What's Blooming? 4.23.16

Lilac "Bloomerang" 4.23.16

Iris "Florentina".  4.23.16

Iris, either Mme Chereau or Swertii.  Bought as Mme Chereau.  Amazing fragrance.

Mountain Ash.  4.23.16

Viburnum "sterile".  4.23.16

Heritage Iris Bed. 5.6.14

Heritage irises in bloom.  5.6.14

 More of the heritage irises are blooming.  Iris florentina and Her Majesty continue to bloom and continue to be fragrant.  Indian Chief is blooming and is lightly fragrant.  Iris pallida dalmatica is the tallest and most fragrant so far.

Maybe with warmer drier weather the bacterial rot problem will resolve.  I hope so.  No additional compost or other stimulants.

I thought the Caen Anemones were all eaten by rabbits or deer.  A few are blooming after all.  They survived the big freeze, but the animals are another matter.  Maybe they will continue to survive.

Irises. 5.3.14

Iris Beds #2 and #3.  5.3.14

 Now we are past some 80 degree weather.  I am hoping the bearded iris beds have taken their damage and the present iris clusters will recover.  The leaf fans appear firm and new leaves are growing.  I lost a few completely, as far as I can tell:  Gingersnap, Frost and Flame, and Deity.

This seems to be the blue / white  / purple stage.  Given the bacterial rot damage to leaf fans, I'm glad I grew bulbs in the iris beds.  The alliums and camassias look nice, with colors that complement the current iris flowers.

Iris florentina.  5/3/14

Iris "Red Zinger".  5.3.14

 Cherry Garden is tiny and the flowers are not rain durable.  I have 4 clusters.  I think I will narrow them down to 1 cluster.  They were not damaged by bacterial rot.

The Iris florentina is quite elegant and has a beautiful fragrance.

The Iris pallida dalmatica was not at all affected by bacterial rot.  It is quite tall, and also beautiful fragrance.

The Iris pallida variegata was also not at all affected by bacterial rot.  Not blooming yet.  Much smaller than the nonvariegated version.

Red Zinger is striking, but small.  This would be a good selection for elevated setting or elevated container.  Fragrance is amazing.  I am not good at describing fragrances, but it is truly elegant.  Just hard to get to, because the plant is miniature.  Red Zinger was from a dried out rhizome I thought was dead, from sale rack, planted winter 2012/2013.  Last year it did not bloom but spread nicely.  Disease resistance seems fairly good.

Iris germanica looks more true to a wildflower heritage.  The fragrance is pleasant.  Disease resistance seems fairly good.

More to bloom soon.

Iris germanica.  5.3.14

Iris dalmatica.  5.3.14

Irises

Iris and herb bed

Lorelei

Iris germanica

NOID from Tennessee

Los Coyotes

The iris and herb bed.  Most of the newest heritage irises are yet to bloom.  They do have buds.  I think they are later blooming, and smaller, because they were planted this Spring.  Next year they should be a bit bigger.  It's nice to see them blooming the first Spring.

Loreley heritage iris.  1909.  Sweet fragrance.  The flower itself is floppy.  The color pattern on each petal is different.  This was from Iris City Gardens.  Planted last summer.

Iris germanica.  This was planted this spring.  1500.  From Old House Gardens, planted this spring.  Fragrant.

NOID from Iris City Gardens.  Date unknown.  Not fragrant.

I plan to start a second raised bed for heritage irises and favorite ones, especially scented, and herbs.  Then these in mixed beds and the kitchen garden will have a better spot.

Los Coyotes.  Not a heritage variety.  I like the form and colors.  Like many modern irises, it flopped over in the rain.  No fragrance.  I do like the flower but not the flopping.  Haven't decided if it will be in the iris bed or I might give it to Ning for his iris border.

Iris florentina.   1500.   Nice scent.    Smaller than I expected, but it was planted this spring.  Maybe next year it will be larger.  from Old House Gardens.

Iris Florentina