Spring in Review...and a Few Tips!

Bouganvilla * September 15, 2011

photo by Suzanne

Well, well...the weekend is upon us again!  I hope to find you all ready and anxious for the Fourth of July weekend!  I can honestly say that I am always up for an extra day off work!

Today, I am going to show you the Spring transition I made in my small flower bed.  Some of you might have seen my 'self-video' in November where I demonstrated 'one-handedly'  how I did a minor, but successful makeover of this flowerbed. 

Below is a photo of the result.

March 17, 2012

Time marches on, and, in late March, early April, the pansies begin to wane.  It's almost no use trying to keep them vibrant, and, they were inexpensive, so, after about 5 months of blooming, it's time to bid them adieu!

And, I did net a few pretty Iris...not all of the plants bloomed.  I think I probably transplanted them a little too late.  It was around the 17th of November, should have done it in September!  Below is a few of the white beauties I was blessed with.

Tall White Bearded Iris ~ March 27, 2012

by Suzanne

...and, now, here is what is happening as Spring 'sprang'!

photo by Suzanne * June 5, 2012

I replaced the Pansies with Impatiens in a variety of colors, and added some 'spicy' purple Petunias in the well of the tower.  And, parading in front of this flower bed are some of the Zinnias we have raised.  Never fear...I have plenty more Zinnia photos, and, we have since planted even more!  I now have fresh, cut Zinnias in the house every day-it's so festive!

It's as though they dance,  n'est-ce pas?

photos by Suzanne

Just a few tips!

* When your Iris foliage starts leaning over, don't be afraid to take a pair of scissors and cut them down to just 3 or 4 inches...angle on either side so they look like fans.  They will have a tidier appearance, and, will stay green throughout the summer.  I will be trimming mine very soon, and will show you the results.

*  Zinnias can be planted in pots.  YAY!  We have planted them in the ground, but, it was so dry and hot last summer, we decided to plant them in large pots this year.  However, they require watering twice a day in order to stay alert! 

* When you cut your Zinnias to bring indoors, be sure to look for new bud growth, and, cut just above the little clusters that "only appear to be just leaves".   And, your Zinnias will continue to bloom.  

* Remember, you can let your Zinnia blooms completely dry out, and pull the seeds from the centers to replant.  And, you can continue to plant packaged Zinnia seeds throughout the summer. 

***

And, now, we're into our 'Summer Solstice'.  Take care out in the heat...the mosquitoes are already ravaging our tender,  'not-so-sun-kissed' flesh, so, we're using  plenty of  repellant!  The Texas temps are beginning to soar now!

This is where our temps were at last July 23, 2011

thermometer under our Mulberry tree!  (in the shade!)

I'm so glad you stopped by...say hello if you get the chance.

I appreciate your visits and comments.  And, I want to wish you all a safe and fun

 Fourth of July!

Thank you Google

Thank you Yahoo for the firecrackers

Thank you Karo for planting the beautiful Zinnias

Hi Mom!

"The earth laughs in flowers"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's my coffee time!

Iris Inspection with my Garden Associate!

Grandson Shawn * March 28, 2012

Well, I'm back with the final update on my small flowerbed makeover from November, and, I brought my grandson Shawn, aka 'Scooter', with me.  Some of you may recall, I did a 'self video' of how I cleaned out this small, neglected flower bed after last summer's devastating drought!  It was an inexpensive project, since I already had plenty of Iris to move, and, the rock edging just needed to be re-arranged.  Below is a collage of the transformations as they took place from the original plantings until now.

photos and collage by Suzanne * KardKorner Headquarters

November 19, 2011 ~ March 30, 2012

***

Just what do we know about the almighty Iris?  That they're EVERYWHERE?  I thought they came from Kansas...but, I've been in Texas quite a while, and, I didn't bring them with me!  Hey!  You Floridians!  Did they come from your neck of the woods?  How about England and Australia...I'll bet there are plenty of Iris in your beautiful countries too!

Well, 'Scootie' and I did some digging worldwide and came up with a few answers to our questions.

just a few!!!

As we already know, Iris survive in most climates...specifically throughout the North temperate regions of the world.  Those areas would include, the meadowlands and riverbanks of Europe, and the Middle East...and, Northern Africa, Asia, and North America.

***

A little history

Iris got it's name from the Greek...it means rainbow, probably because they can be acquired in various colors.  A common name sometimes given to the Iris is 'flags'.

Iris is the ancient Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love.  And this sacred flower is considered a symbol of communication and messages: 

* the Purple Iris symbolizes wisdom and compliments.

* the Blue Iris is a symbol of faith and hope.

* the Yellow Iris symbolizes passion.

* and, the White Iris is a symbol of purity.

Here we have Iris, the Greek Goddess of the Rainbow

a lovely interpretation 

And, we also know that Iris come in many different colors, and shapes.  I've never raised any exotic Iris, such as the 'Dutch Iris', or the 'Butterly Iris', but they are very beautiful plants.  I've only had the pleasure of growing the common Iris, in a few of the pastel shades.

And here is an Iris from my FlowerBed makeover in November.

It's called 'Tall White Bearded Iris'

photo by Suzanne ~ March 28, 2012

and what a fragrance!  Undescribable

And these dudes got tall!!! So far I've only gotten to reap a few stems with four to six blooms on each.  I just don't know if any more will bloom for me this year.

I don't know...guess he's getting ready to haul!!!

Towering above the tower water feature

And these Iris smell like grapes!  Ummm...

A priceless smile!

Time to 'freak' Grandma out!

How about that Peace and Love headband?

Now it's back to work!

Time to wind down.  For all it's worth, the Iris is probably the simplest flowering plant to grow.  But, now that Spring is upon us, with continually warming temperatures, my Pansies are starting to wane.  I have already purchased some Impatiens that will replace the bright little faces until next fall.

    Here are just a few tips that have always worked for me: 

* Iris has a long, kind of potato-looking root that is easily planted.  Don't dig a large hole and bury the root.  Just scoop a shallow gully that will fit the size of your root, and place the root so the plant is standing.  I kind of pack the soil around the root and leave a bit of the top exposed.  This is what I was told to do by an old farmer who lived on the Brazos River, just west of Fort Worth.

* Iris do like water, but they don't care if  you miss a day or two.  They're easy...and can grow in just about any kind of soil.

* They can be planted on fence rows, around trees, on hillsides...I mean, just anywhere!

* Remember, if you want to transplant any of your Iris, do it after the blooming season, or early fall.  If you wait until next spring they will not bloom until the following year. 

* And, as the blooms dissipate, cut them off as close to the bottom of the stems as you can to keep the plant looking attractive.  When the leaves start looking bad, cut them down, all the same size if you can, with scissors.  I try to make a fan shape for each plant.  Once again, the plant can continue to look attractive.  Trust me...the leaves will grow back! 

***

I want to thank my cutie 'Scootie' for all of his help last week in the yard.  He's a real trooper...well, at his age, VERY EAGER to join in! 

And, thank you my dear, faithful readers for joining in on the Iris fun.  Since, I STILL can't figure out how to put links from my previous posts in a new post for references, I will just tell you that if you want to view my self videos of this little flowerbed makeover, they are in my archives under FlowerBed Makeover, Part 1 and Part 2.  They were done on November 20, 2011 and November 26, 2011, respectively.

As always, I must thank:

Yahoo

Google

wikipedia

theflowerexpert.com

Hi Mom!

"OKAY...I'm done here!"
(1973 Mustang convertible in the background being restored)

"There is no time like the old time,

when you and I were young.

When the buds of April blossomed,

and the birds of spring-time sung!"

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Have a safe and beautiful Easter holiday

from MyTexasGardens!

Got eggs?

Swan Patrol!

photo by suzanne * spring 1999

When I bought this house, there was such a large back yard, with absolutely nothing around, save some trees.  I had to take a few of them out, because they were dead. Well, some of my friends would donate bulbs and cuttings to my cause.  I couldn't afford professional landscaping, and, even if I didn't always know what I was getting, I took it gladly!    But, as time goes on, and flowers flourish, one needs to expand to keep things alive.  Thus, the 'Swan' garden.  It's primary digs are white and yellow iris, Shasta daisies, a few viola plants, and some monkey grass.

The daisies were given to me by a friend from work.  She just brought me a couple of clumps...I'm like, 'what the'...?  They looked liked nothing!  Well, I got them home, found an off-the-wall spot, and just stirred up the dirt enough to 'plunk' the clumps in it.  It was a slightly shady spot, but the clumps didn't care.  They started getting greener in a few days, the leaves perked up, and then, within a couple of weeks, I could see some actual growth, and runners coming from underneath!  "Man!"  These dudes are gonna make it!  And they did!  I couldn't believe it, but here came more-it was getting cold, and I wondered how they would fare throughout the winter. I covered them lightly with our 'Texas fallen leaves', and sat back.  They did survive and I was able to transplant them.  The one thing I found tho, is not to drown them with water, or they will wilt and die.  The following photo shows how they began to flourish in the first year.

photo by suzanne

They grew tall and plentiful.  This spot is shady most of the day...there is a large tree nearby.  So, I think 'shasta daisies' are pretty hardy almost anywhere.  I did, later purchase some other types of daisies, 'margerita daisies', and 'dahlberg daisies', but didn't have the same results.

photo by suzanne * spring 2000

This photo gives a better view of the border.  We dug the bed into a semi-circle shape, and bordered it with sprigs of 'monkey grass', which did grow in nicely, and it did make mowing easy.  In the lower left is a clump of 'violas' donated by my next door neighbor Lee.  She had them everywhere, and they were easy to start.  Now they LOVE all the water you're willing to part with.  They can be lying flat down from the heat, and perk up within just a few minutes.  In early spring, and again in the fall, they will bloom with small deep violet flowers.  I have given clumps of this to other friends myself.  Violas are so easy and make good bordering plants. 

I was very picky about coordinating depth of color and foliage...after all, I was accumulating so much, I could draw out plans and I used old, gardening books to help with arrangement of plants.  You can see how large the 'iris' plants are...does this REALLY mean "everything grows big in Texas"?  I think not!   A little old man in the neighborhood had a cardboard sign out front of his house "Iris for Sale-$1.00 a Clump".  So, I stopped by...this was in 1994.  He had rows and rows of all kinds of iris of many colors!  But, he said I couldn't have any of the snow white iris...they had been cared for by his late wife, and he wasn't giving any up...he said he didn't have enough.  Well, I hounded him and begged, and he finally gave in and gave me a few roots, or a 'clump' as he described it.   There are white iris in this bed-they grew so tall, you couldn't cut them to bring in.  I did find a tall bottle that I could put some in to enjoy indoors.  You can see how tall the iris foliage is.  These were large plants and the blooms were also very large...mmmm, smelled like grapes!  Some of the white ones get very tall, they lean over, so I try to cut them and bring them in to keep them off the ground.

Well, I needed an anchor, or focal point for this garden-it makes me think of a pond, with it's tall foliage and the daisies swaying in the front.  So much green, glistening with sparks of yellow and white.  Now, I was never a fan of swan planters...but, for some reason, it seemed as tho nothing else would fit!  And, probably, I found a good price on this molded plastic planter...you know, $2.00 or $3.00, and decided to take a chance.  We turned a black pot upside down to prop the swan up above the ground because he couldn't be seen admist the plants.  And the foliage covered up the pot nicely.  I planted white periwinkle in the swan, but, you know, I had a lot of trouble keeping anything alive in that planter, so I gave up.  Even so, it all came together pretty nicely, and later, I planted some umbrella plants at the back of this bed.

And the Swan continues to patrol and watch over!

Some tips for 'Iris' from MY diary

* Iris love a lot of sun.  If planting in a cluster, they should be placed where each plant draws the attention of the same amount of sun in order to bloom concurrently.

* And it's true!  You can  just drop a root or two here and there, and they will take.  But I would rather place them to be standing up when they start rooting.  And I point the roots in certain directions so they will not grow up 'willy nilly'.  I want all of the foliage facing in the same direction. 

* When it's time to transplant, you MUST have this done by early fall-September at best.   This will insure more successful blooming in the spring.  I thought you could just move them on a whim and get instant blooms...not on your life!  You will have to wait almost a year for them.  Once the blooming season is over, you can go ahead and transplant for the following spring-it's okay.  Just don't go beyond the deadline.  I have a few purple iris that bloom in February-don't know why, but I run out and get them to enjoy inside, and they really smell like grapes!

* As the summer progresses, and starts burning green stuff, I go along with a pair of scissors and trim the foliage of my iris.  Each plant gets cut into a fan shape to about 6 inches high...hehe!  I know-it's crazy, and I wish I had a photo to show you.  But some of the leaves will die or fall over and you have to go along and pick them up.  Cutting them back makes the plant look cleaner, and they withstand the heat better.

* And, it's okay to leave the top part of the root exposed, in fact, I've read that you should do that, even tho it sounds unhealthy for the plant. Plus, sometimes they will fall over, so I try to pack soil around to the back to help them stand up.

That's all I have today friends!  Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed and learned.  I couldn't find a Swan poem or quote that I wanted to share...they were all too sad.  So, I did find a quote from the internet (I'm embarrassed I can't remember which site) that I particularly liked.

***

"To pick a flower is so much more satisfying than just observing it, or photographing it ... 

So in later years, I have grown in my garden as many flowers as possible for children to pick." 

-  Anne Scott-James  

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

I Love You!