Oh surely not, Bonnie!!!!!

Keep those lists growing! Just remember that lawn is over rated, and ask your self, Do you really need that much space taken up with a drive way?

Tom, it's a vicious cycle- more beds for more Irises, which I of course can't have only Irises there, so the "need" arises for more bulbs, roses, peonies.....Who knew flowers could drive a person over the edge? What a fun ride though, LOL

I agree, Neal. I just planted a lot of the dwarf iris bulbs and some hardy cyclamen. I find myself walking about looking for a spot that does not have another bulb in it already. I have raised the elevation of my entire yard, with the exception of the driveway, just by planting in it and I see so much more that I really NEED! lol

I hear that Neal, and Bonnie, I see places I can make another bed, and I wonder how I'm going to care for all of it. Then I see the new creations coming down the pike, and I just have to have them. So I throw caution to the wind and just get it. I do need to take some serious culling efforts soon though.

As I grow older I have considered the care that my garden takes of my energy and physical abilities to do so. I think when the time comes that I realize it would be unwise for me to add another bed I will look at culling or even shrinking clumps and being more selective in buying/adding new ones. I have tended my garden, on a hill I might add, with a broken foot one summer and a broken knee cap another. I have carried my garden hose while hobbling on crutches to keep everything alive in a drought. However, I knew that this effort was temporary. If I thought that I would have to continue to struggle I would have definitely made changes. And....... I just may decide that housework is not all that productive and concentrate all of my energy outdoors. LOL But for right now, I am planning on adding another bed for next spring. It will be ready for next years acquisitions. And.... I will PLANT BULBS. They are beautiful and they mostly take care of themselves. smiles

I'm happy for you Bonnie that at least for now you can enjoy the process of adding a new bed and choosing new irises to plant. Time is a serious taskmaster and eventually we all have to slow down...it seems sad to see people having to let go of the things they have loved for so long...but life continues to flow on and to teach us new lessons, even ones we resist! :lol:! I hope you enjoy the process next spring and share some photos as you go along!

Sometimes we just learn new ways to perform old tasks. Might not get as much done, or as fast, but there is still satisfaction in the doing.

I found another picture of a Spoon iris

This is Raspberry Silk, It's a BB iris.

Well, here's a pic of my last Spoon iris. This is Leading Light. I don't think there's much interest in this tread. Guess you don't have many of his creations.

I don't think that the Spoons are as prolific hybridizers as Keppel, Ghio and Blyth.

Leading Light is a "Shoop" creation and not a Spoon creation.

"George Shoop by Keith Keppel" 1999

But there are Spoon irises that I want! Orchid Dove, for instance.

I have not listed my wishlist for Spoon irises because I have been working on my list. Many of the irises are listed by name only, and I'm having to look up the hybridizer and other information. I'm only on the letter E and there are a 620 on this list (plus a side list of another 29! ) so I may have quite a few more Spoon irises on the final list. Then when I get all the information I can prioritize and trim it down. I have all winter...but then AGAIN...I have not seen any of the new introductions!

Anyway here is what's on the list so far for Spoon irises:

Dazzle Baby Sdb


Eye Lines Sdb


Freda's Gift


Karen Jones Sdb


Monet's Sky


Red Bunny Sdb


Rosalie Loving Sdb


Sky And Sun


Spiderlady Sdb


Uncle Charlie


Winterberry


Zee

Nice bunch Marilyn! Woops, I guess I have even less Spoons then I thought!

While checking out the Spoon hybrids in the data base, I've come across several I'm interested in. And thanks Debra for the tutorial on how to copy images from the data base!

Those I'm drawn to are:
Ahdee Dahdee

Alabanza

Allegheney Rose

Astounded

Carrie Winter

Carter Spring

Chiffon Gown *Love this one!

Exuberance *

Father Christmas

Ice Adams

Linda Laing

Little John

Love Goes On

My Ginny

Pink Collage

Signal Red

Spun Candy *

Yes, I'm a freak for pink, LOL.

Yes...there are a lot of pinks in there...and some beautiful ones at that. I'm trying to pare my list down bur it seems for everyone I eliminate I add two!!! I'll have to look at these again when I have more time...but I'm especially liking Linda Liang, Allegheny Rose, Chiffon Gown, and Little Gown.

I'm really glad I'm a general flower freak rather than just an iris freak, because there are so many older (cheaper) ones that I'll never have to worry about finding new ones! LOL