52° here I hate it when the soil feels cold.

It was 37 when I got up at 5:30, suns out now, and pretty nice day !


This is the bed I dug, and reset this year...it's got 40-45 "new to me" iris, as well as what was there before



This is where I "slipped" while running the tiller !



Another "slip"



an 8'X40' bed, new this year, also.....one half (or so !) is for "Indians", the other for re bloomers.



this bed is a "secret', so don't tell ! It's not a "permanent' bed (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it ! ) It's for "propagation", and there are multiples of the same cultivar, planted way too close for "permanent occupation"
And ,of course, all the other beds had areas that were 'filled in", so there were no "blank spots' left when either an iris was removed, or died.

You have some really nice new beds, Arlyn, and that permanent, temporary bed is looking good too! These will make some nice bed shots next spring! Can't wait to see them.

Those look great, Arlyn.

Thanks ! I didn't take any pics of the "bed extensions", as they are both very small...one is 8'X8', and the others total to 3'X8'....you hardly know they are there

Now Arlyn -- that's about the size of ALL of my beds -- 3' x 8'.

Well,you shamed me into it !

So, how many do you cram into a 3x8 space?

1 section is 3'X3', and has 5 plants, the other is 3'X5', and has 8

Nice little extentions Arlyn. If you put one of them on every bed, then you wouldn't have to admit to any new beds!

Actually, I have a similar plan, Tom ! There are four beds at "the home place", and four at the "new"place . They are all 8' wide and vary from 16', to 56' in length. They are separated, at the end ,by an 8' grass "walk way".......if one was to remove the landscape timbers from the end of each bed....and use them to connect the beds......I could say" I only have 2 iris beds", and with hold the fact that one was 104 feet long, and the other,160 !

Subterfuge. I love it!!!

OK -- I took a couple of pictures today.

First picture is a renovated section of Iris Lane:


Second is a picture of the next section -- in progress:


These sections are 16 feet long, and this is a picture of the condition of them before renovations:


Progress is slow, but it's progress. I still haven't found anyone to help me with the edging project for the backside of Iris Lane. It looks more and more like I'm gonna have to do it myself -- which means it'll be a reeeeeeeeeely long project.

This picture is of sections 4, 5 and 6 of the fencebed, which I recently re-did: Removed Irises, added soil to raise the bed, replanted Irises adding a third row, front to back.


OK -- so there's my pictures!!

Great!

Wow, you have all been busy! Tom, Debra, Arlyn, and Mary Ann your beds look great!! Sherry your pots look good too.

I'm currently traveling, in San Marcos just inland from Carlsbad beach (north of San Diego). I still have 26 iris coming in from the PNW sale plus a couple trades (from Rob) so I'll post photos when I get them all. My 'beds' will look like Sherry's, they have to live in pots a little while longer. I'm making some progress against the bermuda grass...but it's slow. I'm a very tenacious (aka stubborn) woman...and I'll keep at it! Hi my name is Marilyn and I'm an iris abuser....

Mary Ann, and you did all that with a painful back? You are amazing.

Marilyn (and Sherry), Iris can live quite happily in pots, especially in your climate, so I would not call it abuse.

You're making lots of progress there Mary Ann, it looks great now, but wait until next spring.

Yeah, but Deb -- that would ordinarily be maybe a week's worth of work. Instead it's taken me all summer long to do that much -- which is a bummer. And if you notice, in the last picture, there is massive weed invasion in my riding arena -- which is supposed to be weed-free. So I've been a slacker in that area too.

Thanks Tom -- I'm looking forward to next spring, that's for sure!!

Well, MaryAnn, it looks pretty good to me! And I'm fussy ! Just keep 'doing", and don't "over-do"............Arlyn

What would it all look like if you hadn't done the slow-and-steady at all? And how unhappy would you be at the end?

It's a labor of love for sure!