Stunning pictures everyone! Sherry I especially like the shot of the pink rose & lamb's ear with irises in background. Robin, gorgeous! Keep these beauties coming- this is such a good thread & topic! Thanks everyone!

Sherry's gardens are magical. Just that.

Robin -- I love the symmetry of the front of your house. That walkway is just beautiful.

Sherry, is it the bright pink one in the back or the round one on the left(Jewel of Desert Topaz)? I love them both. The pink one spreads out and JoDT stays nice and compact.

Everyone's gardens are gorgeous!

I so enjoy mixing and matching with others when it come to irises ! What goes with ? I'd say

Roses ? yes yes yes (even at a distance, like the second picture)


Delicates, like...Love in a mist


California poppies


Forget-me-nots


Dusty miller (or snow in summer, to some)


Or more stately, lupins


Growing greens of thalictrum and aquilegia


And winter savory blooms right in time to show off the stems coming up


Even a bit of bamboo is nice

Lovely pictures.

Beautiful garden!

Sherry! Your gardens are so wonderful!
Loving everyone's photos!

Thank you everyone for such beautiful pictures!

I have a small yard, lots of it in deep shade, so the iris are confined to a small area with few other types of plants.

Great photos Mary and Lyn

[quote="Zencat"]Sherry, is it the bright pink one in the back or the round one on the left(Jewel of Desert Topaz)? I love them both. The pink one spreads out and JoDT stays nice and compact.

Yes, it's one of the Jewel of Desert series.. I got two different ones.. They're longer blooming than the ones I had 40 years ago (40 years!?!).. Back then I had a collection of succulents.. but the ice plants were pretty generic... small leaves in a few colors, or big freeway iceplants..

Thanks everyone for posting! Lupines, I have never grown them. Are they a bulb form? It looks lovely together.

bluegrassmom said:Thanks everyone for posting! Lupines, I have never grown them. Are they a bulb form? It looks lovely together.

No they're grown from seed - or from cuttings if you want the colors to stay true to their origins. They have a taproot - so they can only be moved when they're still seedlings. They self-seed now and again when the conditions are good. They have beautiful leaves that hold on to rain drops, right in the middle.


They put on a great show in spring and early summer and come back a bit in September if you cut them back.
The fun of them is that they pop up - put on a big show, then get out of the way for summer bloomers that come along later, much like irises do. They get huge after 2-3 years, but they're short-lived and usually die off after 4-5 years.

Love your iris beds, Lyn!

Lovely garden, Mary! Interesting that I have most of the plants you have with your irises, but only a few of them flower at the same time as my irises here in Denmark. Wonder why?

May I ask what the name of that beautiful purple rose in the second picture is?

Yes, Lilli, it's 'Reine des Violettes' (Millet-Mallet) France, 1860. Its color varies with the weather - sometimes very purple, sometimes more pink in it. (It's a slight rebloomer). I have it growing between 2 'Graham Thomas'

Mary! I love purple roses, even if many of them can be a bit on the pink side! Always happy to add one to my want list!

mbotanas said:Yes, Lilli, it's 'Reine des Violettes' (Millet-Mallet) France, 1860. Its color varies with the weather - sometimes very purple, sometimes more pink in it. (It's a slight rebloomer). I have it growing between 2 'Graham Thomas'

What a beautiful magenta shade!

I'd bet that Reine de Violettes smells wonderful.

Lovely gardens!

Mary I have a few fig varieties that originate from your area like rouge de bordeaux, ronde de bordeaux, and violette de bordeaux. I would love to visit Bordeaux France and see all the fruits and flowers and maybe stop by Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux while I'm there. I have some friends that live in Marseille but never meet anyone from Bordeaux. Have you lived there your whole life?
PS I noticed your fig tree i the photo with the dusty miller