Monday, February 14, 2011

A Temporary Measure


After writing about adding more Baptisias and woody plants to the big bed to make less work, now I am going to write about making more work by keeping open areas of bearded iris among the Baptisias and roses. That sounds logical, right? :)

I'm doing this as a temporary measure because a) the beds around the house are still rich for bearded iris ~ many melted away in last year's very wet winter ~ and b) I love the look of Baptisia with iris.



Baptisia alba and iris Jesse's Song with rose Cl. Old Blush



It's a bit of work keeping the iris cleared of weeds and grass. Eventually there will be Baptisia and bearded iris combos in the gardens around the house and front yard and a mix of Baptisias/ Siberian Iris/ roses/ and other woody plants in the big bed.



If RRD becomes a problem I can turn to native shrubs that I can propagate from what's already on the farm: highbush blueberry, Calycanthus, winterberry, golden St. John's wort and Virginia sweetspire.


I might to ahead and try to add more Siberian Iris divisions now; they've started to push up green shots and the ones I divided in November were able to root in and survive the winter.


19 comments:

  1. Il tuo giardino รจ stupendo, meraviglioso...adoro gli iris e i tuoi mi fanno sognare...
    ciao ciao dall'Italia

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  2. Sweetbay,

    What do you do to the Siberian Iris to make them grow so well. Mine seem the get weedy and thin out as time passes.

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  3. What rose is covering the arbor? As usual, your photos leave me sighing. Beauty and peace.

    Have a lovely Valentine's Day.

    FlowerLady

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  4. I bought my very first baptisia plant last year. It's very tiny but I know what it will turn into!

    Your combinations are gorgeous!

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  5. I love the siberian iris and wish I had room for more of both types.

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  6. Hi Sweetbay, "I love the look of Baptisia with iris" as well. You have done a remarkable job with the flow of plants and color. Looking back at your home from the flower garden is a stunning photo!

    PS: enjoy your loved one today

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  7. Wonderful pictures of your flowers!

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  8. Can't say how logical any of it is, since it's been ages since I grew the likes of Baptisia and Bearded irises. I will say, though, how much I love your sweeping perennial beds! The combinations all work so beautifully together. I wish such a look were possible here where I live.

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  9. Thank you everyone for your comments!

    Randy I couldn't even grow Siberian Iris here at all really until I got some in trades that did very well in this area. They like good drainage too, unlike when they're grown up north. I'll email you.

    Hi Flowerlady that rose is Climbing Old Blush. I will edit the post to include the name.

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  10. I am going to just stare at your photos for the next 8 hours straight. It feels like therapy. I divided all of my siberian irises late last summer and I hope they can look as good as yours.

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  11. Sweetbay I just love looking at your flowerbeds. They are so beautiful.
    Aren't Siberian Irises great? I just love mine. They grow anywhere in any soil, need no care and their foliage looks great as a filler or backdrop all summer. They seem to be the one flower that loves me and my soil.

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  12. Creating more work sounds very logical to me - I don't think any gardeners has a garden that is ever "done", we are all looking for more things to do. Like you, I love tiny spiky flowers next to big blobby ones, and that's why I grow salvias with roses, and no bearded iris. I love Siberian iris though with its smaller sky-blue blooms.

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  13. The blue colours of batisia is lovely, red it's also called wild indigo on the net. can one use it to dye yarn as well? Anyhow, it looks lovely, together with all your Iris. Really a nice strall araound your garden :)

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  14. What a pretty combination! I only have one Baptisia and just love it, now I have an excuse to grow more iris since there isn't any near it. I loved seeing all these pictures today!

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  15. I hadn't thought of combining my baptisia with irises but I bet it would look very pretty. I have a very similar Siberian iris to the one in your last shot. I liked this iris so much that I have added other varieties as well.

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  16. Your gardesn look gorgeous, great colors and combo's ! I never see Baptisia here, but I always see it around blogland... a great flower! I am gonna have to track some down:-)
    Thanks for stopping by!
    Bella

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  17. Your garden looks amazing! I am sure that baptisia will be very happy there. Also, your iris looks gorgeous too.

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  18. You live in a very beautiful setting. I can only imagine how wonderful it must feel to have all that space around you. So lovely.

    donna

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  19. It all seems like a lot of work to me, but your gardens do look amazingly beautiful.

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