty!
I am so glad everything is blooming and budding! I love spring!
Thanks for sharing!
Celeste
You are welcome. Just wait until TBI 'Celeste' blooms. :-)
Wow! I can't wait till my beds look half that good. They are beautiful.
Winnie
Doss, what a beautiful garden you have!! Thanks for sharing the irises with us........I'm looking forward to seeing more. :o)
Incredible display. I like all the different irises together. Very pretty!
There is one thing that I should tell you. "The Eye of the Tiger" Dutch iris that bloom early make this display what it is. They are great planted between the iris and the foliage is hidden after bloom. Here they are in the same bed last year on April 15. This was before I filled my beds with iris last fall.
I love 'Eye of the Tiger'! I have a huge clump of it getting ready to bloom in about 2 weeks...can't wait! :0)
I love that they don't fall over! I've had dutch iris that just won't stand up but these seem to be tough. And beautiful. Can't wait to see the post of your bunch.
Beautiful !
Oh, doss, it's so pretty. I took a picture of my main iris bed and it just did not look good. I was so disappointed. I wanted a picture while they were all at their peak. That bed is not fancy named iris, but they are faithful to bloom and multiply. I truly love when they are all up together--but then they are all gone together.
Your main iris season probably hasn't happened yet gardengram, do you think? Iris don't have to be fancy to make a show - Just a lot close together. Or one bunch by itself is beautiful too. I'll bet your beds are stunning when they are blooming. Can't wait to see photos of that.
The older cultivars have a beauty of their very own. They are my granddaughters favorites no matter how many new cultivars I have.
The big bunch is all in the main flower garden outside the deck and that's what I was trying to get good photos of. Sure couldn't get it for some reason. Maybe wrong time of day to try. Now some of the first ones are done. I have taken some nice individual pictures, though, so I guess that's a good trade-off.
I have new irises spread out in other areas, but they aren't big groups yet.
Every picture I have ever seen of your yard is so pretty. No matter which flowers or plants you are highlighting. You really do a good job.
Thanks. I love to share it with you and appreciate your kind comments. My garden gives me a lot of joy.
Great photo with "Eye of the Tiger". I have never grown Dutch Iris. May have to give them a try.
Susan
If you do Susan, Eye of the Tiger is a good cultivar. Stands up straight without being staked and it's a good medium height. Also readily available.
Mine are about to finish, it went way too fast:) I have similar snatching experiences with mine. I live in a townhome apartment and the neighbor kids tend to snap off flower heads to give to their moms. I used to get angry but started growing some cutting garden stuff to pass out to the kids. They leave the iris alone now. I'm impressed with the labels in front of the varieties. Once they start growing in and filling out, is it difficult to keep track of them?
I love the dutch iris Eye of the Tiger! That is such a rich color. I remember the first time I saw it in a catalog a few years ago and had to hide the credit card:) I might have to get some for next spring!
I move the labels to the front when they get bigger. And yes, sometimes it's hard to read the labels. But I know that they are there. And it's easy to see them once the flowers have stopped blooming. One other thing. As I photograph flowers I take a photo of the tag if possible and so remember what the name of the flower is. Then I put the photos of the markers in the trash after I name the photo. Works very well.
The story of the flowers makes me think of a friend who grew tomatoes in her front yard. They always got stolen until she started growing orange tomatoes. Then the kids didn't steal them anymore.
My front yard is up a cul-de-sac so few people except walkers come along and people who have discovered the flowers.
I know the stolen flower story well......many here have already heard my woes. In 2004 I planted some First Lady lilies very late and when they came up they were very short, but bloomed well. One morning I woke up to all of the stalks having been snapped off and taken. They snapped them very close to the ground. This year I only have one stalk coming up that is really healthy looking and might actually bloom. There just wasn't enough of the stalk left for most of the bulbs to recover themselves for this season. I know it will happen again this year, so I will try not to be as surprised or sad when it does.
Oh, Mendy! I'm so sorry. I don't know what gets into people. You try to make your front garden so lovely and people take advantage. No manners. If people only had manners the world would be a much better place. Seems simple to me.
It does seem simple to those of us who have manners. Those who don't, just don't understand.
Here's another bed starting to take off. The towers hold dahlias during the summer.
Wow, I love you stone pathway, it looks so inviting! Pretty flowers too.
Doss, is that Daughter of Stars in the lower right of the photo?
Absolutely beautiful. And how nice to share the view with your neighbors.
The iris in the lower right corner is "Telepathy". Here's a photo.
And I really enjoy sharing the garden. Probably more than neighbors like the tours. It's a privilege.
I just adore Telepathy, is it a rebloomer?
I'm going to show my hubby the pic of your pathway. he'll love it.
Sandy
