Hollywood Plums

A good crop of tree ripened plums - enough to share with friends and coworkers, who loved them. Grocery store plums are hard and sour. The tree-ripened plums are tender, juicy, sweet, and so flavorful!

Iris Seeds / New Hybrids

Here is the result of my hybridizing effort from this Spring. This pod is on the variety Spiced Custard, the pollen parent is Immortality. I think. Seed pod on plant. This is an Iris Pod, not and I-Pod.  They would be cool in a bowl of pine cones and seed heads, or as part of a dried arrangement. A little closer. Cut, envelope labeled Seeds shelled out. They are so loose, they just fall out.

Heritage Iris Order

These are heritage Irises from Green Thumbs Galore in Chattanooga Tennessee. The variety pics are from their website - should be OK since I provide a link. I went Bonkers with irises this year. Not clear on where they will all be planted. These went into containers, for now. New Irises are flashy, with bright, diverse colors and patterns, big flowers, and ruffles. Some are not great in the rain, becoming malformed globs of petals, and stalks that fall over. Fragrance has not been retained in hybridization, except for a few. Heritage irises have simpler form, fewer more muted colors, and smaller flowers. This is a generalization that is not be 100% true. They are more likely to be Fragrant, I think. I hope the smaller simpler flowers and stems will hold up in the rain. I consider this my "test garden". I plan to give away the ones I don't like. That may be a few years down the road. It's not so Darwinian with Irises. They don't die off, even with neglect. They may quit blooming, but so far I haven't had one variety die off. Some - just a couple - did not grow at the outset - all dried out rhizomes from big box stores, planted in late fall. One might have grown but was in a bad spot and hasn't bloomed yet in 3 years. I moved it, we'll see if that's the one, when it blooms. The rhizomes arrived nicely packaged. They appear freshly dug, with no drying of leaf tips. The packaging was slightly moist but no mold or mildew. I get the feeling they were dug up for my order - nice thought. There were fewer roots and more top than some other orders - I don't think that's a problem, just a difference. Transplanting them from the humid summer of TN to the dry summer of WA, and the differences in soil and winter climate, they may have a bit of a shock. No place set aside for them yet. Irises have limited root systems, so I planted in containers. As long as I keep them watered they should be OK. I can moved them into a sheltered spot this winter, if needed. If I get a location cleared and prepared, I'll move them into the ground. I'm curious about how they will do in containers, anyway. The largest really should go into the ground. Loreley. Heritage Iris Preservation Society (HIPS) lists Loreley as developed in 1909. It appears to be a much smaller variety. Hybridized by "Goos & Koenemann" Unknown Variety, "NoID" listed as "purple with silver beard, bitone". Unknown Variety, "NoID" listed as "Lilac". Helen Collingwood. Heritage Iris Preservation Society (HIPS) has better pics. They list Helen as developed in 1949. It's big (40 inches) which is opposite of what I said about old varieties. Also very vigorous. No comment there about fragrence.

Baby Plum Tree

This looks to me like a plum seedling. I planted seeds in this pot in June. No expectations as to germination. These were not pits that I removed seeds from - separate batch - an the seeds were mailed to me from a friend in Georgia. They are a wild, native yellow plum. I'm surprised it did not need stratification, and I don't know how to manage it through the winter, but shouldn't be too difficult. That's assuming it's really a plum and not a weed. Does look plum-like.

Little Orchard revisited

Now I'm thinking about adding another row. There is room. That would be 5 more fruit trees. Which types? Maybe... - Asian Persimmon? I can't get the idea of astringent American varieties out of my mind, even though, apparently, when fully ripe they are very sweet and not astringent. I need to research a bot more. I don't want one that needs a pollinator. Maybe Early Jiro? Pretty fruits, pic from One Green World. Black Sea Jujube. All of these pics are from One Green World. Li Jujube. Chinese Haw That leaves room for one mulberry, probably the same as I have at home, Illinois Everbearing. I love the flavor and the "everbearing" aspect is attractive. So far my home tree has minimal production but is only in its 3rd year.