So here I go, I have one can of beer with my barbqued chicken, and I slip off the wagon. The vile retched alcohol turned me into an iris maniac. I know, I know, I have testified here in these threads about how good I was about not ordering too many iris, and then I said I was not going to make more beds, and what do I do??? I make a new bed, not just a small one, but one that's 40 feet long. And like they say, if you build it, they will come. I have succumed to the temptation of evil, and went and ordered some more iris. Daring Deception, Dipped in Dots, Wiched Good, and Private Eye from Mid-America. I know how the 10 steps are supposed to help you in this situation, but I was not even able to remember one of the steps. I soooo wanted to order Gypsy Lady, Made You Look, and Strawberry Freeze, but I was able to hold the line. How will I ever be able to look myself in the eye tomorrow morning when I shave? I must find a priest!

Easy, you know you have some of the worlds best enablers here, with outstanding photo's and all they all do to tempt us more, I long forgot all the 12 steps too

D

LOL

Now Tom (said in a very soothing voice) -- a forty-foot bed? And you only ordered four Irises? Even if they send you as many bonus Iris, eight little Irises are going to look absolutely FORLORN in a 40-foot bed. You do know that Dee is having a wonderful $3.00 sale, right? You can solve this very serious problem with ease................... (wicked grin)

very good Mary Ann

Yea Tom you have alot of room for more of Dee's

Think of 60 rows each 150 long that has to be dug trimmed divided and replanted to give more area and healthy happy rhizomes for next year, any want to come up and have oh so much fun. LOL

D

12 steps???? there are 12 steps? No wonder I am such a failure at resisting, I thought there were only 10! OK, The big reason I made the new bed was because I decided that I wanted some back up space for some of my favorite ones. Just in case I ever get that dreaded scorch thing I read about on another thread. Also, I'm clearing out one of the older beds near the house to increase space in my "micro climate" area for some newer varieties. I would have some Gypsy Romance, Lights camera action, Nooksack beauty, Fancy Dress, Coastal Mist, Maria Tormina, Star Surge, Cranberry Swirl, My Girl, New Leaf, Rancho rose, Shakedown, Peking Dancer, Oasis Patches, and Porta Villa to share for postage to "Regulars" on ATP on a first come, first serve basis. There are a couple Regal Nave too. Also some Cat's Eyes, Bugsy, Little Sighs, and Dark Crystal (MTB's) Some of these won't be huge rhizomes, as they didn't grow big this year in this hot weather. You should be able to see pictures of most of these on the thread "My first TB"

Interesting. The smaller plants are not MTBs, They are SDBs & MDBs.

I know the feeling of too many irises! I had to cancel all of my orders this year because I was going crazy with the drought and the scorch and the cash flow drying up along with the pasture, so I was quite chagrinned to find out that I had forgotten to cancel one order and it is on its way! Do you think covering a row of newly planted irises with cheesecloth would keep out the leafhoppers for awhile?

Dee:I heard of the 12 steps.
Its the 13th step that gets me every time
Step #13.Go ahead and get a few plants what the h***.

LOL JoAnn!!

LOLOL but so true that is why there is a Snowpeak, I started with less than 1/4 acre and kept growing, well what I ended up with is 3 acres of planted iris but going to thin quite a bite this year, all the species will be for me and trade only after this year not going to list the Japanese at all thinning the seedling of 02 to 07 down to about 1/4 of what I had moving all the seedlings to one area moving all the guest to one area. That will give up some empty land and that will please me, as for me the bearded are my niche not so much the beardless and will give me more space for seedlings.

I really think they need a 14th step if all else has failed, make a new bed and get ready to order more....LOL

D

Lucy, "woops", Hadn't had my 3rd cup of coffee yet.

Jo Ann, That must be the only step I remembered.

So glad that I don't drink the stuff. Have to blame goofs on something else. Perhaps the scent of iris?

So, that's what's doing it. My one Corona a night. And all this time I thought it was the lime. Thanks Tom!!!!!

Polly, I used to do that too! One corona, with lime section, every night. I kept the boxes the bottles came in, and that's what I use to take iris and daylilies to shows. I would walk in with several of these boxes, and people looked at me like I was a lush.
Now i use wine boxes that I get from the liquor store dumpster, and I am sure to pick out ones that are expensive wines.
i stick the stems in 1 ltr plastic water bottles because the boxes get heavy. I steal those bottles from the recycle dumpster because I'm too cheap to buy bottled water.
And pretty much all I get at night now is decaf herbal tea that tastes like pondwater.

Can't drink alcohol anymore, Cindy? That would hurt. I've been a beer drinker all my life, one beer a night. At 62, I thought it hadn't hurt me.

But now with Toms info, I'm not so sure, LOL.

Oh I can drink alcohol--beer has too much wheat in it. The Kahlua and amaretto I love so much have too much sugar...so that narrows down the choices a bit. The sugar at night affects blood sugar, which for me is just a minor aggravation. The wheat triggers painful inflammation, and now that I know that, it's real easy to say no to anything with wheat. I bought a book that tells me what to eat, and what not to eat, and that's what I do. (Primal Blueprint)
This year I found out I'm capable of giving up about any vice. The hailstorm showed me I'm able to live without seeing my daylily blooms, and i haven't bought many of them this year. I decided to quit stopping at garage sales, and don't look at ebay or sudoku, and i used to think i had to do that.
I did buy 79 new plants yesterday, mostly 5 gallon shrubs. That wasn't rational, because the beds look better when they're not crowded, and it will hurt my back to dig 79 holes that deep. AND who knows when or if it will ever rain again! That was just my gotta have it plant addiction raring its head, telling me I had to replace everything that died this year or last. The smart voice that whispers that I ought to be spending my time and energy taking care of the survivors was just drowned out. The sneaky voice can rationalize about any plant purchase. It's crazy to keep buying roses when Rose Rosette Disease is making its way around the yard, or echinaceas, when I've lost most of them this year to Aster Yellows. The daylilies can't handle the heat, so I'm left with iris as my toughest, most reliable perennial. Then I go read that thread on scorch! yikes! So far, I'm not seeing it in my yard, but I do trade plants with my friends up in Hutchinson, and I don't use any sort of insecticide, so it's just a matter of time before I see that problem. We certainly have leafhoppers.
Here's a list of rationalizations:
Iris are ok to buy anytime, because they don't need special soil or chemicals.
Anything I buy from a friend is ok, because I'm helping out a friend. It's community service!
Anything from an iris society sale is ok, same reason. It takes a village..!
Anything traded is ok, because I didn't spend money.
New intros are ok, because people in the club or who tour the yard want to see newer ones.
Anything from last 10 years is ok, because garden judges will want to see them.
Anything that fits into a space where something else came out counts as neutral.
Anything I buy on a sale is ok because I can sell it in a few years and get my money back out of it.
If it has a family name, or a sentimental name, or a funny name, it's a go.
The more I buy, the more I can share with my mom, and she shares with my aunts, so I'm making lots of people happy by buying more.
So as you can tell, my enabler voice can be pretty convincing.

Great rationalizations

Cindi, I like how you think, you've helped add at least a half dozen new excuses I can use.
Others to use:
I had to buy that many to get the discount!
I know I could have waited until next year when the price goes down, but who knows at my age if I'll be alive that long.
I have to have some of the newer pretty ones to post on ATP
I don't drink or smoke, so I have to have some vice!
I lost so many in the drought, that I had to fill the empty spots.
My yard just wasn't balanced, I needed to add that extra bed to balance things out more.
I needed more of _______ color, to make a prettier picture.
I needed some later bloomers to extend the bloom time.
I'm sure there are some creative thinkers out there who can keep adding more!