Irises Irises Irises

Bearded Irises taken 2007

As fall and winter take over the garden, reviewing spring pictures of the past bring a certain hope and anticipation for the 2011 growing year.  One flower I anticipate every year are our Irises!  We have many "categories" of Irises in our yard.  Two main categories are:  Bearded and Louisiana or Dutch Irises.  From there we have several different "classes" of Irises.  We have:

• Grandma's prolific and ever-multiplying Bearded Irises which are a light dusty purple
• Irises that were in the bulb bed when we bought the house
• Louisiana or Dutch Irises and Award-winning Bearded Irises given to us by Mom Boney
• Irises from Auntie's yard

I wish I could say we still have every single Iris that has been given to us, as we have not purchased a single rhizome ourselves.  However, like everything else in our garden, we keep many and lose a few.  The picture above is of some Irises Pat planted in our garden by our back door.  That was the only year they bloomed. I assume they are gone.



Award-winning Irises taken December 2010

 This Iris bed is home to the Louisiana and Award-winning Bearded Irises Mom Boney gave us.  Allow me to clarify--neither Pat nor I grow Irises to enter them in competitions.  These are Irises that have won awards by someone else's hard labors.  Mom bought them from a garden club member who grows these in her yard.  Some of the rhizomes are still here and some are gone due to one heavy foot (mine) while weeding.  This bed is also home to our yellow and purple Louisiana Irises, although the yellow ones tend to show stronger here. 



More Irises beside our home. 2010

 Why so many Irises?  Well, one year I was commenting to Pat how my Daddy hated the little patch of Irises in the backyard of my childhood home.  My grandma tended to them with great care.  However, once the growing season was over, Daddy would mow them down.  She would get so mad at him!  Yet, year after year they would come back even stronger and prettier than before.  I managed to convince Pat that they are the easiest things to grow in a garden.  And for the most part, they are.  But the reality is, I think Pat tends to the Irises as much, if not more, than he does to the rest of the yard!!



Here is a shot of our latest Iris bed.  When we bought our house we had Red-tipped Photinias surrounding the back and side of our home.  They developed a fungus and Pat eventually ripped them out.  What was my suggestion??? Thin out Grandma's Irises and put them in the bed.  They're free!!

Follow-up to Knockout Roses

Pat planted Asters outside our Knockout flowerbed. 2009

In Goggle Reader I came across an article by P. Allen Smith, entitled "Knockout Rose Companion Planting".  He is the gardener that is featured on the Weather Channel and other shows.  This article gives some great ideas for adding even more color to your Knockout Rose garden.  I cannot wait to share it with Pat!!

Bonnie's Greenhouse: Knockout Roses

Knock out Roses in Mom's Garden

Just a quick update about a favorite greenhouse Pat and I shop at regularly.  It's Bonnie's Greenhouse in Bellmead, Texas [near Waco, Texas].  Below is a photo of a Knockout Rose bush Pat's mom bought us last year. 

She insisted on buying us one of every color as she intends to "visit" her rose garden regularly!  We are very appreciative of her gift and know these roses will be a lovely addition to our garden for many years to come.  According to E-How, Knockout Roses were developed by Bill Radler, a rose breeder who won an award for his drought-resistant, hearty rose bush.  I must tell you that compared to the Antique Roses Pat and I bought several years ago, so far the Knockouts are our favorites.  They literally bloom all year round!  There is very little pruning, so far no diseases to speak of, and little to no extra watering other than mother nature's contributions. 

Whether you are a rose fan or not, if you live within 100 miles of Waco, you must plan a Saturday trip to Bonnie's Greenhouse.  They have Knockouts, herbs, annuals, perinnials, and tons of gardening advice for this region of Texas.  Let me know if you get to go by sometime.  I would like to hear what you think!!

If at first you do not succeed: Plant a Kitchen Garden!



December 2010:  Our square foot garden transformed into an herb garden. 

 In my square foot garden  post I gave you a glimpse of our new vegetable garden.  We started the garden in 2006 and over the years we have harvested a good amount of radishes, onions especially, and tomatoes.  Yet the yields have been disappointing and the only thing we suspect is that our garden is misplaced.  There really is not enough consistent sunlight during the day in this area of our yard.  Pat is planning another garden in the middle of our front yard.  This part of the yard has full sun all day long. 

Another reason for the slow demise is I did not realize Pat was not adding manuer every year!  He added some every once-in-a-while, but my mother always added manuer to her garden every single year.  Pat's mom also reminded us of getting river-bottom dirt for our garden.  This is something mother did, too.  Because this garden may not be in the best location, Pat decided to turn it into an herb garden.


Mexican Mint Marigold



Pictured on the right is a new addition to the herb garden, Mexican Mint Marigold.  Clicking on the caption will take you to a master gardener's explanation of all the benefits of this lovely herb.  In addition to this herb we have Chocolate Basil, Fennel, Tarragon, Thyme, and Swiss Chard to name a few. 

Like so many articles in the popular magazines have touted, planting a kitchen garden is fun and low on the "labor" scale.  Herbs really do take care of themselves!  Basil and Parsley are about the only two herbs that need to be replanted in the spring that we have found.  In our front flower bed, we have a huge rosemary bush that has been in the garden for about 7 years!  Our Garlic Chives around one of our oak trees have been there since we moved in about 13 years ago.  For this non-gardener, part-time cook this is the answer to my prayers!

A Southwest Trooper

The Spineless Cactus that barely escaped the 2010 freeze.

Cacti dot the land of Texas.  Some consider Cacti an eyesore or a nusance, but I have come to appreciate the beauty they add to our Texas landscape.

Pat has always had some form of Cactus or succulent in our garden ever since we have been homeowners.  One of our favorites is the Spineless Cactus.  The plant resembles the Prickly Pear which is a common feature of ranchland and the countryside all over our state.  The pads tend to be fuller, and although the name suggests no bothersome thorns, it is best not to grab hold of a pad with your bare hands!

This past winter we had several freezes that killed most of our Spineless Cactus.  I had written it off as being gone for good, but not Pat.  He picked up the green pads that had fallen to the ground and quickly set them in dirt.  They are still in the pots and one day, he will decide it is time to plant more Spineless Cactus all over our yard!!

In the meantime, as you can see from the photo, our Spineless has managed to make a comeback.  The pads started out small at first and quickly grew to full size by mid summer.  This spring we should see some beautiful cactus flowers on the plant.  It blooms every year and the flowers are spectacular!  I will make a note to update this post with the spring flowers provided there are no more setbacks this year.

Current State--December 2010--Year 'Round Beauty



Berries on our Youpon Holly

 Today, I strolled around the garden taking pictures for two reasons:  to keep up with the changing landscape and  in order to begin a series entiled Current State.  At Temple ISD we are learning about lean thinking.  This philosophy of improving systems takes the approach of examining closely what the current state of affairs are.  From there it is possible to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in the system.  So, what does this have to do with a garden?  In this and subsequent posts from this day forward I will document what the current state of the garden is.  This gives that history I was talking about in "Photograph Your Garden".  By keeping a log of the current state of the garden it is possible to see problems and plan for improvements.  It is also an opportunity to examine what is good in the garden.

Youpon Holly--December 2010

Our Youpon Holly trees have been in the yard since we purchased the property in 1997.  These trees are definitely a good thing.  They are evergreen beauties all year round.  They are hearty for this region of the country by resisting hard freezes and tolerating droughts.  But they have a bad side. 

When we first moved in our home, the Youpons were set in a bed with Nandina's (ornamental bushes) in front.  They were pretty, but there is an unsightly problem with Youpon Hollies.  They constantly send up thick, woody shoots.  This is how they reproduce, evidently.  Underneath the top layers of soil, there is a complex system of roots.  The roots send off the shoots, which need to be constantly trimmed.  This isn't a problem if you have time to clip the shoots on a regular basis.  But if you don't, they grow and get thick and hard to clip.  So much so, clipping them gave me extreme arthritis in my in fingers.  Ignoring the shoots isn't an option either. 

Solution:  while driving around town, I started noticing how much Youpons are used in commercial landscaping.  In every instance, at the base of the Youpons was a bed of Asian Jasmine.  This evergreen carpet is dense enough to either keep shoots from growing out of control or is able to blend in with the shoots so they are camoflauged.  So to solve our current state problem we ripped up the Nandinas and planted over 30 Jasmine plants.  It has taken around five years or more for the carpet of Jasmine to cover our front beds, but the journey has been well worth it.  I no longer have arthritis from clippng shoots and all Pat has to do to keep the beds looking nice is weed eat the out-of-control shoots!

Photograph Your Garden

It will not be often that I implore my readers to do something. But this is an exception:  photograph your garden regularly.  This lovely photograph is one that was taken either by myself or my son, Cory.  It probably was Cory because I don't remember taking such a gorgeous picture!



Yucca planted by Pat early 2000.  Photo taken in 2006.


Yuccas grow well in most parts of Texas.  Unless you live in the Mountain Basin region, they will freeze.  In 2006 we had about eight yuccas in our yard.  Here is another shot of our yuccas next to our Texas Sage.  Since both plants are native to the region, it makes sense to plant them together. 



Photo taken in 2007.  Texas Sage and Yuccas

 Sadly, we no longer have our yuccas.  We have had several hard freezes over the years and have lost all but two or three of them.  Of the ones that are left, they are not as hearty now as they were in 2006.  Having photos reminds me of what I love and what I don't love or miss about our garden...honestly!  After seeing this photo again, I am hoping someday Pat will plant some replacements.