Mid June All Stars

This is the time in the gardening year when there is simply more that needs to be done than what we can do.  Most of the potted plants are now planted out but some still need attention.  Afternoon temperatures in the mid 80s has us looking for work in the shade.  Becky spent considerable time in the shade garden and this is the result of her efforts.

Serbian Bellflower, Campanula portenschiagiana is an amazing plant with an unbelievably long name.  It flourishes when pushed into a crevice in the stone wall.  Some soil was first pushed into the crack but we did not expect the plant to survive in such a difficult location.  It continues to spread across the vertical face of the stone wall.  A tiny mail order scrap of a plant has now claimed a large section of the wall.

Bluets have been difficult for us to grow.  We have seen them spreading across a lawn that oozed with septic moisture.  Our plants were placed in the soil but have self seeded on the horizontal surface of the wall.  They receive frequent visits from the watering can in a attempt to keep them alive.

This is the neighbor's view of our garden by the road.  From a distance or when speeding by in a car this garden looks rather good.  It needs attention as too many plants are growing close together.  Deer are also feeding here nightly.  Asiatic lilies are safely enclosed in wire cages this year.  Last season the deer ate every lily bud just before they had a chance to open.  One cluster of buds is perilously close to the top of the four foot high cage.

So far the Siberian iris have escaped attention from the deer.  If that holds, these flowers may become our first choice for the perfect perennial plant.  The sword like foliage looks good all summer and the flowers are elegant stunners.  Some have become separated from their name bearing stones.  We think that this one is Silver Edge.

  Roaring Jelly was the first Siberian Iris that we purchased.  It is both hardy and a colorful eye catcher.  Divisions now have it growing in three different locations around our place.

Golden Edge is another beauty.  We find that the edge color rather quickly fades away from gold.  All have proven durable and we will continue to spread them about with early in the year divisions.  Jane, our friend in her ninth decade, has reported that when she visits places that she occupied decades ago only the Siberian Iris that she planted still remain.

Siberian Iris Bloom Order

Weather continues to raise havoc with both us and our plants.  The nearly complete lack of rain for May has hit the plants particularly hard.  I spend hours carrying water in sprinkling cans but only a few chosen plants receive this aid.  The onions, peas, lettuce and arbutus always receive some water.  The Siberian Iris have been left to survive without help.  These Shaker's Prayer not only are surviving but they were the first to flower here.
 

The complexity of the colors in these blossoms is awesome.  This one shows some smudging of the purple veins on the white background.  This may be a consequence of the dry ground since memory says that the color separation is usually complete.
 

Roaring Jelly is the first variety that we purchased.  Those tiny mail order plants are now huge.  Divisions produced enough new plants to provide us with several plantings of this variety.

Bright sunlight caused the camera to capture an image that distorts the actual color.  Perhaps we will try again under different light conditions.

If we try to complete the record of the order of bloom, the number of posts will be excessive.  We went more than a little nuts and ordered several different varieties for years.  Name tags are missing in some instances so we have to wait for flowers and try to identify named varieties. The flowers are all beautiful. A rose by any other name...

Siberian Iris 2013

This new bed near the road is clearly in the middle of an old farm field.  Quack grass rules here but we have learned a few tricks to temporarily control it.  Grass clippings were deeply piled here for one full year before we considered planting anything.  Then the clippings were pulled aside and the ground turned with a hand fork being careful not to break any roots.  The few remaining roots were cleared intact.  A trench was dug outside of the bed, lined with cardboard and filled with ground tree bark.  Any quack grass trying to cross into the bed is easily removed.  We know that inattention on our part will allow the quack grass to completly reclaim the planting bed but for now we are winning.

Denise recommended Siberian Iris to us several years ago.  We purchased one or two new varieties a year to allow us to learn about this new plant.  Five of our oldest friends were chosen for placement in front of the stone wall.  We think that a dry stone wall is the perfect backdrop for the sword like foliage.  The flowers last for only a short time but are well worth space in the garden.  Our collection is presented in the order that we acquired them.

                                                                    Roaring Jelly

                                                                  Butter and Sugar

                                                                       Silver Edge

                                                                          Ego

                                                                     Sky Mirror

                                                                     Gull's Wing

                                                                  Golden Edge

Nearly every day this June has featured rain.  Today the flood warnings are out with an additional 2 inches of rain expected.  We are so far behind moving our plants from their pots to the garden but the rain really perks up the new transplants.  Weeds are getting the upper hand so we really need some time in a relatively dry garden.  Siberian Iris flowers can be enjoyed from the comfort of the living room regardless of the weather.

It's Usually Safe to Bloom in May

This is Jane's iris.  Beautiful yesterday it melted in the 90 degree heat and is gone today.

Mom's iris is blooming too.  Funny I don't think I ever noticed the beautiful white edge on the petals before.  Our clump of this iris was sadly overgrown.  Ed separated and moved some prime sections this spring even though the traditional season for dividing iris is after they bloom.  We expected no flowers this year because of the untimely move but here is a perfect blossom.  Clusters of flowers should follow next year.

This iris is new to me this year.  It is a family heirloom of Susan's.  Except for the difference in color it and Mom's iris could be fraternal twins.  Both are old varieties with a clarity of form missing from today's giants.  Is there a society whose goal is the preservation of ancient iris varieties?

Ed's Roaring Jelly Siberian iris is blooming beautifully.  Some time will change the color of these flowers and with the drop in temperature they should look great for days.

Our first flower from Ego is open. The rest are coming on fast.  I hate to see the flowers come and go so quickly.  90 is too hot for me and my beautiful iris blossoms.  I was wishing for a break in the weather.  I got my wish but along with it came thunder storms and a power outage.  Heavy rain and wind are hard on iris too.  Now the weather will  be cooler.  I wonder how low it will go?  So far I've seen a predicted low of 41.  I don't even want to think of the f_ _ _ _  word.

With today's heat I was viewing the garden from the living room window.  Right below me in my bed of alliums just outside of the front door was a full grown woodchuck.  I watched while Ed went out to give chase.  The wood chuck ran onto the patio, through the stone square and over to the shade garden.  An athletic leap placed it up in the shade garden.  Then I learned something I did not know about this garden enemy.  Wood chucks can climb trees.  He went right up the locust tree in the center of the shade garden without missing a beat.  This may have been its first time up a tree as it did not know what to do next.  From there I won't add any details.  Let's just fade to black!