Out of Africa with Iris unguicularis

Several years ago I made a conscious effort to add more perennials that would bloom at times of the year when few other plants were blooming. I added gallardia, cestrum and cuphea to cover the hot gap from late June until fall. For winter I already had color from camellias, hellebores and my edgeworthia, but I wanted more, especially since winter is my least favorite season. Anything I can get to bloom then delights me.

Iris unguicularis (commonly known as Algerian iris) is native to North Africa, Greece and parts of the Middle East. I planted mine two falls ago, and last winter I think it bloomed once or twice. This year it  first opened in November, had a couple of blossoms in December and has now bloomed twice in January. I have read that it is a opportunistic bloomer waiting for warmer spells of weather during the winter months and should continue until March. The buds are apparently freeze-proof, but the open flowers are not. They are typically shades of blue, but white and pink cultivars exist as well. The strap-like evergreen foliage reaches 12-15" tall, and the flowers tend to open a little below that. They are sweetly fragrant, but aging knees make you think twice about getting down to enjoy the aroma. This iris prefers full to part sun, lean soil with smart drainage, likes dry summer weather and is hardy from in zones 7-9. These conditions are not a problem for me.

The Second Day of Winter

Today was a gorgeous day here in Tidewater, and it was the first one where I felt somewhat normal after catching some sort of crud last week.  I took the opportunity ride my bike downtown and enjoy the sparkling sunshine and warm temperatures. While I was there I rode by Waterside, which is one of those Rouse Company "Festival Marketplaces" that were built back in the 70's and 80's in downtrodden downtowns all across the country in the hopes they would resuscitate urban life.  High expectations indeed for what were basically shopping malls with expanded food courts. These days Norfolk city life is encouragingly vibrant, with or without Waterside, and the future of this place is in debate at City Hall right now. Anyway, today I found it surrounded by a surprising number of blooms, including German bearded iris, lantana, Knock Out roses, winter jasmine and still colorful Setcreasea pallida. We have had such mild weather here this month, especially compared to how it was last year when things were flash frozen. This year things mellowed nicely.

I took these pictures at work yesterday of a remarkably large flowered, very late blooming Camellia sasanqua.  So late, that we rarely see it bloom, as really cold weather has normally already occurred before the buds are ready to open. So perhaps this variety would be better suited someplace warmer, but we do get to enjoy it when conditions are just right.  Unfortunately the name of this Camellia has been lost to poor record keeping. Even when it was labeled it was just listed as a seedling number.

About the time I was ready to head home the wind picked up considerably and shifted to the north making my ride home much colder and very difficult, but at least the sun was still shinning.   I hope all of you have happy and safe holidays, with good weather and minimal drama.

Morning Light

I have always been a morning person.  My parents tell a story from my childhood of the two of them being woken up not so bright, yet very early to the sounds of me on my rocking horse (one of those with the loud creaky metal springs).  Even now I usually stir before first light, but I like getting up to have the house to myself, enjoy a cup of coffee or take the dogs for a walk.  During the spring, these early hours are often the only time I can get in my own garden before heading off to help others with theirs.  Earlier this week the skies were clear, and as the sun rose out of the nearby Atlantic it created some amazing backlight, turning petal and leaf into pieces of glass.

Shortly after moving into our house, I removed the majority of what was previously planted.  One area that has remained relatively untouched was a bank of Azaleas that includes one of my favorites, George Tabor (Rhododendron x 'George Tabor').

Another morning stunner is my $5 Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum).  I once worked for a competitor of Lowes and Home Depot that did not survive a three-way battle for the home improvement market.  The people I worked for were complete idiots when it came to knowing how to care for and sell plants.  My boss at the time told be to put all the Japanese Maples in the dumpster since they were losing their leaves and we needed room for Christmas trees.  I asked if I could have a few before I dumped them, but he could not give them to me outright, so I bought 3 for $5.

My first rose of the season (not counting the Lady Banks) opened this week.  This is the shrub rose Caramba.

Perhaps the showiest flowers in my garden, are the Bearded Iris, and they began opening this week as well.  The first one pictured was a pass-along plant given to me by a good friend, and it has travelled with us from a previous home, and I have also passed it along to other friends.  I do not know the name, but it is very tall, vigorous and has a nice fragrance.

This little dwarf's colors always remind me of breakfast.

This dark purple Iris is a re-bloomer, and like most re-bloomers, I have found that they set their own schedules.

I'd like to tell fellow gardeners that the combination below was a deliberate attempt to apply Pamela Harper's practice of creating color echoes, but in reality it is a more like a happy accident between Iris and Royal Purple Smoketree (Continus coggygria 'Royal Purple'), but I've done nothing to discourage their relationship.

This is the same Iris in close-up so you can see the sun lighting it like a church window on Sunday morning.  The Greek goddess Iris is most often associated with rainbows in mythology, but she also delivered messages between the gods and from the gods to us mortals, and right now I am all ears. 

The picture above is my entry in Gardening Gone Wild's, Picture This Contest for April 2011. I was once told not to shoot in the direction of the sun, but I like what can happen when you do.  Sometimes you get great backlighting, sometimes you get unusual color flares, and as in this case you get rays from above, maybe all the way from Mount Olympus.

Not My-ris

Finally after weeks of no rain, it poured tonight, and I was glad to see it. Thankfully it was not accompanied with tornadoes or floods, although Loretta could have done without the thunder and lightening. It was getting desperate around here, especially for May. This afternoon I passed a highway crew cutting grass along the roadside, and it looked as if they were harvesting autumn wheat; there were few blades of green. Saturday night we had a bizarre storm on the west side of the city. The wind was strong and the sky was filled with this amber colored dust that looked like smoke, making you think you were in a Riyadh sandstorm or some kind of brown fog. Unfortunately I was caught without camera, but did see a woman photographing the weird color and glowing light from the railroad tracks. As quickly as it arose it was gone.

The past weeks at work have mostly been about keeping everything watered, along with helping customers and all the other spring tasks that need to be done. We have a few things we do not need to worry about as they keep their feet wet on the banks of a stream that forms part of our irrigation system. Several years ago we planted Pickerel Weed, Horse Tail and Louisiana Iris as part of an effort to make the stream look more natural. The plants have more than thrived, especially the Horse Tail and the Iris. Right now the Iris are in full bloom, and I make a point of going by there several times a day. Even though I tried to look them up, their names are lost to us and I could not make a positive ID. Does anyone have a clue?

My-ris

This spring has been a spectacular one for Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) in my garden. I don't know if the prolonged cold we had this winter has anything to do with the number of blooms, or not, but I'll accept the increased numbers as partial compensation. These flowers have long been a favorite of mine, undemanding, except when in bloom, when they are very demanding of my attention.

If you want to know which cultivars these are, I am sorry but I dont know and am not sure I ever did. You have my permission to make up your own names.

More?

An Embarassment of Riches

After several days of above average temperatures, things in the garden are coming into their own at a fast pace. Unfortunately, my daily norm is to leave in a morning rush trying to get someone to school and myself to work on time and to arrive home late in the evening with little time to enjoy the garden. Its a shame, because there is a lot to enjoy right now.

I thought I was through with Narcissus, but this one popped up after all the others had faded.
Some of the few plants left from a previous owner are Azaleas (Rhododendron x), and since these are my favorite trio of 'Mrs. G.G. Gerbing', 'George L. Taber' and 'Formosa' - they were kept. These are all Southern Indica hybrids and they tend to have huge blossoms that remind me of orchids. I remember how large these grew down in Charleston, often hiding old garden sheds and abandoned cars under their blooms. Unfortunately they do not get nearly so big here.

How about a parade of Iris?

An unknown Allium, also planted by a previous owner.

The few Roses I have are starting to bloom. I planted Zephirin Drouhin (Rosa x 'Zephirine Drouhin') because of its shade tolerance, but I have since come to dislike its color and its general lack of vigor, but it smells nice and my wife likes it, so it stays.

The bright orange-red blossoms are from the Caramba Rose (Rosa x 'Tanabamar').

This is a David Austin introduction, Pat Austin (Rosa x ' AUSmum'), which I like with the variegated Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia) foliage.

This Maynight Salvia (Salvia x 'Mainacht') was just put in this week and was a free sample from one of the companies I buy plants from. I like purple, especially when it is mixed with yellow or chartreuse foliage like the Sunrise Abelia (Abelia x 'Sunrise') behind the Salvia.
Here is another purple and chartreuse combo, Sweet Kate Spiderwort (Tradescantia x andersoniana 'Sweet Kate').

This path cuts through my side garden where many of my Hydrangeas are budding, and given this weather pattern we're in they could be blooming sooner than normal.

I hope some of this abundance will still be here for Bloom Day (and for when I have more time to enjoy it).