Iris Butter and Sugar the last to blossom

yes this looks lovely too, yellow is a good colour!!

from jane!!!!

so true...yellow is sunshine!

A very nice sib, this. Doing well Lori.

I have another group of them which I planted on the other side of the stream...they were directly in the path of the flood water...they were not washed away like a ligularia and the I. psuedacorus...but they have not bloomed either. I may relocate them. I have come to really like the siberians...they are tough survivors, and that is a quality that is required here in my garden. Our winters are long and severely cold, and I've notice that perennial or shrub, those which survive are usually "siberian"...lol. I had plans to get an Amur Maple...might be a little too late to do so now...but anything from that part of the world seems to do well here...so that's what I plant! Will be dividing the Iris too, but probably not til early next spring.

I like the Sibs too, they always seem to "float" and give that "airy" look generally favoured by plants of the warmer climes. "Jamaican Velvet" is a stunner (I posted a pic somewhere), Blue King is a toughy and very floriferous, both "Snow Queen and White Swirl are good whites and Sweet Surrender is a pretty mid-violet. There are some pale lavender ones, but I think they are a trifle wishy-washy.

The regular, at first unknown, iris that I have has made a huge clump and is due for a division. It has spots of the leaves and they are turning to a yellow/brown blotchy mess. could be borers but I think more likely it's some fungus that was lurking in the soil. I had high hope to be fungus free but the hollyhocks I've coddled have the rust on them...going to try putting gravel around the base of them so that there won't be any rain splash. takes the joy away when you feel you're in a constant battle with bugs and fungus!
Have made note of the above in my little wish book and will be contacting an Iris source here in Ontario to see if I can buy some for next year. Thanks for the suggestions M!

Oh Lori, I know just what you mean. I'm fed up with picking off black spot leaves (roses) and inflated buds with gall midge (day lilies), Ken is trying to fill the cracks with spike and water, and we are pulling off dead leaves and flowers where we are so dry. The roses aren't lasting very long no matter how much water we give them and the clematis leaves are wilting with mildew (again, despite watering!) I have a feeling we have a big hole in the garden and the water is draining away thru that!! And to think I nearly changed to a water meter lol

ummm...I'm a colonial, hon. What exactly is Ken doing? Is this a British gardening practise I've never heard of? ...Sorry to tease ...but it sounds like you are gardening in a bowl! Good thing you didn't opt for the water meter! Has it been that dry? It sounds very much like our summer last year...the drought was intermittent but at the summer's height it was deadly. Trees died! ..not just flowers and bushes...it was terrible. So I've been doing a raindance for our friends on the North American west coast... I'd better spread my wings to the east as well! think...moist thoughts...think monsoon! ;-)

Errr...steady on..monsoon? If I have a choice rather rain from 24hrs to 0700 please, each and every night..but would like to keep the sunshine with a cool breeze added for daytime..

Its a doddle for you Im sure Lori lol!

The garden is so dry we have big cracks appearing and Ken takes the hose, keeps filling with water and works the soil to it falls into the cracks. Its difficult cos the ground rock hard and the cracks probly go half was to Aussieland by now, but we have to try!!

Btw just reposted a pic of Iris Sib Jamaican Velvet I took last year, in case you havent seen it.

thanks M...heading over to your page for a look!