Sarracenias. 5.11.19

The Sarracenias are coming to life.  The yellw flower is on "Extreme Green".  5.11.19

Iris of the Day: Victoria Falls. And Others. 5.10.19

Victoria Falls.  5.10.19

Moving into more active iris blooming season. I'm impressed that so many that I planted last summer and fall are coming into their first bloom.  True, only one flower per rhizome (Except the ugly "My Friend Jonathan" which has two flower stalks), but it gives me a chance to see how they look.  They may also be smaller than they will be when established.

Today's most interesting is the modern "Victoria Falls", a fragrant, pale blue, rebloomer.  The color is nice.  In the sunlight, there appears to be a dusting of diamond dust on the petals, that glitters in the sun.  Very nice effect, which I have not seen before.

Of others, "Blutique" is not open yet, but the white spatters on blue show through the bud.

"His Royal Highness", the other half of the package that contained "My Friend Jonathan', is OK.  Strong looking growth, dark blue, slight fragrance.  Nothing that makes it stand out from other blue irises, but not bad.  Also marketed as a rebloomer.  I was thinking, maybe "My Friend Jonathan" might be more interesting if it actually reblooms in summer, when the light and other other flowers are different.

Blutique.  5.10.19

I recall "Spiced Custard" as being a larger flower.  It may be that my rescuing it from the edge of the woodlot, it didn't have time to build energy for a better performance.  I don't detect any fragrance.

And finally, a white iris with a golden beard.  This resulted from my pollinating "Spiced Custard" with pollen from "Immortality", many years ago.  I grew a number of seedlings, but this was the only one I kept.  It looks as good as any, with a golden beard instead of the white one of  "Immortality".  Mildly fragrant, smells like an iris.  So for my own record keeping, it's "Golden Caterpillar", short for "Golden Caterpillar Ascends The Snow Covered Mountains to Visit the Temple".  :-)

His Royal Highness.  5/10/19

Spiced Custard.  5.10//19

My Hybrid, "Golden Caterpillar".  5.11.19

Iris of the Day: Repeat Performance. 5.9.19

Tall Bearded Iris "Repeat Performer"  5.9.19

I planted "Repeat Performance" late last summer / early fall. Due to the timing, I didn't expect a bloom, but here it is. Very large, lush looking flower. Nice fragrance.  We'll see how it does as the clump establishes.  The name emphasizes that this is a repeat blooming variety, so we'll see if it does that, too.

The photo below shows the largest group of clumps that survived and bloomed in the woodlot border.   Very nice, I think.

Back to front, Iris flavescens, Alcazar, and Lorelei.  5.9.19

I

Laburnum in Bloom. Kitchen Garden Today, 5.8.19

Laburnum at 7 years.  5.8,19

I planted this laburnum as a sale tree from Home Depot, in summer 2012.

For some reason, it's never had the long trailing flower clusters of others that I have seen.  Still, it's a nice tree, with nice flowers, and has stayed a moderate size.  This tree now males it through the summers with no watering and receives almost no care.

In the kitchen garden today, I planted the rest of the sauce tomatoes (Ranger).  A dozen plants is plenty for me.  Getting them into the ground, they are less apt to dry out in their little containers.

Iris of the Day. Indian Chif. And Some Others. 5.8.19

Iris " Indian Chief".  5.7.19

Iris Alcazar.  5.8.19

Another iris in the woodlot border opened its flower.  This time, it's "Indian Chief".

"Indian Chief" was released to the public, some time in the 1920s.  In the years that followed, the country would need something bright and beautiful, that  could multiply and be given to others.

It's not a large clump.  I may move it out of te border and into the bearded iris bed, where it can have better care.

I did not appreciate a fragrance but need to check again.

Below, the clump of Alcazar shows off its vigor and pride.  The clump of Iris flavescens to the right, has just begun to bloom.

I weeded here, after taking the photo.

Iris flavescens.  5.8.19

Note: I initially identified "Indian Chief" iris as "Dauntless". Reviewing old blog entries, this is "Indian Chief".  The photos match perfectly.  I will move it to the main iris bed, where it will have more sunshine and better care than here, in the woodlot border.