Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A Sea of Blue

Last year we thought the Dwarf Crested Iris did very well in the shade garden. This patch was 10 ft x 10 ft and native when I moved in years ago. In 2008 the new septic field was put in and the irises were left to fend for themselves. Here is last years blooming photo of about half of them.

Now today's photo, many many more blooms. My guess would be 600-700 blooms! Certainly the largest patch of them I have ever seen. What do we do to them? Nothing they are wild, never watered or fertilized.

You can see why my estimate is 600-700 blooms, this is a square foot of them.
 Dr Ruppel clematis is doing better than ever, we have 5 blooms right now.
 Our first Fava Bean blooms, these plants are new to me. The Sugar Snap Peas are a good 2 foot tall, no blooms yet. Meg planted some at school a week or two before ours and she has tons of flowers right now.
Never showed you the bamboo border I did this winter. Here are 20 new daffodil bulbs. The ones on the left are Sir Winston Churchill. The woods behind the daffodils is the main hellebore garden. On Sunday I dug out a new bed and planted 5 of the new double hellebores and several of our own babies.

Here is my current job that I'd doing, another screened in porch. Today I spent all day on a ladder tearing off the little roof over the stairs and building a new roof. The new porch roof will link into the little roof. If I'm lucky I'll have it ready for my roofing guy by Monday. This photo was taken on Monday.

Oh notice the underside of the deck on the left swing mounts(the swings I brought home already), where should they go in our garden?


This is the deck three weeks ago before I started on it. The stairs were scary, very steep (8 1/4 inch rise and 10 inch treads). I have salvaged most of the decking boards and most of the lower deck which was made for kids.

25 comments:

Hazel said...

The title of this post led me to expect photos of the new bottle wall. But I wasn't disappointed by your gorgeous iris field. The bamboo edge looks great too. I have a deck off my bedroom that I keep planning to make into a screened porch. i will watch your progress with this closely.

L. Ambler said...

Your post reminded me of the crested iris I had in my backyard when I lived in Virginia. Pretty little flowers. I miss all the flowers I used to grow back there and can't grow here in the desert.

Beth at PlantPostings said...

Oh, what fun! So many pretty blooms! I can't believe those Irises naturalize en masse like that! Lovely spring photos!

Town Mouse said...

Love that Iris! Usually I always feel compelled to divide mine in fall, but maybe I should just leave it alone? An interesting thought.

Karen said...

The iris are astounding and they surely do naturalize in your garden. Beautiful!

You have a lovely collection of daffodils, too. I wish I had your ambition for getting projects done.

Cyndy said...

Oh my, that sea of blue is wonderful! My iris cristata were almost completely destroyed by rodents over the winter - looks like spring is looking lovely where you live.

compost in my shoe said...

What an amazing stand of iris. I have had little luck trying to get that to grow here in SC. Better luck up in the foothills while going to Clemson U.

greggo said...

That screened in porch looks like a skybox. How much for a reserved seat? lol

p3chandan said...

Such a lovely field of blue irises! I love your clematis and those fave beans blooms, they look a bit unusual but beautiful! Looking forward to see your progress on that screened porch..

Skeeter said...

The iris looks so happy where they are located! How lucky to have a beautiful field such as this to brighten your day.

The porch is looking wonderful. And it appears you are adding an additional platform at the bottom while extending the stairs outward. We are about to renovate our bathroom/closet, wanna come give us a hand?

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

Very sweet blooms on the Irises. I think this is the flower I was given as a passalong.....??? maybe? Hasn't bloomed.
That deck/porch looks interesting, will be interested in a photo of the finished product. I can't imagine the kids swinging on the lower section and not have the upper give way! whoa

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Those Iris fill in beautifully. We have a native Iris here that we're letting go where ever it chooses, and it is amazing how much they can spread in a year. That's quite a porch project! Can't wait to see it when it's done!

Appalachian Lady said...

Now I see what I am doing wrong with the dwarf iris--planting them where they don't grow too well. But, I'm reluctant to plant at the edge of our woods. I already have periwinkle that escaped I feel bad about.

You certainly have a green thumb! And, you are a hard worker. That porch will be very nice this summer.

F Cameron said...

Beautiful field of blue! I've not seen the dwarf iris growing wild near us. You're fortunate!

John said...

Well, you've given me an idea — take some of the little crested iris that are doing so well by our deck and move them into the woods. It looks like they should thrive!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful piece of land you guys have. It reminds me of the lush Oregon farmland I left when I went to college in Nevada. :)

tina said...

Those irises are beautiful! I have some here and while they have spread they have not bloomed. I hope they do someday. The bamboo border is nice. Isn't the Sir Winstons a very fragrant daffodil? I heard they are and smell great. Your job looks to be going well. That platform at the base of the stairs will sure help with solid footing.

MLight said...

I love all the irises!

sweetbay said...

Love your iris patch!! They do seem to do best when ignored really.

Lisa said...

Wow, Randy, what a wonderful display of crested iris!

They're happy in that site, to be sure. Our patches keep getting bigger, but they're nothing like yours. Enjoy...

Lisa

Gail said...

The iris is so impressive! I have a small patch and the heavy rains took them down too soon! Happy Spring. We have a screened porch~A necessity in the South! gail

Alison said...

That sea of blue iris is really pretty! And aren't the fava bean flowers cool? I'm growing them for the first time this year too. I've cooked and eaten them before, just haven't grown them. The cooking is very labor intensive.

That porch is a major undertaking. I look forward to seeing it finished.

eileeninmd said...

WOw, I love the field of Iris blooms. And the clematis is a favorite of mine. Your flowers are all gorgeous. Happy Easter to you and your family.

Heather at Dusty Bay said...

Gorgeous field of blooms! So pretty! Your porch is coming along nicely too.

Chandramouli S said...

It's a treat to have such beauties growing in wild! They look great.
I assume you would have something twining and climbing up that deck, wouldn't you? :D
May be a climbing rose?