Here are a couple of views of the iris gardens from the veranda on the north end of the house. These terraces were built by me one shovelful at a time. I had to haul a lot of wheelbarrows full of dirt to create the flat surface for the flagstone patio.
The rocks have been hauled from the Beartooth Mountains (we have a permit from the Forest Service to collect them for personal use). Then, I have drystacked them all at the edge of three of the terraces. This summer there will be a lot more trips to collect rocks for dry stacking these terraces.
This is the first year that I have really had any good iris bloom to speak of and I am really happy to see the results of my labors!
4 comments:
They are gorgeous, Cynthia! How do you care for them? I have not had much luck here, and don't know if I'm not planting them right, watering them right, etc. Any suggestions?
I grow iris because they don't require a lot of water and the deer don't eat them. They also don't need much care. I stick them in the ground, water a bit and let them go. This year, I did add some special fertilizer (low nitrogen) and also some triple phosphate to encourage bloom. They don't like a lot of water. I have lots of drainage, we don't get much rain, and we haul our water, so I only water plants when necessary. Tell me more about where you have them planted and I will try to offer suggestions.
Spectacular - visually worth all that hard labor.
So very beautiful - and, from what you said about why you grow them, the perfect plant for the situation. Lovely in the photos, and they must be even more so in reality!
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