Thanks for the concern, everyone. I think I'll live! My hand is bruised, and one shoulder is achey.
But with the help of some painkillers, I managed to get the last of the PNW order in the ground!

I realized today that there is an analogy to my iris lust - it's my eyes are bigger than my stomach !
Meaning that it has dawned on me that I may want more irises, but the taking care of them
is concerning me. I have so much weeding to do! And I can't afford a gardener. Hubs is back at his part-time job teaching art to the elementary school students. So, falling has decisively brought down the curtain on my
iris-acquisitive nature. No more this year. Absolutely. But I sure am looking forward to spring!!

Jan -- a lot of us are in that (ahem) category. Back problems this summer have made me aware of my limitations. Like it or not, there comes a time when you have to pull in your horns a little bit. Things may be different next summer, or may not. One thing's for sure -- it's not gonna get any easier to do the digging and planting and weeding. One thing that can help you quite a bit is Preen -- do you use it? It can save you a LOT of weeding!!

You're sure not the only one looking forward to spring!!

Beautiful beds, Vi.. I used to volunteer at Filoli (a National Trust estate), where they still do that, but it's much more subdued than the colorful annual displays that I've seen in other places.

A couple of weeks ago I had an ugly and icy in the winter tar walkway ripped out. Today I unclumped about 50 Sibs and planted 150 blue and yellow iris rhizomes from a neighbor. It was drizzling all day. Pics will happen when the sun is shining.

Finished all the new little beds for all the new additions...




Put a few around the base of each of the little fruit trees.



Filed in some areas of "Tiller Mishap" at the ends of some existing rows



Also filled in some empty spaces in the most recent row in the big garden.



I have to find some edging for the trees and then they will be finished.

How can you plant irises in Maine now & expect them to survive? I would not try it here. We have not planted our iris seed yet as they would be apt to germinate early. Some did that one year & we popped them in the lean-to green house which we no longer have.

They are on the southern slope of a "heat sink". They will be fine. This is Southern Coastal Maine in a downtown full of buildings and heat holding hard top. Besides, they have the same roots they had when they came out of the neighbor's yard.

They were a surprise box. Dunno what else I could have done....potted 150 cellar iris?

Quote me next Spring if I don't have any yellow and blue irises on the southern slope.

What part of November do you plant the seeds? How much dirt goes over them? I have a cup of Blue Moon Siberian seeds and then some lilies, daylilies and other perennial seeds.

Lookin' good, Pam !

You are going to have some nice color come spring Pam, Can't wait to see pics of all of them in bloom.

We usually plant them in the '20s' in Oct. Since they can be 'made' crosses, we plant them in the little flats from garden center or pots if just a few in a pod. Slightly under the dirt as far as depth. We then put them in a trench & cover with a screen to keep out animals. I don't know how to do the non iris seeds. We do have hot & cold running chipmunks.

"...hot and cold running chipmunks."

Love the irises under the fruit trees Pam! Can't wait to see photos of that hillside in bloom again!

Hot and cold running chipmunks, how cute.

We're getting a lot more black ones. They get the acorns off the oak tree, and don't bother much else, but they are odd looking little guys.

I think the black phase turns up in isolated areas. I can remember posting about them in western Canada.

The little Bedford lilacs are looking good!

It was very warm and sunny yesterday. Here are pics of the October 4th bed, some trimmed rhizomes - "The Porch NoIDs", trimmed and planted last July and Mary Ann's "Clarence".

Sibs in the front. Yellow and blue bi-color TBI behind.


The only bloom from this Sib clump last Spring.


Mary Ann's "Clarence" rhizomes.


NoIDs from in front of the porch.

Yay!! Look at 'em go!!!