Tag: irises

Iris Delight

I have missed my garden and I have missed my gardening friends and I have missed my best friend – all because of too much work and bad weather, in that order! I can never have too much work, because this means there is a positive feeling out there in the market! The bad weather isn’t really BAD – just when too much rain takes over the garden, I don’t feel like playing outside!

Well, I have been missing all the action!!!

My Louisiana Irises have been having a party without me! These flowers are always such a special treat because my best friend gave them to me (tons of rhizomes have grown since) and with the blooming I celebrate my friendship!! So, my buddy! Happy Iris Day! I miss you and wait patiently until we can garden together again! So I send these loving delights so you can see how beautiful they always are!

How beautiful!! What a great start to the sunny weekend ahead! So much to look forward to!

Happy gardening my friends xxxx

Tags irises, louisiana irises

Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features

What beauties

I am jumping with glee!! It is so amazing to see my Irises going from buds to blooms. I was like a child waiting for Christmas to arrive!! And it was so worth it! They are magnificent. I was never a real flower garden person, but to have these extraordinary flowers all over my organic vegetable garden has been a great delight!! I will say no more! Just look at the photos! They will show you the anticipation I felt!

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They stand so tall, almost shoulder height. Is this normal?

They are the Springtime Winners for me! Even my hubby is taken with them. Yup – he has taken his camera out….. yes, the Iris will be photographed again …. and again…..

Happy Gardening xxxx

Tags bulbs, dutch irises, flowers, garden, irises

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

It’s all too beautiful …

It’s all too beautiful when the spring sun starts to warm up the earth and the plants respond by showing their first blooms and sprouting forth with lovely fresh new foliage. Gardening buddy Holly from Roses and other Gardening Joys said to me recently that when the first Iris blooms it is officially Spring – so hallelujah Cape Town! It is officially Spring here and this is the beautiful first Iris in bloom in my garden today …

[one_third]The buds taken two days ago[/one_third]

[one_third]The fully opened bloom today[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Photo taken from above[/one_third_last]

[one_third]The Irises on the corner[/one_third]

[one_third]In perspective … the Alley[/one_third]

[one_third_last]A last look at the flower[/one_third_last]

I haven’t been able to write about these Louisiana Irises before. They were the last birthday present I got from my Dad last year, just before he died. We ordered the rhizomes from a specialist Iris grower in Johannesburg and they arrived the week before my father went into hospital for an operation from which he did not recover.

I planted the Irises while he was in hospital, worrying about him and then when he passed away I couldn’t find the strength to continue planting them. I gave many away (to my best friend so I will get to see them in her garden and on the blog soon) and then the last batch I forced myself to plant only quite a few weeks later. I’m not sure they will do well this year as they look poorly right now, but the first batch I did manage to plant are doing beautifully. In the photos you are seeing just three of the hundreds I planted along that wall (you can’t see them in the photos). The others are still waking up to Spring, but this one which is in the sunniest position has galloped on ahead to show me just how beautiful it will all look in a few weeks.

It’s all too beautiful …

I’m loving my Alley way garden right now. At last! I don’t feel the need to add anything else to this area now. In and amongst what you see in the Azalea bed above I have lots and lots of Asiatic Lilies coming up again, lots with buds on already so in a few weeks time I’ll have my little Lily field here again. I can’t wait …

What’s making you smile in your garden?

Happy Gardening
xxx

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Tags iris, irises, louisiana irises

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Another favourite Native

Another favourite indigenous (native) plant I have in my garden is Dietes or “wild Iris”. Perennial, evergreen plants which grow in large clumps, I have Dietes Grandiflora and Dietes Bicolor. Both are super easy to grow and care for, devoid it seems, of any attack by bugs and disease. I love the spikey upright foliage that remains a feature in the garden throughout the year and the flowers in spring and summer are delightful.

Dietes grandiflora

[one_half]Dietes Grandiflora[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Dietes Grandiflora[/one_half_last]

I am particularly fond of Dietes grandiflora with its bright white flowers, yellow/orange markings and purple central segments. The leaves are dark green and can reach up to 1.5 metres in length. The plant seems to flowers en-mass at certain periods, especially after rain in summer (hence all the rain droplets on my photos :)).

The individual flowers don’t last more than a few days but the plant bears so many flowers during the peak periods, that it really doesn’t matter. I have it growing in full sun as well as in partial shade – it does very well in my back shade garden and I highly recommend this plant to local gardeners – this one is a winner!

Dietes bicolor

[one_half]Dietes Bicolor[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Dietes Bicolor[/one_half_last]

Commonly known as Yellow Wild Iris or Peacock Flower, Dietes bicolor also forms clumps of erect sword-shaped leaves that provide a great foliage contrast in my garden. The flowers are about 60 mm in diameter, flat, light yellow with brown markings and only last a day, but it doesn’t really matter as it flowers non stop it seems, from about October through to May. It does well in a sunny position but is also thriving in my shaded back garden. Another winner for local gardeners!

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags dietes, indigenous, irises

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Dutch Irises no cigar

One of my favourite cut flowers which I often buy for the house are Dutch Irises. I planted about a hundred Dutch Iris bulbs this year in the hopes of having a wonderful display in my garden. Planted below the Beech tree I thought it would be a lovely “story”, at the top half of my back garden. Well … the results were mixed. At first I disliked the foliage which came up quickly and just sort of flopped around. For four months we had this mass of leaves just sort of hanging in there and looking quite messy.

Just as I was about to resign myself to the fact that I can’t grow Dutch Irises, what do you know … the foliage seem to perk up, a thick stem appeared from the centre of each “mess of leaves”, and each bulb produced a wonderful large, beautiful Dutch Iris that stood tall and proud for days.

The blooms were at least twice the size of the ones I buy from flower sellers and once cut and put in a vase, they lasted for just over two weeks.

Was it worth the effort? I have to say no, only because the before and after bloom stage is aesthetically not very appealing. If you have a very large garden and an area that you don’t mind having the scraggly foliage limping around for months, then perhaps. But the cost / effort vs reward was small. I might be tempted to try it again, but in pots next time.

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags bulbs, dutch irises, irises

Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous Perenniels

Miss you

I miss your posts and the laughter in your garden… I miss the way you hug your plants… I miss the birds, the blommies and even your moles… I miss the fun in your voice when you blog about Dex and Hercules… but most of all I miss you!

Here are the first batch of irises I have dedicated.

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xxxxxx

Tags flowers, garden, gardening, irises, plants, spring bulbs

Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Iris – flower for a Goddess

Post author By Christine
Post date September 19, 2011
6 Comments on Iris – flower for a Goddess

“Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields” ~ Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

Irises have always been my favourite flowers so I was disappointed when a landscaper told me I would not be able to grow them in my garden. Very dissapointed in fact. As a compromise we planted Dietes, a South African wild Iris. I like them well enough. What I like is the leaves, strong, strappy upright growing and they bend slightly at the top. They provide form and interest against the other plants in the garden. The flowers are ok, but unimpressive.

I wasn’t ready to give up on on the idea of having Irises and when I saw some for sale at a rare plant fair I bought six of them to try (how I wish I had bought a truck load full of them!). They are Louisiana Irises – Colorific, Sinfonietta and Stanley Blue. What I bought was the rhizomes with just a few leaves (cut really short). I planted them and hoped for the best … And the best happened!

Right now two are flowering and all the others have buds. Each individual rhizome has formed a clump and they will be ready for dividing in Autumn (Yay! More Irises!)

My gorgeous Irises …

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Now that I know I can grow Irises I am on the hunt for more and have found someone in Johannesburg who specialises in Louisiana Irises who is going to be sending some to me next week. I’ll be replacing all the “spent tulips” with Irises. What joy!

Happy Gardening
xxx

Tags irises