Full Bloom in the Iris Gardens

 Unknown Name Tall Bearded Iris (the label said Midnight Revelry and I know it's not that)

 Stepping Out Tall Bearded Iris

 Unknown Tall Bearded Iris

 No tag on this one, either.  No idea where it came from, but I love it.

This one is called "Address Unknown".

DanWalt Gardens - A last look

 I appreciate all the sculptural and water elements they have added as accents.  This got me thinking....

DanWalt Hostas

 I've never had any luck growing hostas.  These look fabulous and they are so large so early!

More from DanWalt Gardens

 Near the parking area.

 Near the back of the gardens.

More iris. 

DanWalt's Yellow Iris

DanWalt Garden Tour

 Big Sky Iris Club toured the DanWalt Gardens last week.  We enjoyed seeing their many gardens.

 Very inspirational!  This is a garden developed by two guys who started as a hobby.  People started asking to visit their garden and to use it for events.  They have expanded it a bit more every year, upgrading it and adding facilities and such.  It is now a favorite wedding venue in town.  I really loved this allium garden even though they are pretty much done blooming.

New Pump for the Waterfall!

I have been waiting patiently for my new waterfall pump to arrive.  I bought it online from Watergarden.comhttp://www.watergarden.org/Pond-Pumps and chose free shipping, which meant it had to come by UPS Ground.....SLOW.  Oh well!  It is here now.  I plugged it in and put the hose at the top of the waterfall - I wanted to test it to make sure it would move enough water before actually installing it.  This is how it looks!  Horray!  So exciting!  It's perfect! 
The pump I chose is a Pondmaster Magnetic Drive 9.5 that moves 950 gallons of water per hour.  My old pump was also a Pondmaster Magnetic Drive pump and it was still going strong after 3 years (I had burned through 3 different pumps from Lowes prior to purchasing the Pondmaster pump online.)

Well.....this pump has proven problematic.   When I unplug it (to stop it) - it will not restart unless I pull it out of the water and disassemble it and put it back together.  Then it will run.....So they are sending me a new one.  I have to send this one back so will be without a pump for 4 days....Sigh....

Delta Lady and Santa's Helper Iris

 We've had quite a bit of violent spring weather.  High winds, hail, heavy rains have all taken their toll on the iris.  I guess I should be glad I don't have many blooming yet.  The one above is called "Santa's Helper".  The one below is called "Delta Lady".

Daughter of Stars - First Tall Bearded Iris

 My Tall Bearded  Iris are starting.  This is the first one.  Daughter of Stars - a healthy plant that seems to thrive and bloom well!

Stairs and Walkway

 We installed these stairs and stepping stones to make it easier to access the pond and waterfall.  Again, this is still a work in progress and everything is very waterlogged right now.  I did pick up a few small plants to tuck in along the terrace and I've mulched lightly with the little bit of pine straw I was able to find scattered around.

Meanwhile, we've moved on to other areas of the landscape.  I wish I had remembered to take pictures before we did the demolition on the brick stairway between the shop and garage.  Alas, I did not do it and now it is just a big mud pile! 

Pond and Waterfall Progress

 The pond has filled up with rain water.  We've received 7 inches of rain since starting this landscaping project.  The rain has slowed things down quite a bit, but I have worked at it bit by bit.

The pump I had for the previous pond and waterfall is not adequate for this one, so another has been ordered.  While I wait for it to arrive, I have tried sealing up the leaks with spray foam made specially for waterfalls.  I need to move some rocks around to camouflage the black foam that shows here and there.

I was able to get the pond plants put in place and it will be interesting to see if they grow.  I hope to post another picture after I get the new pump installed.

Water Plants for my Pond

I ordered some water plants for my pond from an online company.  They arrived in the middle of 5 days of pouring rain.  I just potted them up in the fabric pots I ordered and put the pots in plastic tubs until I can get them properly arranged in the pond.  The rain washed a lot of mud into the pond, and I need to try to get it cleaned up before adding things in.  Starting with a dirty pond is not really the best plan.....

Here is the website I ordered the plants from:   http://www.thewatergardenshop.com/water-plants.html

The company is in Oregon and I chose it because shipping would be fast from a state so close.  I also really appreciated that they had plants that would be hardy in zone 4, that would also tolerate part shade.  I have not had any luck growing water lilies in the past.  We will see how these plants do.  If they thrive - I may try a shade tolerant hardy water lily from this same company.  Or - if they thrive -  maybe I won't need to try a water lily!

For potting soil - I used all natural unscented kitty litter, which is just clay soil.  I topped the pots with an inch of pea gravel.

Printing Repeats

 I printed these fabrics for no reason other than my own entertainment.  I used a couple of hand dyed pieces that turned out to be an unfortunate shade of pink......I don't really use pink in my work.  Anyway, I thought I could improve them with a bit of block printing.  I love these two blocks that form this terrific pattern of repeats! 

 Notice the bottom piece has two layers of printing - I printed it first with metallic gold and used a different printing block - which hardly shows up at all....  Makes me think I should do more .....maybe in black and white - or something with even more contrast - eh?

Landfill View

 Joe has started hauling away the rotted timbers from our landscaping demolition.  He took a pickup load to the landfill and they directed him to "Area 4", where mainly construction materials of a certain type are to go.  He came home telling me the view from the dump was remarkable, so I went along for the second trip to the landfill.  This high spot at the landfill has a good view of the Beartooth Mountains off in the distance. 

The landfill is remarkably close to the Yellowstone River!  It shows up here in the mid right side of the picture.

Up to Snuff - Intermediate Bearded Iris

Today is my birthday!  No plans for today, but will have a "Mexican Garden Party" with family and friends this weekend.  We will serve margaritas and will enjoy the iris and new landscaping (which, sadly - is still a work in progress!  Wish it was done!)

The Intermediate Bearded Iris are Starting!

 The one above is called "Tantara".  The one below is called "Honey Glazed".  I really love these Intermediate Bearded Iris - they bloom after the SDB's and fill the gap before the Tall bearded iris start blooming. 

Dinasaur Diamond Highway

 These pictures were taken along the Dinasaur Diamond Highway in Colorado.

Two More Unknown Dwarf Bearded Iris

More Dwarf Bearded Iris

 This one is called "Pitter Patter".

 I don't have names for either of these.

Ninja Turtle Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris