William ~ Actually that picture of Cat's Eye was taken after I had cut quite a few for the house. I really was surprised at the robustness of this "little" bearded iris.

Loic Tasquiers BB 'Ikurriña'. This one has Thornbird in its blood, which I think is pretty obvious, just from the looks of it.


Augusto Bianco's 'Moicano' came as a bonus plant. I thought it was somewhat similar to others I have that I like better. It was actually discarded after bloom, because space is sadly limited, but it was fun trying it. Doesn't mean it was a bad plant.


A closer look of the mislabeled iris that probably is Midnight Run, according to the vendor. I'm keeping this one, but I am obviously not going to enter it into the DB.


Not a shot from last year, but I don't think I posted this portrait format of Mary Francis before, I apologize if I have. I don't know how everyone else does it, but I usually like to take both portrait and landscape shots of the same iris, but often only upload the landscape as it works best for the DB.

William ~ I think that Mary Frances is a classic iris that will never go out of style, in my garden anyway. She is always beautiful.

It took two years to bloom since I first acquired it in 2017.

I Love Mary Frances, but I fear I may have lost her. On the next warm day I will have to get out into the garden and try to find out for sure which ones I have lost.

Daisy ~ Let me know. If mine gets big enough this year, I will be happy to share with you.

Oh no Daisy. I'm so sorry to hear that you lost irises.
Let us hope the damage isn't as bad as you fear.

Evelyn, I will let you know. Thanks. If I do need her again, possibly there might be something on my "Have" list that I can send to you in return.

William, my iris casualties are actually very few, generally speaking. Our climate and soil tend to be good for them. I have learned to clear away the old foliage in order to keep borers from infesting them. I have also learned to clip off foliage excessively affected by "spot" after prolonged summer rains. And I limit fertilization to low-nitrogen fertilizers now.

My only complaint with my present situation is that our maple tree shades more of the garden with each passing year. The tree is now about 55 years old. I would like to take the tree out and replace it with a Natchez crape myrtle, but my husband has veto power as long as he is willing to rake the leaves in the fall. He likes the day-glo fluorescent red-orange foliage in the fall. I have to admit that it does make a lovely and idyllic canopy over our Pawleys Island hammock. But it means less and less sunny area in the garden every year.

Daisy ~ Maybe there could be a compromise available on the matter of the tree. Have it thinned, and "limbed up" a bit, so you could have more sunshine for your flowers in the garden, yet still retain the beauty of the tree.

I have thought about that, Evelyn, and then I always recall how the tree surgeons in our area turn the trees into lollipops. I always get distressed when I see it.

Daisy ~ It does not have to be pollarded, just thinned and limbed.

I wasn't really talking about pollarding. But the tree surgeons who work this area don't seem to know how to thin and limb property. So, though the trees aren't pollarded, But hey do end up with limbs terminated in the middle of a large branch so that multiple suckers then grow out of each of the blunt ends. It's really sorry looking. The last time that I had to have limbs trimmed in order to slightly decrease the tree's down- hanging radius, I had to get up on a ladder and mark with white paint where each limb had to come off. It helped, and the tree still looks natural, instead of butchered.

Sorry for all the typos from my glitchy touch screen. It's:
properly, not property, and
they, not hey,

Daisy ~ Not to worry...

A few yellow irises...

The common bicolor form of Iris bucharica is known to be very easy to grow and that is why I got mine.
Although it goes completely dormant, it can take irrigation during summer here, if it is necessary for its companion plants.

After the reticulated irises, this is the first one to bloom in my garden, so it is very welcome!


First photo from 2017, grown in full sun as one supposedly should, at least here in cold Sweden.


Second photo is from last year, the spring after replanting so the bloom is not yet optimal.

What is interesting is that I planted them in a semi shade location. This is a bit of an experiment. As far as I know, this is not recommended, at least not in my colder climate.
There is also some fairly serious tree root competition, so it is a tough spot in more ways than one.

The advantage is that they should bloom longer in shade. For me personally, I have a lot of locations like this, far more than open areas with full sun.
In these more shaded areas the dying foliage won't be so visible either, so that is a plus too.... if it works..

Secret Rites has had a bit of an ongoing rot problem in my garden and it has never been a good grower for me. Perhaps a climate thing, as I know some have very good success with it.
2018 I rescued a piece and put it in a pot, overwintering it in the greenhouse. Now it is in a new sand bed in the garden.
I like it for its odd color, but If it doesn't improve, I don't think I will give it any more chances as I have grown it since 2015...




... Yeah, I hope to scare it into submission.

I notice that Valeria has posted some new lovely iris photos to the database! @Valery33

She has posted a lot of beautiful irises.

It was a winter wonderland kinda snow storm this morning
so here's one of my favorites that I just found

Dirt, that is a lovely photo of 'Get Back'. I really like the the smooth background and the light, they both help to bring out the best in that lovely iris.
Even with all the snow I'm sure you will 'Get Back' to spring weather sooner or later.

Did you all see the new iris pictures entered into the database by Valeria?

@Valery33

Valeria ~ So many beauties! Are all of those from your garden? Or do you have a commercial iris farm?

evelyninthegarden said:Dig you all see the new iris pictures entered into the database by Valeria?

@Valery33

Valeria ~ So many beauties! Are all of those from your garden? Or do you have a commercial iris farm?

Hello!
Thank you very much for your support and kind words!
Our 0.30 acres can be called a small iris farm with a big stretch. This is just a camp. About 400 varieties of iris are planted on the ground. Every year the collection is updated. It's very hard to say goodbye to old grades. To put new ones in their place. Probably everyone who loves flowers is faced with such a problem as lack of space. We sell a little irises and with this money we buy new varieties. In May, it takes a lot of time to photograph. It is necessary to run after the sun and catch the light. In winter I do exercises so that my back could stand in the spring!