My First Flower!

An iris flower has finally bloomed in my front yard.

  These irises were taken from a huge clump in our backyard. When we first moved in, I thought it was just a grass, because it was so dense and stuck together. When I started watering the backyard (trying to get some grass to grow), the iris started to bloom! I thought, what a waste of iris sitting here in my backyard, I’ll replant it to the front yard!

Well, I had to dig underneath the big clump and then pull (and cut) apart the bulbs (which are actually not bulbs, they are rhizomes – you learn all sorts of new things when you get a new hobby). Anyway, the leaves had a fungus (I’m sure due to the extreme humidity here, and the clumpiness of the irises. They were so thick that the leaves were never able to dry out completely. That’s my theory, anyway.

Before I knew that’s what they had, I had planted all the irises in my front yard. I then learned that you are supposed to cut down all the infected plant parts. So a few days ago I went a-hacking away at my plants. They look kind of shabby, but I think the hacking helped this particular plant flower.

All of the irises are currently putting up new leaves, so I hope to have a garden in full bloom in a few months.

 

 

 

 

My torch lilies and peace lilies are also putting up new shoots and leaves, so I am going to need to get my sweet pea flowers started so I can have oodles of flowers. I can’t wait to take a picture of my flowering garden!

And on a side note – I started new tomato and bell pepper plants. This time I’m going to keep them in our office (usually the sunniest, and warmest, room in the house) under saran wrap and a lamp. I think that will help them grow better. It’s kind of chilly outside to be starting plants out there.

I also planted basil and chives in some little planters I made at our RS super Saturday. I’ll have to remember to post some of those pictures, too – but I’m a little behind on blogging, so those may have to wait.