Saturday Gardening Thread: Flags [KT]

Good afternoon, gardeners and garden visitors. There is an open thread below this one for non-gardening topics.

Hope your Memorial Day weekend is going well. Are you thinking about visiting a Memorial Day garden display?

Do you associate any plants or trees with Memorial Day?

Gardening and Farming Weather

We had a welcome, unexpected cold front come through this week, with high temperatures in the 70s. Very unusual for this time of year and very pleasant (if sometimes quite windy) after the preceding hot temperatures. The heat is coming back now. We should be in the triple digits by Monday or Tuesday.

The baby broccoli that suppliers said was "bolt resistant" seems to actually be bolt-resistant. After a second cutting, I left the rest of the shoots to flower, planning to eat the flowers. It's not happening so far. Stems are getting tough, though. We will need to spay more attention to our garden plants. How is your weather affecting your plants?

Local Fruit Report

Those days of cooler weather were a bonus for the local strawberry growers. They lose much of their crop to heat in a typical year. The local cherry season is winding down. A friend's son got his first part-time job working graveyard at a packing house. He can get big boxes of "seconds" cheap. Many of the "seconds" were just too ripe to ship. Tasty. Our local cherries are typically smaller than the ones you will be seeing at the supermarket from the Pacific Northwest later in the season. But we're first. Heh.

Memorial Day and Flags

In our little town, they still hold a really nice ceremony at the cemetery on Memorial Day. Big American flags line the avenues in the cemetery, and small flags are placed on the graves of war dead and deceased veterans. I appreciate this.

When I was growing up in a cold-winter climate, there were usually peonies and bearded irises blooming on Memorial Day. But peonies were better for decorating graves. This seems to be one reason it was chosen as the State Flower of Indiana.

The stunning beauty of an individual bearded iris bloom does not last long in a bouquet. That is a shame, because the flowers invite close-up viewing and smelling. You can use bearded irises in floral arrangements if you are willing to pick off individual flowers as they fade. And you may want to skip the darker colors. They can "look gruesome" as they wither, and stain hands or a tablecloth. Not many people want to go back to a cemetery to groom bouquets. Enjoy your cut peachy-colored bearded iris at home.

I still associate the bearded iris (and the fragrance of certain varieties) with Memorial Day, even though we left the flowers on the plants. The old-timers called them "flags".

A number of plants with long, strap-like leaves are called "flags", but today I want to concentrate on bearded irises. There are other beautiful irises the world, including natives. Some look quite different from bearded irises. And their garden uses and needs are often different. There is also a "Sweet Flag" in a different genus. Topics for the future, unless you have comments or questions today.

Bearded Iris

I have grown several bearded irises over the years, usually in violet, blue and/or white. But the one I remember by name is a peachy color. I grew it in Southern California, where the bloom will sometimes repeat in the fall. That was back in the day when there were not many re-blooming bearded irises, especially in the Tall Bearded Class.

The first nursery dedicated to irises that I became aware of was Schreiner's Iris Gardens in Oregon. They currently sell bearded irises in the following categories:

Dwarf

Border and Table

Intermediate

Tall Bearded

Fragrant

Reblooming

Historical

Beverly Sills is on their list of historical bearded irises. In fact, any iris introduced in 1995 or before is considered "historical" at this iris garden. Yipes! Makes me feel old.

Going further back in history, one of the plants Y-not saw on her visit to a Shaker farm was an iris used to produce orris root. As noted in Y-not's links, there are actually three species of bearded iris (or two species and a subspecies, depending on the botanist) that can be used to produce orris root. I have never tried to harvest orris root. I was surprised to learn that it takes one or two years for the dried roots to develop their sweet violet scent.

These irises are among the ancestors of today's remarkable hybrid bearded irises. I have grown the variegated version of Iris pallida. It has pretty, fragrant flowers. But the real attraction for me was foliage that extended the season of interest in my small yard. This iris likes a little more moisture and shade than the typical bearded iris.

Most hard core bearded iris fanciers are more interested in a "blaze of glory" than in the "all-season interest" of a plant. At least when it comes to their irises. According to the American Iris Society, Tall Bearded Irises were often grown in isolation from other plants in the past for fear of disease. Apparently, people are working their Tall Bearded Irises into borders with other plants more often now. Makes sense to me.

I used to pass a huge bed of irises at the side of a farmhouse, in neat, crop-like rows, but in mixed colors. They were a beautiful sight in season, but pretty mundane the rest of the year. If you don't have a spare farm field for such a display, it can be nice to have a blaze of glory, then let other plants take over ornamental duties for the rest of the season.

Below is an example of a Border Bearded Iris. They were bred shorter that the Tall Bearded Iris to fit into a flower border more easily. This one is not as flamboyant as some Tall Bearded Irises, but it still has some flounce. Nice little summary on iris diversity at the link below the photo:

For some reason, I think of the former Washington Post garden columnist Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman, when I think of bearded irises. He is gone now, though you can get his books through the AoSHQ Amazon Store. Worthwhile. Here's a classic Henry Mitchell quote:

Almost any garden, if you see it at just the right moment, can be confused with paradise.

This 2013 WaPo piece on advances in modern bearded irises doesn't have quite the same kind of wit that Henry Mitchell included in his columns, but it captures characteristics of the modern bearded iris hybrids very well. Read the whole thing if you are at all interested in irises:

If you like your flowers plain and simple, the bearded iris is not for you.

It is hard to say which aspect of the iris is the most ornate: its range and mixes of colors, its frills, its size or its intricate form. It is a baroque fop, as adorable as it is outrageous. . .

The flower lends itself to hybridizing, hence the continued twirling of the iris kaleidoscope by fanciers such as Don and Ginny Spoon. "This is a man-made plant, from five or six species and 300 years of hybridizing," said Don Spoon, taking me on a tour of the couple's three-acre iris garden near Cross Junction, Va., a few miles north of Winchester. . . .

There are nurseries in many parts of the countries that specialize in bearded irises. Many breed some of their own irises. There was such a nursery in the foothills not far from me, but they moved to Star, Idaho in 2013. Drat! I should have visited when I had the chance. They did leave a yearly Iris Festival behind in Porterville. California's loss, Idaho's gain. Here is one cultivar bred at Sutton's Iris Gardens:

From the WaPo article linked above:

When you do get around to actually seeing the iris, you have to deconstruct so intricate a bloom. Each flower has a cluster of three vertical petals - standards - that sit atop three outward petals named falls. Each fall is marked by a furry ridge - the beard - which is designed to entice a bee pollinator to land for a sugary reward while spreading pollen.

Real iris fanciers pay close attention to each detail of these flowers. But this level of attention is not necessary to enjoy a few plant in your garden. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in specific growing tips.

Is there a Tennessee Rose?

Or is Tennessee Rose just a song? We got this question in the comments a while back. So far, I have not been able to find a rose identified as "The Tennessee Rose." I did find some great stuff from rose societies in Tennessee. If you live in the area, you might consider joining one. From the Nashville Rose Society, a page on growing beautiful roses in middle Tennessee. And from the Tennessee Rose Society, advice on pruning all those other kinds of roses. Nice.

Below, from the Tenarky District of the American Rose Society, a view of a rose garden in or near Knoxville, with the Tennessee river in the background.

I thought that maybe we could discuss orange roses today, since the color orange is so prominent in the identity of the University of Tennessee. The administration is kind of picky about the color palette to be used in communications from the university. In case you want to paint your bathroom orange, maybe with smokey and white accents:

'University of Tennessee Orange' is a shade of orange that is 100% saturated and 97% bright.

I have never grown an orange rose as bright as University of Tennessee Orange. I have been out of the rose scene for a while, and the orange roses I have grown have been fragrant old-timers in the Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora and Floribunda classes. I like 'Tropicana' and 'Fragrant Cloud'. I love 'Just Joey', which some people call an "orange blend".

Yellow and orange coloration in modern roses comes mostly from one species of yellow wild rose, the 'Austrian Briar Rose' and its bicolored subspecies, 'Austrian Copper'. These roses have an odd, nose-tweaking scent, as indicated by the scientific name Rosa foetida. This rose passed a susceptibility to black spot down to many of its progeny.

The Elko County Rose Garden site notes that this rose is very prone to sporting flowers with different colors. There is a nice summary about this rose at the bottom of the page. It is hardy to USDA Zone 3 or 4. "Because of our very dry climate, black spot is not a significant problem in Elko."

At my high school a long, tall hedge of the yellow and bicolor forms of this rose, left in the natural shape of the bushes, bloomed in the weeks before school ended for the summer. I have a sentimental attachment to this rose.

Maybe someday a black spot-resistant orange rose will be "The Tennessee Rose". Unless we can find some evidence that a Tennessee Rose already exists. Do you have a favorite orange or orange-blend rose?

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Busy this week

Posted by: Skip at May 28, 2016 01:14 PM (3wHFl)

2 Where my hose at?

Posted by: Insomniac at May 28, 2016 01:20 PM (0mRoj)

3 I doubled up my garden fence on the bottom. I have 2 x 4 inch fencing, 2 wide 4 high but have seen small rabbits get through. So I ran a 2nd layer 4 wide 2 high cutting holes down to 2 x 2. So I'm declaring it rabbit free, fingers crossed.
Have 5 tomatoe plants and have room for 1 more.
6 peppers, 2 Anaheim 4 sweet
12 lettuce, 4 spinach
Only 4 of 6 cucumber plants are going
3 straight squash
Let chives go to flower so cute everything back to start again
1 onion growing rescued from compost
2 cabbage rescued but 1 bolted
Want basil and dill plants yet.

Posted by: Skip at May 28, 2016 01:24 PM (3wHFl)

4 My daughter planted her vegetable garden this past Wednesday as it seemed all danger of frost had disappeared. The garden zone guide says we can plant after May 15th, but we've lost too many plants to pay attention to that anymore. We've been doing closer to Memorial Day the past several years.

Posted by: grammie winger at May 28, 2016 01:25 PM (dFi94)

5 Good thing they put up flags on the commons or those idiots from WI would threaten legal action.


As for gardening, I mowed my fine crop of weeds yesterday.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 01:26 PM (vvmPQ)

6 Glenn Beck surrenders to Donald Trump:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfheJIzdMHc


Hopefully Trump doesn't pull a Cruz and have this lunatic hitting the stage for him.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at May 28, 2016 01:27 PM (4ErVI)

7 I grew a vibrantly trashy yellow and red rose called "Rio Samba". Not at all my typical style but they were like Carmen Miranda.

I'm a fan of blue (which really means lavender) roses like Blue Moon, Blue Girl, and Karl Lagerfeld.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at May 28, 2016 01:27 PM (jR7Wy)

8 Guess the greenthmbs will come along later, so heading back out.
Also it got suddenly hot here, ( upper 80's) so watering from rain barrel. Suppose to get rain tomorrow maybe monday.

Posted by: Skip at May 28, 2016 01:27 PM (3wHFl)

9 Hi KT. Thanks for the thread. Love that ruby colored peony photo. Mrs. JTB loves irises even though we don't grow any. (Yet.) She'll love the information and pictures.

We finally have some seasonal weather in Virginia. To my surprise, the plants didn't float away with all the rain or wither with so many dark, cloudy days. We're getting blossoms on all the tomato plants so I have hope for a decent harvest this year. We are even keeping up with the weeding, so far.

Hope the visit to the vet went OK.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 01:28 PM (V+03K)

10 Just mulched the front gardens,yes several weeks too late which made it a PIA. My irises and peonies bloomed much earlier and were pretty well rained out this year. Breaktime then one more set in the back (before it freaking rains again)

Posted by: FCF at May 28, 2016 01:31 PM (kejii)

11 I tried planting peonies here on the East side of the house so they would be in the shade most of the day. They simply could not take the heat we have here in the Summer and died.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 01:34 PM (vvmPQ)

12 Hot today...everything is green and growing. Time of the year when mowing each week starts....it's gonna be a long, hot summer.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at May 28, 2016 01:34 PM (ej1L0)

13 Next month will be time for some backyard garden civil engineering. Anybody ever use those small wire gabions to build a wall?

Posted by: Skookumchuk at May 28, 2016 01:35 PM (/WPPJ)

14 My bearded Iris came in spectacularly this year. I'd love it if deadheaded produced additional blooms. Kind of frustrating to cultivate all year for a 2 week show.

Posted by: Patrick Albanese at May 28, 2016 01:37 PM (+RcpU)

15 Was just at Arlington Cemetery & had a debate whether a particular tree there was an olive tree. Sure looked like one & had small olive-lookng fruit, but I can't imagine those would grow in here DC or be fruiting so soon with the cold snaps we've had. Wish I'd taken a pic. Any thoughts on what else it could be? Maybe a type of holly?

Also, I'd like to grow poppies (for decor, not opium). Any advice?

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 01:38 PM (zKO9B)

16 I don't recall any plants associated with Memorial Day when growing up. It was all about the parade and picnic afterward. The only growth people were concerned with was mowing the lawn before the picnic.

With the cooler weather we've had, the flowers have lasted longer or emerged late. We hope to tour a vintage rose garden this weekend. The roses appear to be at their peak for the next week or so.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 01:39 PM (V+03K)

17 Dang Cilantro already bolted.

Also, OT Pale Moon rebuild test.

Posted by: In Vino Veritits at May 28, 2016 01:45 PM (bYru2)

18 I'm exhausted. Now and every minute of every day, but my garden is phenomenal. I thought I was late but I'm first to market so far with all the summer things.

My squash plants look like mutants, I planted 2 seeds on each hill because last year they were so small, I should have thinned and double spaced.
I just did a second planting of potatoes, green beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, okra and egg plant.

I have found the savior for my pasture field soil. McGill. Their location closest to me will provide compost with alkalinity so for what it would cost me in lime I get compost too.

Posted by: Traye at May 28, 2016 01:49 PM (4U1Mg)

19 I associate weeds with Memorial Day since I seem to spend a good part of the weekend pulling them. But on the upside since I'm down on my knees anyway so it's a good time to offer a prayer of thanks and remembrance.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 28, 2016 01:49 PM (08Znv)

20 Happy Memorial Day all!

We are digging up some old (probably 40 years or more) azaleas, because the previous owner of the house, who lived here 57 years, planted them in a bizarre grouping around the corner of the patio. We have already transplanted one to the back of the yard, and it is actually doing well. But the rest are nasty buggers-the root systems are well developed, and probably house CHUDs, for all we know.

So, that's our Memorial Day activity. I hope the rest of you morons are enjoying a beer, a burger or brat, and good friends.

Posted by: Moki at May 28, 2016 01:50 PM (ezHMO)

21 Posted by: Hoplite Housewife
There are a couple wild olive type trees here, I don't know how much further north of me they grow. Arlington is about 300 miles directly N of me.

Posted by: Traye at May 28, 2016 01:59 PM (4U1Mg)

22 the flowers are lovely......

Posted by: phoenixgirl at May 28, 2016 02:02 PM (0O7c5)

23 Out of curiosity, has anyone tried gardening by the phases of the moon like described in the Old Farmers Almanac? Always wondered if it was long established BS or if there is something to it. I have a vague memory from childhood of some old ladies talking about it for their flowers. (They would have been the generation after the Civil War.) Not sure I ever heard of it being put to the test.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:02 PM (V+03K)

24 Posted by: Traye at May 28, 2016 01:59 PM (4U1Mg)
--------------

Thanks! I'll do a bit of research on it.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 02:06 PM (zKO9B)

25 23 Not sure I ever heard of it being put to the test.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:02 PM (V+03K)

My great grandmother planted her vegetable garden using the phases of the moon and tables from the Old Farmer's Almanac. It worked fine.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 02:06 PM (vvmPQ)

26 I have a couple of pure yellow briar roses and one that is bright red w/yellow reverse petals. The bicolor often sports yellow flowers and/or petals:

http://tinypic.com/r/2dsipeu/9

The bicolor is in full sun now, but before I dug it out it was in part shade and appeared more orange-ish (the yellow reverse was still bright, though.)

Thanks, KT, for identifying these for me (several weeks ago, actually!)

Appreciate the Elko Rose link, too!

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:07 PM (044Fx)

27 My peppers and the one rodeo tomato and tomatillo are still doing well, but the basil is really crapping out on me, even though it's the same spot where it flourished last year. Too much rain perhaps?

I've always loved irises but haven't ever grown them.
We just decided to go hunting for a new house, so I'm just going to stick to container gardening now instead of putting new plants in the ground. Maybe my new home will have some irises.

Posted by: stace at May 28, 2016 02:13 PM (ozZau)

28 Also, I'd like to grow poppies (for decor, not opium). Any advice?

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 01:38 PM

Poppies at my previous residence did best when I did *absolutely nothing* for them. Plant and forget. Full sun, no care at all besides weeding.

They "die" when you transplant them, but come back the next year.

My experience, fwiw.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:14 PM (044Fx)

29 Thanks Vic. I am tempted to try it with some flowers next year just to see what happens. I think the concept is interesting. As I get older I have more faith in some of the traditional lore that used to be common and isn't so much anymore. I've read that in colonial New England there were rules about the best times to plant and harvest trees depending on the use for the wood. Considering some of the houses in my hometown date from the 1600s and are still standing, there might be something to that lore.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:14 PM (V+03K)

30 Speaking of Arlington made me think of if someone there Orlando Suarez, my old division officer. Was a great man, started out as an enlisted corpsman with marine recon and became a nuclear engineering officer, served 27 years in total when he died training for a triathlon.

If any morons go there, tell him all from the Key miss him. He rests in section 66 #4506. Fair winds and following seas, shipmate.

Posted by: Traye at May 28, 2016 02:15 PM (4U1Mg)

31 I also forgot Green beans from seeds and around 9 wax beens, never grew them before.
Peonies here are on the east side, get early sun and then are in shade, nice big flowers now. Also my Iris are up, have different kinds so they come up in waves.

Posted by: Skip at May 28, 2016 02:16 PM (3wHFl)

32 28 Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:14 PM (044Fx)

---------------

Thanks so much for the info. I'll sow the seeds this weekend and forget about them!

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 02:16 PM (zKO9B)

33 Bearded Iris does extremely well where most plants would fail: Dry, rocky, sunny slopes... next to driveways... in the middle of fields...

They tolerate any soil but will rot if too much water. Need full sun for best bloom.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:20 PM (044Fx)

34 I've got some photos of flowers here:

http://tinyurl.com/gl9kslg

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM (AroJD)

35 USAA's corporate HQ is in my city. Recently they did this:


http://preview.tinyurl.com/z7o6rvz

I think it's interesting that memorial poppies are becoming a custom here in the US. It's new to me anyway to see it outside the British empire.

We live near Ft Sam Houston, and we'll probably take a drive through the national cemetery this weekend. All the little flags fluttering in the breeze are stunning and moving.

Posted by: stace at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM (ozZau)

36 Garden frenzy. Two weeks ago we had the coldest low temperature since 1920. Al
Gore, damn your eye!!!!


100 foot of onions. Three bundles of plants and 2 or 3 pounds of sets. 24 tomatoes. Juliet is my favorite for eating fresh and making pico de gallo. Juliet will grow 10 foot tall if u stake or cage it properly. 6o pepper plants. 50 foot of okra. 10 poles of Fortex beans. I hate picking beans. This variety grows to 10 inches long or so. Pick 30 beans for a meal! Planted snake beans along the trellis and Ampayala (bitter gourd) and cucumbers. The bitter in bitter gourd is from quinine, the malaria 'drug'. Gonna plant the 12-foot tall Boone County White corn again for kicks and giggles. Have 9 eggplants and room for 9 more in that row. Oh, and 100 foot of Detroit Dark red beets.

This 110 by 45 plat was tilled and planted all in this past week because it has rained, frosted or snowed since friggin' November. I have about 25% more to plant: pickling cucumber I grow on the ground on fabric, some watermelon (Charleston Grey) summer squash and some zukes. Growing on fabric keeps the squash bugs and cucumber beetles manageable but i will poison the bastages when i need to. I may plant some popcorn in circles like the Indians (casino) did. On the edge next to the road i plant marigolds for the wife, but i make wine from them when she isn't looking!

Posted by: cicero Kaboom! kid at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM (1nGPG)

37 Whoever posted this thread for me, thanks. Had to take a big dog in to the emergency vet this morning. He has gone over the rainbow bridge. It was pretty sudden.

Some nice information in the comments. I'll have to read them a little closer later.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 02:26 PM (qahv/)

38 Hmm, I tried to post an excerpt from that article I linked above, but Pixy wouldn't let me, even though I thought I laundered it through a text file. Oh well.

Posted by: stace at May 28, 2016 02:27 PM (ozZau)

39 Hoplite Housewife, I had the large Oriental Poppies at the old place-- mostly orange, a couple of pink... they would grow to about 3 feet tall, regrew from the roots each year.

The little California poppies that get a foot or so tall, might need a little moisture to get the seeds sprouted. Then go for beneficial neglect. They reseed themselves each year.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:28 PM (044Fx)

40 to friends absent standing vigil in marble gardens.

Posted by: sven10077 at May 28, 2016 02:30 PM (g8Hfr)

41 So sorry to hear the KT. Was he very old? either way that's a tough thing for you to go through.

Posted by: stace at May 28, 2016 02:30 PM (ozZau)

42 Not garden related but Rolling Thunder (the annual Memorial Day motorcycle ride to the Pentagon and around the Mall to the Viet Nam Wall) leaves from our town tomorrow. Several thousand Harley bikes starting up and moving out all at once is an interesting experience.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:31 PM (V+03K)

43 37 Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 02:26 PM (qahv/)

-------------------

So sorry, KT.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 02:31 PM (zKO9B)

44 KT, sorry about your dog!

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:32 PM (044Fx)

45 KT sorry about the dog, they are our friends.

Posted by: sven10077 at May 28, 2016 02:33 PM (g8Hfr)

46 KT, sorry about your dog!

Lost Our Dog last year... It's so hard....

Posted by: donna at May 28, 2016 02:33 PM (O2RFr)

47 In my little area of Nebraska (Omaha and environs), peonies seem to be the flower most associated with Memorial Day. At smaller cemeteries, you can find coffee cans filled with peonies gracing most of the graves. The last couple of years, though, the peonies have been blooming earlier and most are shot by Memorial Day.

That bottle rocket iris is just gorgeous. I wish I could have a stand of them in my yard. Unfortunately, though, I have two dogs who do not respect my gardening efforts, so all gardening is done in pots. My Black Knight butterfly bush is very carefully caged in by a couple of really heavy metal fencing units. (The upside of two dogs, however, is no bunnies or other four-footed plant eaters.)

Posted by: catlady at May 28, 2016 02:33 PM (bn5b8)

48 KT that's heartbreaking

Posted by: Skip at May 28, 2016 02:34 PM (3wHFl)

49 KT, I am so sorry. We've been through it enough to understand how hard it is. You will be in our thoughts.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:34 PM (V+03K)

50 Well, off to put in the rest of the garden... bbl.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:35 PM (044Fx)

51 Just came in from the garden with some boysenberries.... Freezer is already full of them and raspberries....

Posted by: donna at May 28, 2016 02:36 PM (O2RFr)

52 KT sorry about your dog!

I have a beautiful lavender rose I was given when my mom died. It flourishes and reminds me of her everyday. My next favorite is the Julia Child I planted 2 years ago. Hot SoCal doesn't phase it and it's a lovely shade of yellow with tons of yellow blooms that smell a little like licorice.

Killed me to cut off all the grapes on my vines but a friend who grows them said I shouldn't let them fruit for 5 years til they really establish themselves. But the concord is so monstrous already, I'm letting that baby have all its fruit on!

Posted by: keena at May 28, 2016 02:46 PM (RiTnx)

53 http://www.plantingbythesigns.net/



Planting by the signs in words u can understand!

Posted by: cicero Kaboom! kid at May 28, 2016 02:51 PM (1nGPG)

54 Coming to the conclusion that my yard is more weeds than grass. Thought I would be able to methodically work through 18-inch squares pretty quickly, then spent two hours in the first 3 feet of lawn. FML

Posted by: Banana Splits Guy at May 28, 2016 03:01 PM (+b2T3)

55
Our troop used to retire flags replaced on veterans' graves. The problem was the number of them (several hundred) and that they were synthetic material and therefore not especially good to be around if you burn them. There is an alternate method available to retire them (cut into quarters, with the blue field and stars staying intact) and then burying the parts, but where ought the parts be buried properly?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at May 28, 2016 03:04 PM (fOgSR)

56
We are at our summer place in lower Delaware for the first time this year. Missed the daffodils altogether and our irises here are on the downhill side of their blooming season.

I'm now cutting grass and uprooting weeds. This is the summer to get the zoysia to recolonize the front yard and to complete putting timber borders around garden beds. It is the hottest day on the year thus far, thereby doubling my fun.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at May 28, 2016 03:09 PM (fOgSR)

57 Vic, if you live where I think you live, you ought to be able to grow peonies; you just need to ,ake sure youget early flowering types. And I may be crazy, but any that have coral in the name do well in the South. ( Coral Charm, Hawaiian Coral, etc) And they will likely die back, but they will return next year. Sarah Bernhardt and Festiva Maxima also do fine in the South. ( I mean, maybe not Florid or southern most TX)

Another bearded iris tip: don't bury the rhizome.

So tickled to see Henry Mitchell quoted; his books are awesome; they're collections of his articles, and are great reading.

KT, I am so sorry about your pup. It's an awful thing to have to go through.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 03:10 PM (YHcVd)

58 I don't plant by the phases of the moon myself, because I tend to garden only when it's cool enough for me to do so, but all my parents/grandparents generation did. More so with vegetables than anything.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 03:16 PM (YHcVd)

59 57 Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 03:10 PM (YHcVd)


I had though they would do fine because Walmart was selling a shit-ton of them. But they did not last one Summer season. I haven't tried a second time.

and nood

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 03:17 PM (vvmPQ)

60 Nood.

Posted by: HH at May 28, 2016 03:18 PM (DrCtv)

61 Thanks for the responses about planting by the moon. I think I'll really try it, on a small scale, next year. At worst it will be amusing. At best it will be amusing and productive.

Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 03:24 PM (V+03K)

62 I haven't found any yellow or orange roses that are really disease resistant, except maybe sunny knockout. But the German hybridizer Kordes has been working on resistant roses since Germany banned spraying in the 90's. I heard about them from the (DC) Potomac rose society & though there seem to be very few US nurseries that sell their roses, though surprisingly Lowes has started selling them, but they're not marked as Kordes roses.
http://newflora.com/kordes-roses/

The selection varies by store but I was able to get 2 of the parfuma roses (a new series trying for scent as well as disease-resistance) at a local Lowes that had them in the sale bin. If you're looking for roses to buy, check out Lowes for Parfuma, Kolorscape, Eleganza, Fairy Tale roses that are some of the Kordas series. It would be good to encourage Lowes to sell some roses besides knockouts. btw, I was surprised to learn from the rose society that red roses also aren't particularly disease-resistant (got your number, Mr Lincoln), which I suppose explains why the original red knockout isn't really red.

Posted by: badgerwx at May 28, 2016 03:40 PM (W0CSO)

63 The poppies were used here at one time; I remember back in the 50's we could buy them for a dime, maybe, although I don't remember what the money was used for. It wasn't for Memorial Day though, it was Armistice Day. I stopped seeing them maybe 60's? I grew up in Michigan so the flowers used were whatever was in bloom by then, I think actually people used to get mums from the florist most often if they visited.

Posted by: Lirio100 at May 28, 2016 04:18 PM (WY8ka)

64 My favorite orange rose is called Orange and Lemon. Beautiful full roses and the fragrance is heavenly.

Posted by: Carol in nevada at May 28, 2016 04:19 PM (uDPqm)

65 Posted by: BeckoningChasm at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM (AroJD)
What is the fifth flower?

Posted by: CaliGirl at May 28, 2016 04:24 PM (egOGm)

66 Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 02:26 PM (qahv/)
KT, I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Posted by: CaliGirl at May 28, 2016 04:26 PM (egOGm)

67 Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 03:17 PM (vvmPQ)

I realize you probably don't really care, but it's also best to get the bare roots in the Fall, not early Spring.

If you don't mind getting your address to me, I'll send you some roots of a coral one I have in October.....

******

I think Lowes sells Knock Outs mainly because they're pretty full proof everywhere. I have a few, even though I am not all that crazy about them because they're rock-solid for less than ideal locations.

Also, yellow roses tend to be a little more tender (harder to grow in colder areas) and the lavender ones smell fantastic.

I remember the poppies being used for Armistice Day, too. The poem will make you cry like a baby, not that I can remember the name. Flanders Field, maybe?

People around here pretty much just use fake flowers on the graves. We don't have any florists anyway,and they want something that will last. I hate it, but have gotten used to it.

We had Decoration Day last week, and the graves are all quite festive, including the little Yankee soldier-boy's from 1863.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 04:36 PM (YHcVd)

68 67
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 03:17 PM (vvmPQ)



I realize you probably don't really care, but it's also best to get the bare roots in the Fall, not early Spring.



If you don't mind getting your address to me, I'll send you some roots of a coral one I have in October.....


Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 04:36 PM (YHcVd)



Phoenixgirl has and my home address and e-mail address. CBD also has my e-mail address. And I appreciate the offer but I don't think I am going to have much time this year for any more gardening. I may try the peonies again if Walmart gets a bunch of them in again some time down the road. If either one of them has your e-mail address you can get mine from them.


My wife is going into the hospital at MUSC in Charleston this Wednesday because they think her cancer has come back. So I will be on the road a while.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 04:52 PM (vvmPQ)

69 Thanks for the support in the loss of our treasured Troy the Giant Dog. Our niece brought him home off the street when she was living with us. He has live with us for about 7 years. I'll post a description in the Pet Thread.

Love some of the comments above, but my mind is elsewhere right now.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 04:54 PM (qahv/)

70 @65 I'm afraid I don't know. It was a tree of some kind. I take most of the photos I do because of the way light is interacting, rather than a specific species.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at May 28, 2016 05:04 PM (AroJD)

71 Memorial Day tree is the tree that built America, the black locust. Awesome firewood tree, too

Posted by: FNG at May 28, 2016 05:14 PM (ICMBZ)

72 Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 04:52 PM (vvmPQ)

I'll get in touch with phoenixgirl or CBD one way or other, and make sure someone gives you my email, too. Then you just let me know when you're ready, and if there's anything else I can help with.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 05:17 PM (YHcVd)

73 Posted by: CaliGirl at May 28, 2016 04:24 PM (egOGm)

Cali, I think it's a cherry.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 05:20 PM (YHcVd)

74 72 I'll get in touch with phoenixgirl or CBD one way or
other, and make sure someone gives you my email, too. Then you just
let me know when you're ready, and if there's anything else I can help
with.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 05:17 PM (YHcVd)

Thanks

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 05:20 PM (vvmPQ)

75 So sorry to hear about your loss KT. Our furry friends are such a blessing. Life is so good when they are well, but it's so hard when we lose them.

Posted by: dreadpirateroberta at May 28, 2016 05:23 PM (z1kKI)

76 Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 04:36 PM

Yes, the poem is Flanders Fields. My grandfather was stationed near where some of the worst fighting occurred there in WWI, though the battles he went through (as a chaplain/medic) were not the worst.

My heart went into my throat once when the sun came up as I was on a night train in France, revealing fields of those corn poppies.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 05:34 PM (qahv/)

77
My heart went into my throat once when the sun came up as I was on a night train in France, revealing fields of those corn poppies.
Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 05:34 PM (qahv/)


Oh,wow,girl.... what a memory. I can imagine how moving it was for you.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 05:50 PM (YHcVd)

78 Out of curiosity, has anyone tried gardening by the phases of the moon like described in the Old Farmers Almanac?... Not sure I ever heard of it being put to the test.
Posted by: JTB at May 28, 2016 02:02 PM (V+03K)

Around here a lot of folks used to say you were supposed to plant potatoes on Good Friday. That would be planting by the moon as Easter and Good Friday are determined by phases of the moon. I've done it on occasion, never noticed any difference tho that could due to the lack of me paying any attention.

Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:13 PM (o/90i)

79 Iris...They tolerate any soil but will rot if too much water. Need full sun for best bloom.
Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 02:20 PM

Yes, because of that tendency they don't do great in clay soil. Or big bed of perennials is disturbed soil from the previous owners putting in a huge deck, so clay subsoil on top. Iris we put in died out after a few yrs.

Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:29 PM (o/90i)

80 Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 02:26 PM

So sorry KT, condolences, it's tougher when it's unexpected and sudden.

Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:34 PM (o/90i)

81 My wife is going into the hospital at MUSC in Charleston this Wednesday because they think her cancer has come back. So I will be on the road a while.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 04:52 PM

Sorry to hear that vic, let's hope they are wrong. Prayers for you both.

Tammy, since Vic doesn't want the peony roots I'd be interested if you would be so kind. My email is below.

Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:42 PM (o/90i)

82 Ha, I've been talking to myself here. Just catching up as we did the cemetery thing today w/ my Dad's sister and cousins. Flowers for Memorial Day, we seldom have peonies blooming here yet but did this year.

Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:45 PM (o/90i)

83 81 Sorry to hear that vic, let's hope they are wrong. Prayers for you both.



Tammy, since Vic doesn't want the peony roots I'd be interested if you would be so kind. My email is below.



Posted by: Farmer at May 28, 2016 06:42 PM (o/90i)


That would be nice but I will not count on it.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at May 28, 2016 06:46 PM (vvmPQ)

84 Farmer, I will send you some. Will send you an email.

The main issue for sending them to you is that by the time it's cold enough for me to dig them here, it may be too cold for you to plant them in WI. (I think?) But we can try!

I will still have some for you Vic, whenever you're ready.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 07:28 PM (YHcVd)

85 Oh, and iris will grow just fine in clay, especially those old fashioned purple ones; you just can't bury the rhizome. I have gazillions growing in red clay.

Or possibly because it's warmer down here, they can survive the clay, whereas up north maybe it's an issue.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at May 28, 2016 07:36 PM (YHcVd)

86 Hoplite Housewife at May 28, 2016 01:38 PM

The tree could be a Russian Olive or one of its close relatives in the genus Eleagnus. They are not in the same family as olives. Russian Olive often has silvery leaves, but some of its relatives have green leaves. The fruits are edible when ripe, but if you want to try growing some for food, get plants bred for that purpose. They are on the sweet side. They look like olives, though.

As for poppies, you have several choices. Corn Poppies (the Flanders Fields poppies) or their variants the Shirley Poppies can be sown in place like wildflowers. Ditto California Poppies and their relatives.

Opium Poppies grow on ungainly plants and their bloom season is not long, but the ornamental kinds can be absolutely spectacular. The plants stink.

Oriental poppies are also spectacular. They are perennials and die back in summer, so they should be planted with something to take over their space later in the season. Good topic for the future.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 07:49 PM (qahv/)

87 Patrick Albanese at May 28, 2016 01:37 PM

Your bearded irises sound beautiful. Look into some of the newer re-bloomng ones if your season is long enough.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 07:52 PM (qahv/)

88 We have heavy clay soil, too. The iris rhizomes just lay on top and do fine. I put barely a sprinkle of mulch over them to hide the rhizomes and protect from scorching sun/drying wind.

Posted by: JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 08:16 PM (044Fx)

89 JQ Flyover at May 28, 2016 08:16 PM
Sounds right, JQ. Also, people should remember to plant the fans in the direction they want new growth. And one should remove the old rhizomes if iris borers live where you do.

Traye at May 28, 2016 01:49 PM

Informative veggie update. Thanks.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 09:06 PM (qahv/)

90 BeckoningChasm at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM

Wow. Beautiful flower close-ups. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 09:13 PM (qahv/)

91 cicero Kaboom! kid at May 28, 2016 02:25 PM

Wow. You have been busy. Fortex pole beans are the best/

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 09:17 PM (qahv/)

92 Keizer, Oregon has its Iris festival, this year it was from May 16 to May 22, so we've missed it.

https://irisfestival.com/

There are a number of Iris nurseries around the Salem area, and Schreiner's mentioned in the OP is one of the prettiest, they breed their own hybrids, sell from catalog, and have the most lovely presentation gardens I have ever seen. (their showroom floor, lovely even in pouring rain).

If you are in the Willamette Valley and you are on I5 it is easy to get to and pretty in the spring.

http://www.schreinersgardens.com/

Take Brooks Exit 263 from I5. It is North of Salem and south of Wilsonville

Posted by: Kindltot at May 28, 2016 09:18 PM (ry34m)

93 keena at May 28, 2016 02:46 PM

Thanks.

One thing you might try with your young concord vines is snipping off the ends of the bunches. The rest of the grapes will get larger and will ripen more at the same time.

Posted by: KT at May 28, 2016 09:19 PM (qahv/)

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