Taking a Chance With The Iris

I don't know if I'm early or late, but I do know that this isn't the ideal time of year to be digging and dividing bearded iris, but our mild climate is very forgiving and I didn't get any flowers last year, so I figure the worse that can happen is I don't get any blooms until next year anyway. But chances are I will get a few flowers if I am lucky, so I have been taking advantage of this lovely weather and out digging the rhizomes up and separating the mothers from the babies. It has been five or six years that most of these plants have been in the ground, way too long to go without dividing. In addition to that, many of them are now growing in the shade from trees that were just shrubs when they were planted. Years of adding mulch to the beds have also covered many of them so that they are buried too deep and the tops of their rhizomes are not getting any sun, another reason they will not bloom. I have lost track of what is planted where, so they are all just being dug up, separated and thrown in a basket and will be planted with a handful of the organic fertilizer I am getting for the camellias and azaleas since they prefer acidic conditions and we have such alkaline water. They are all going in one of the sunny beds that have good drainage and we will see what comes up! I may throw a few in pots to share after I see them bloom so I know what I am giving away because I have quite a few it seems. There are a few areas like the Moonlight Garden that I know only have white reblooming Frequent Flyers and the side garden that are all Frequent Violet, but other than that it looks like I am in for some surprises when it comes time for them to bloom this spring!

Summer Color in the Fall

 I wish I could show you all the progress I have been making on my fall garden projects, but I'm afraid I haven't made many advances. I've been busy doing other stuff. 

 I did go out to photograph some of the fall colors in the gardens, but once again I got distracted by something else.

 There are lots of blooms that look more like spring, or maybe summer, blooming right now!

 I planted a number of dahlias (that I thought were purple, not pink) later in the season this year and they have just started blooming all over the perennial garden in SJC. I don't know where they were during the less-than-colorful summer season out there, but I hope they get an track next summer! They are beautiful!

 For the past month the front door garden in SJC has been a lovely show of reblooming iris, 'Frequent Violet'. They are long and prolific bloomers!

Not exactly fall-like garden shots, but I'll take what I can get!

Beverly and Abraham

Two of my favorite things about this time of year - 'Abraham Darby' roses and 'Beverly Sills' iris. If my gardens had only these two beauties I would be a happy woman, at least for the spring!

My Sexy Garden

This picture has everything I love about a garden. Beautiful, loose flowing roses, a bold iris, fragrant lavender, waving grasses. There is even an orange tree in the back with sumptuous fruit. Everything intertwined making a feast for the senses. This is a sexy garden!

Iris Time

Everyday is a treat when you have dozens of bearded iris, each opening and showing off at their own sweet time. Today we have an unusual rainstorm (thank goodness, we really need the rain) but iris stand up well to the rain and will look just as good when it passes.

Dietes: Love Them or Hate Them

D. iridioides

D. bicolor

There are a lot of reasons not to like dietes, also known as African iris or fortnight lilies. They are very common plants in Southern California and can be found in most strip mall planters. They spread like crazy and can take out less aggressive neighboring plants in a few seasons. Their foliage is rather dull, stiff and spiky, nothing to rave about. The flowers, although pretty, only last a day so they don't work well in cut flower arrangements. They look horrible when they get thick and die out in the center, in need of dividing with a sharp spade. But I still kind of love them. They are very trouble free and drought tolerant, no need to fuss over them. They have charming little flowers that kind of hover above the foliage, earning them the nickname of butterfly iris and they are fire resistant. I think their charms outweigh their vices.

Blooming On Queue

I've been busy this month with projects other than my garden. New gates, decks, carpeting and minor construction have used up all my creative juices and I have just waited patiently for my gardens to wake up and get started on their own. The spring blooms are arriving on queue and they remind me that I just have a supporting role, they are the stars! 

I am a list maker and trips to the nursery with a few notes on what I need appear on my weekly to-do list regularly. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't. Hauling bags of organic fertilizers are a must for this time of year for the citrus, roses and grass, so I often have to look the other way (okay maybe I snatch a few flats of flowers) when I pass all the beautiful annuals and perennials luring me their way. 

Then of course I have the on-going chore of purchasing all the large screening shrubs to replace the dying oleanders along our perimeter fencing. That must be done too and will be a priority this week once again.

But the yellow and orange clivia lilies are blooming as they should and my favorite "Frequent Violet" iris are waking up and blooming all over my little garden by the front door in SJC. They hardly miss me!

Pale vs. Bright

There are many differences between my gardens in Laguna and SJC, but one of the main distinctions is the ambiance created by the colors I have chosen. The Laguna garden is filled with romantic pastels and soft colored blooms. It feels right with the cedar shingled house and soft lighting of the hillside close to the ocean. There are some vivid colors of course, but the main emphasis is on muted tones. In SJC with the dramatic gold color of the house and the clear bright sky, I have chosen more brightly saturated colored flowers to stand up to the intense hues and lighting. That doesn't mean I don't have a place for lovely muted shades like this 'Beverly Sills' iris that I have throughout the back yard perennial garden in SJC. Regardless of my focus for a garden bed, there is always room for a favorite!

Coming Into Their Own

I do love iris and I have been planting new ones in SJC every year up until last year. I'm not sure why I wasn't enticed to add new ones, but I took a break and just enjoyed what I have. Iris experts recommend dividing iris every three or four years to keep them vibrant and blooming. I have found that leaving them in the ground for longer results in better blooms in our area. I have some in Laguna that have not been disturbed in probably eight to ten years and they have formed an impressive stand that puts on quite a show for weeks at a time. I realize that they will eventually start to diminish in blooms and that will be the signal to divide them. I have also noticed that it takes a couple years for some of them to bloom after being divided. This is the first year I have seen blooms on many of my iris that I was expecting last year or the year before. I have the same iris as my neighbor down the street, but hers bloom at a different time than mine. Micro-climates and soil also have an effect on their blooms and must be taken into consideration. Today I'm not worried about all that, I'm just enjoying the show and thumbing through the new iris catalog that arrived last week!

Sparkles in the Rain

I am fortunate enough to have an entire garden dedicated to white flowers, but I always add white to the rest of the garden beds too. It adds a certain something that I like to call "sparkle" to every garden, especially on rainy days like yesterday. I have many, many iris, but none more lovely than this pure white one with the yellow beards, 'Frequent Flyer'. A repeat bloomer that comes back throughout the year.

Bluesy Weather

Although it is still April we are getting the weather patterns that typically appear in late May and all of June and even some of July, rather early this year. Morning overcast until middle to late afternoon when the sun finally breaks through, or as we call it "May Gray" and "June Gloom". It seems like this weather phenomenon  starts earlier and earlier every year because the May Gray is a fairly new term. The beautiful Spring weather was a bit scarce this year, with what seems like colder than usual temperatures and now we are into the gloom. Maybe this means that we will have an early summer which would be nice, because we didn't have much of one last year, at least to my memory. The garden isn't much concerned and goes on blooming as usual, with the bearded iris making a nice showing in all their shades of blue to go along with the misty weather. Mildew can be a problem on plants like roses that may be prone to the disease, but it is nice weather to work outdoors!

It's The Angle

This is one area that was one my "must do something with" list this year. It is one of the first things I see when I drive up the driveway in SJC and it was the first flower bed I worked on when we moved in five years ago. The rose on the column (Climbing Joseph's Coat") looks okay now, but has never been very robust and looks bad with few blooms by summer.  The Spanish lavender is overgrown and woody at the base and the rabbits dine regularly on the lobelia groundcover. I must say that the iris "Mary Francis" is looking good with lots of blooms and the white geraniums are among my favorites. Although it gets morning sun, I suspect as the season progresses it does not get enough sun all day to make all these plants happy. Okay, from this angle, at this time of year it looks pretty good, but we'll see in a couple months.

What's Starting To Bloom?

Nasturtium and Strawberries

Bearded Iris and California Fuchsia

Spanish Lavender

'Royal Sunset' Climbing Rose

Bearded Iris

Although today is more like a winter day with cool temperatures and rain, Spring has definitely arrived with lots of blooms opening everywhere. Here are a few that are brilliant today despite the gloomy weather!

Spring in October

The holidays are coming soon and that means the gardens take a back seat to the many other activities that require my attention.

Although the roses this month are showing up here and there after a severe cutback to clean them up and refresh them following a long summer, they are deeply appreciated. There are a few iris blooms from the repeat bloomers making a showing occasionally. I've missed them all terribly and am looking forward to next spring already!

Been Busy

I have fallen a little behind on my blogging due to a number of home improvements at both houses going on simultaneously. I like to designate the fall as a time to tackle major projects at home. It kind of takes my mind off the fact that summer is over and gets me ready for the upcoming holidays. The gardens go on without much attention from me with the support of my trusty helpers while I concentrate on other projects. As busy as I've been I still notice the beautiful blooms of 'Frequent Iris' that was quiet all summer but is putting on quite a show near the front door in SJC. I should really get to the nursery some time next week!

June Iris

Although most iris only bloom for a few fleeting weeks in the spring, there is a way to prolong their beauty in the garden. Most breeders will indicate whether a certain hybrid is either an early, mid or late season bloomers, or a rebloomer. There is a new group of iris blooming now (like this 'Dusty Challanger') and they are as stunning the early bloomers were!

Please Indulge Me

Just bear with me while I post just a few more pictures of iris that are in bloom on this wet and drizzly spring day!

Iris in the Landscape

I have been asked about how to use iris in the landscape and I must confess I had never thought much about it. Looking back, I remember my grandmother had an iris bed, about 6' by 6' outside the back door. I remember how amazing those purple, yellow and brown flowers were when they were in bloom, but also how intimidating that bed was to a young child when they were not in bloom!

Although I like the stiff, sword like foliage as a contrast to soft, round foliage in the garden, when grown alone, they look like a bed or swords sticking out of the ground. Not very pretty or inviting.

I like to grow them in front of a large shrub that will set the blooms off nicely my creating contrast and a pleasing background.


I have always mixed iris in with other plants, mainly because they bloom such a short time that there needs to be other interest to make the bed attractive the rest of the year.

I use them as focal points, fully integrated into a complex combination that includes other plants with similar cultural needs like daylilies and roses. They are a good mid-size plant that makes the bridge between taller shrubs and low-laying groundcovers quite nicely. These in my SJC garden are only a couple years old and haven't developed the large base of foliage and multiple stems that they will in years to come. I look forward to that display someday, but I am thrilled with what I have now too!

Adding Variety

My typical pattern for buying iris is to get very excited when the catalogs start arriving in the winter and after weeks of deliberation I turn in my order and wait for July when iris are shipped. I must confess that I typically order 'selfs' which are iris that the standards (vertical petals) and the falls (horizontal petals) are the same or nearly the same color. I don't know why. I order my iris from Schreiner's Iris and they have a program where they will send you bonus iris if you order enough from them. This gorgeous iris is 'Expose' and was one of my bonuses last year. I never would have picked it out of the catalog but I love it and I am so glad that the wonderful people at Schreiner's decided I needed some variety in my collection of iris! The good news is that this year I am showing restraint and waiting until after the main iris bloom in my garden this year to put in my order so that I will have a good feel for what will add more variety. Data and not emotion will rule my choices this year! (Note: I am getting the one on the cover of the catalog this year though, 'Fame and Glory'! My DH thinks it looks like a puppy!)

Iris

Like a special package that you wait and wait for, the iris blooms have arrived.

Although some of them have been blooming all year, the really fabulous blooms only come for a few weeks in the spring.

They are a natural draw to walk through the gardens a few times a day to see what is new.
The bloom time is short compared to many other perennials, but in my opinion, worth the wait!