Flower pix in word and pixel, and other II

Columbine doing a sneak into the shale path. So prettiful and swirly.

Moss flox is coming on strong now. Mauve

This was prettiful today

One of my fav spring combos. 'Apricot Beauty' with muscari (although she looks more pinky than apricotty IMPO but who cares)

A nice yellow today

I see your yellow and raise you an ornch fringe on my cup

♪♪ And now it's time to say goodnite to all the family.....♪♪ I leave you with a new pile of rocks which got stacked to move a rose into the Sante Fe Rockery.Pics of the rose when it's in bloom cuz it's gonna luv living in the Sante Fe Rockery I'm sure ( I hope :/)

Kyla,
I will post pictures of all those iris in their flower beds and those will be prettier than the specimens in Sprite bottles for the show. Well, in some cases I took the only bloom for the show -- in those cases I will post last year's photos of the flower.
Beautiful plants, dahlia! Spring really is bustin' out all over in Calgary. You certainly have waited long enough for it. I suspect Calgary, in some ways, is like Alaska. When the plants pop out they make very fast progress in a short amount of time. It must be dramatic and lovely!

dahlia,
I loved all your pretty pictures. Yes the sage is going wild, getting out of bounds. It probably does need to be disciplined. I actually grow mine in a large flower pot. It is just starting to bloom now.
Love your daffs, muscari and tulips. Hope to do more of those next year, myself.

DN, what beauties you have growing there! And your rocks are lovely! Paj, congratulations on your prize winning iris! Can't wait for pics...

Don't know if I had posted this before, but this Fiery Temper. It is one of the ones that earned me a blue ribbon.
This was one of Roybird's favorites.

LOVE that one!

Congrats Paja! That's awesome.

Aww. Gee. Shucks. and Thanks. Will post more later today.

That is a champeen. Congrats Paj!

Thanks all. Will post some more pictures when it quits raining. I am delighted to have the rain but it is really unusual for this time of year. I am totally in favor of nature's water though.

Have to agree that is a nice Iris Pajarito.

Dahlianut, looks to me like the Sage and the Sedums are good friends. Sometimes friends make themselves a little too much at home though ...

I have sage under the roses in front and also sneaking around some clematis in the back! I used to have some very pretty varigated sage but it was way too prolific and I prefer the culinary sage - or "plain ol' sage".

Roybird, how od you keep your sage under the roses? Mine is almost four feet tall. It's actually growing one of the small chimney flues, like you can see at the front of this photo. I need to move it but I'm not sure how to get it out of there. If I had roses I think the sage would be taller.

Certainly is beutiful tho =)

That is one happy sage plant, Katlian.

I have some sage in mostly shade and it stays pretty short. Maybe yours stays shorter cuz it's shaded by the roses roybird? Ordinary or 'plain ole' sage is the best for eating methinks.

Mmm, yes sage is very tasty. I like to fry the leaves in bacon grease in then sprinkle the crumbled sage and bacon over pasta. Probably not healthiest thing to do with sage but oh so good. Mine keeps some of it's leaves over the winter so there's usually some available.

Sage tea is an excellent remedy for winter bronchial colds, etc. I like to grow it mainly to have it on hand for that. Only Salvia officinalis will do for that.

;-)

Salvia officinalis is the toughest sage I have found. The ornamental ones are lovely but don't winter over very well. Another good thing to do with true sage leaves is to spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set down sage leaves underneath baby potatoes cut in half. Roast them at a high temperature until they are done. Yum! Sage gets crispy and flavors potatoes. Not so much fat.

Y'all are making me hungry.

Okay, here is a picture. This is Congo Bongo, an intermediate sized iris. It is about 18 inches high.

And here is a very old iris named Honorabile. It was hybridized in 1840 by Le mon and is still pretty today.

Wow Paj, those are gorgeous!

Glad you like them! Here is My Ginny! It was hybridized by Don Spoon and named for his wife, also a hybridizer, Ginny Spoon. Lovely tribute, I say.

Judy checked the label on the flower before last. It was Kaleidascope by Katzkamer, 1929. Honorabile has buds, but this wasn't it. Here is Millennium Falcon by Kasperek. I heard whispers that it would probably get the Dykes award this year. Don't know, of course. It is a lovely iris, introduced around the millenium.

ooo luvlies paj. I add rosemary to the roasted potatos too mmmmmm rosemary mmmmm

Very pretty iris and sage! I chop my sage down quite a bit because it gets in the way of the lavender. It has retreated under the roses because the lavender has been around longer and I like it better! I don't have much space here. In fact, Mr. Rooguchi has hidden himself under the rose bushes in back and may not come out 'til July. He was last seen in this area.

Here is another "tangle".

I like the 'tangle'. I need more 'tangles' in my garden.

My sage is the same height as roybird's. It is blooming now too. Very nice! When you guys cut it back after flowering do you reduce it to ground level or keep it bushy? I like the ornamental ones as well but have never tried to eat them.

I originally planted sage for one recipe but I have been finding more and more. I want to try those potatoes too. Here is my fave way of using it...

Cut chicken thighs and italian sausage into about two inch pieces, thread them onto skewers alternating with whole sage leaves. Put about a cup of olive oil into a small saucepan, add a couple cloves of smashed garlic and a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary. Bring the oil mixture to just a simmer then let steep for about a half hour. Grill the kabobs and use the flavored oil to baste.

Yum! That sounds good, plutodrive. Do you cook them in the oven or on an outdoor grill?

OOh, that sounds good! I whack down the sage after it blooms, but not a whole lot. I cut it back again in the fall when I dry the leaves.

I cook it on the outdoor grill. It is a easy thing to make for a party. When I cut my sage back (not too drastically) I'll be making it again.

last winter all the sage that got whacked down and left to dry out ended up slow burning in our fire barrel during a party. It smelled nice.