Wednesday, July 8, 2015

A Few More Unidentified Cultivars

Here are three more without ID.  Rob?





Some Unidentified Daylilies

A few weeks ago, I helped a friend, Rob, transport some daylilies to QB for safe keeping. He's moving to Florida and he didn't want to leave his AHS display garden behind. A fan or two of many cultivars made their way to my garden.  I'll be sharing them as they bloom and I get photos ready.  Here are three of the fans I planted that were not identified.  I know Rob will help name them for me!

Click on these pics for larger better color balanced photos.




Friday, June 12, 2015

AIS Convention Visitor From Holland

As the season here winds down I will catch up on postings from the AIS Convention.  First an interview with Gerard Heemskerk from the Netherlands.


Terry Aitken Interviewed

A video from the the AIS convention:  Here's Terry Aitken, internationally know and award winning hybridizer, at Salmon Creek Gardens.

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Beautiful Orphan

In 2007 I bought a bargain batch of named iris from Pleasant Valley Iris Farm in California.  It was only when they started to bloom that "named" didn't mean correctly named.  The owner said when I inquired that he bought a batch of iris from someone else. Here is what 'Master Plan,' Keith Keppel's iris looks like...

'Master Plan' TB K. Keppel 1995

... and here's what I got.


 It's beautiful, but it's not 'Master Plan.'

The picture is really quite true to color and the gold orange hafts are striking.  Anyone know who this really is?

An Artist in My Yard

The week before last my neighbor, Kerin, brought her friend, Colette Savage, over to see the iris bloom. When she asked me if she could sit and paint the garden I was very excited.  A few days later in the afternoon sun she set up her easel as I weeded.  What an honor to have this amazing artist in my backyard!

And here it is...


Just gorgeous! Thank you, Colette. I urge you to visit her blog.

Friday, June 5, 2015

This Season's New Stunner

Wings at Dawn from Schreiner's last year was winner for me.  Show stalks would have done well if bloom time was show time.

A Lot Going On, My Little Chickadee!

       There's a lot going on at Diamond Rise. Plen Air art, photography a garden club visit, beautiful blooms and lots of gardening. But admidst it all this little chickadee found a nesting place in the bird house that my dear friend Sharon gave me last year.  So life goes on and even without W.C. Fields, our "little chickadee" is feedin chicks and cleaning the nest. The next generation is on its way.




Saturday, May 30, 2015

The Day Before The Iris Show

Take a quick wander through the garden before the rainstorm hit.  I had some potential show stalks picked out, but tomorrow morning... it's anyone's guess.


Friday, May 29, 2015

Wings at Dawn and Beverly Sills

This Sunday is the annual Greater Rochester Iris Show at Marketpace Mall. Last year I won "Best of Show" with Stepping Out. I don't own a refrigerator to dedicate to maintaining potential blooms for a few days. That means that the perfect bloom will have to be in my garden on Sunday morning.  That being said each day I enter the garden and say, "too bad the show isn't today!"  Below is a spectacular new bloom that I think would stand a good chance of winning a prize.  The blooms are stunning but more importantly they are presented on a wonderfully branches stalk that displays each bloom clearly. There are no secondary buds pushing against the bloom.  It's just perfect.  But by Sunday... not likely.

This is "Wings at Dawn." a Schreiner's introduction in 2014.  Theft rounded standards of pastel yellow sit atop the standards of white blended through lilac to plum edges like a scoop of fluffy lemon-orange gelato.  Bright tangerine beards become a flounce matching the falls. Quite a beauty!



Then there is Beverly Sills.  This legendary Dykes Medal winner is really tricky to grow.  It was introduced by Ben Hager in 1978 and won the AIS top honor in 1985.  I have tried before and finally ordered it from Schreiner's in 2011.  Although establishing itself, nothing happened until this year. Five healthy bloom stalks are blooming this year.  Bubble Silverman has sung!


Diamond Rise: The Video (Draft)

When the season and the show and the parties are over, I'll edit this with others into something more slick, but for now here enticement to those who can visit and a taste for those who can't!


Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Peak Bloom

Peak bloom is NOW!  I am spending every minute possible in the garden getting ready for visitors next week... and next week may be too late to see the best of the season.  So here's a panorama shot and  I'll try to post some video tours as I get a chance.

Click to enlarge...











Sunday, May 17, 2015

Oregon: First to Schreiner

My iris visit to Oregon started at Schreiner's.  Near the parking lot was bed of seedlings.  This was the first to catch my eye.  YY197-D with yellow standards and mahogany falls has a nice growing habit and good substance.

The opportunity to see seedlings in the garden is a great joy!  Will they be introduced?  If so, when and what will there names be?



Thursday, May 7, 2015

MDB or Species


Anyone recognize this?  The height is MDB and perhaps it is an historic cultivar.  But if I were to guess I'd say it is a species of some sort.

The Iris are Coming, The Iris are Coming!

Yes they are.  The iris are coming just as I prepare to leave for Oregon.

'Pumpkin Center' (Bennett Jones, R. 1988)
This SDB is lovely spring yellow, with pale pumpkin.

  
'Jennyanydots' (Paul Black, 2011)
One lone bloom on a fine growth on this SDB stands proudly.

'Stitch Witch' (A. & D. Willott, R. 1975).
Another SDB has the classic white with violet plicata.

Is this 'Marsh Imp'?

This unknown early bloomer looks a great deal like 'Marsh Imp', an MDB. The height is correct as well.  The pure white MDB 'Snowy River' is also starting to bloom.


A bed of Forget-Me-Nots keeps a shady spot light and airy,

'Panda Paws' (unknown)
 

A beautiful tulip with the colors of USC.  Go Trojans!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

'Navy Flirt' First Bearded Iris of 2015

Last year at the GRIS sale I purchased some potted rhizome of this miniature dwarf bearded (MDB) iris.  I know these came from our local master of the medians, Wendy Roller. Though of course the MDB is not a median. Medians are all iris between MDB and TB (tall bearded) iris.

'Navy Flirt' (Tutmark, R. 1964)

Thursday, April 23, 2015

A Cold Day Inside


Today it snowed.  Not much stayed anywhere here, but on our way to an appointment we saw quite a bit on some fields and cars.  I have done a lot of weeding in a largely bleak backyard, but the daffodils have kept me company.





Something I forgot I planted is this blood root.  It spends most of it's time closed.  I must have been up and out earlier than I thought or there is another secret to it pattern of shyness.


Beside weeding, I have been working to rebuild my water feature.  It looks great but it is still losing water somewhere along the stream.


Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter Snow

I'm not dreaming of a white Easter, but I'm living one anyway!  Yesterday many beds got cleaned up and I shot a panorama from the angle shown on the map. Learning Photoshop is a big goal for this year.  I'm on top of stitching together a series of photos to produce a larger shot such as the one below.  This techniques is not only useful for the panorama. A series of HD photos can be combined to form a larger picture in many ways.  If, instead of one photo of a bed, I combine many close-ups they can be blown up to read labels for better positioning plants on maps. 





Saturday, April 4, 2015

Another Great Day in the Garden

A beautiful sunny day in the garden, though a bit chillier than yesterday.

After the in garden work I decided to update some maps. To my delight I found that Google Maps has new satellite images that show all the expansion I have made in the back yard.  Two new beds in the front have not shown up yet.


I have started to apply the new beds to the back.  Much greater definition has allowed me to correct bed shapes.  Next rainy day, more work on labeling.