Sunday, May 17, 2015

They Left With Lorelei

Bulbarella is single handedly going to populate the entire county and beyond with Lorelei iris. Half or more of the visitors to the wild cultivated gardens eventually leave carrying some Lorelei. It is one prolific iris that blooms no matter what.





















My part of the garden was toured first. It is still pretty much all green. The really big show starts when you head down the driveway of the ridge top garden next door.





















Over there it is spring time floral abundance. Some geraniums.





















The Phacelia bipinnatifida with a few rhododendron blooms.





















We stopped to visit the Lady in Yellow.





















The Phacelia purshii runs through it all. It has even escaped into the next county.





















Bulbarella shows off her garden. She is looking an awful lot like her, lived just a few weeks shy of 103, father in this picture.





















There were deciduous azaleas blooming.



























Among all the rhododendrons.





















And beneath the rhododendrons. Some of the rhodos are rather large.





















And a nice viburnum that has produced an offspring which is on my list for relocation.





















Multiple choice paths wander all through the garden. It was a very enjoyable tour.





















And when they left I went on a killing spree. I had weeded and planted the roadside vegetable garden with tomatoes and peppers and had started weeding the hosta before they arrived. My intent was to finish weeding the hosta.

I finished that and ambled along doing a little snatch and grab weeding as I went. Then Bam! A full scale weeding frenzy took hold.





















My target was the New England Aster. It gets way too tall, five to six feet, and falls over the very moment it starts to bloom. It wants to grow tall fast and forces everything else higher with it.

I don't try to dig it up by the root. I just grab and pull the stems and usually get a good piece of rhizome with it. Removing it gives everything else more sun and elbow room, hopefully keeping them more compact and less likely to fall over. It does keep the final height of the meadow a foot and a half shorter.

The visitors came and went. The gardens looked good. I can stand the mess on my newly whacked paths until the sun dries them up to nothing when the ultimate goal is worth it.

I foresee another editing binge in my near future. The New England Aster is on its way out.


6 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Lorelei is an iris worthy of spreading it is so beautiful. Love the color combo. Those rhodies make me envious. They don't like our hot humid summers that are otherwise dry. At least I don't have luck with them.

Unknown said...

What a great tour. Yes, Lisa, I agree the Lorelei is a beautiful iris. I keep looking for some Mountain Laurel.....Christopher, does it grow up there?

Christopher C. NC said...

Lisa our mountain cool and cold is good for some things and bad for others. It's a trade off since some things won't grow for me up here.

Yes Dana Lorelei is a keeper. Mom got bored with it and tried to get rid of it. I convinced her to go with the flow and a sure thing compared to all those other fancy bearded iris she fusses over and that hardly ever bloom. Yes there are Kalmia, Mountain Laurel up here getting ready to bloom. They are not my favorite because they are quite fussy and in most gardens always look like they are clinging to life. They rarely look full and lush like in the wild.

Lola said...

What a tour. My Lorelei has it's first bloom of the season.

Christopher C. NC said...

Lola if Lorelei blooms in Florida, that is proof positive of how reliable an iris it is.

Lola said...

Chris it bloomed last yr also. Actually it was prettier last yr.