Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Tips for Iris and a Mystery Flower

Sunday was a day of gardening bliss. My husband and I thought we'd head out to a gardening centre to the east of us, but when we got there, it was closed. We decided to drive along a country road to the north of us, as I was pretty sure I had seen a gardening centre along there in the past. We saw a small sign for a perennial garden centre up another country road, so we followed the sign which led us to Stricklands Perennial Farm! If you're in the area, we were in north Bowmanville (there are directions to the farm in the link to their website).

It was a surprise to drive into a well-maintained front garden area complete with wide grassy lawn and dry riverbed feature (sorry, I didn't take photos of it). This is a family run farm, and we were told they are open every day of the week. All of the perennials were so lush and green and healthy looking. The gentleman who greeted us told us where to find the plants, and that he was available for any questions. After we browsed around and had our plants chosen, I picked his brain about iris. I have some beautiful iris in my front garden (now blooming!), but the iris in my back garden are suffering and many are not even blooming this year. These are the iris in the front garden ...



And these are two of only a few blooms in the back (even the flower is stunted) ...


Mom's favourite black iris not looking so spectacular

love iris, and since these are all from my mom's garden, I really need them to survive. These flowers mean so much to me.  Well, the man told us that the biggest mistake people make about iris is to cover the corms. The corms need to be exposed to the sunlight directly. I wasn't sure if all the corms on my iris were exposed, but I knew some of them were. If they are covered, just brush the dirt gently off the corm with your hand. Also, iris need well-drained, sandy soil ... they don't like a lot of mulch or manure. Don't water them too much, they do better in dry conditions. They need full sun, and if you separate the corms, or move them, do this in August. Also, if they develop a fungus on the leaves, you can treat this with cinnamon sprinkled directly onto the plant leaves. The cinnamon acts as a fungicide. I told him I was considering moving the iris right away to get them into the garden where they are doing well, but he warned that this is the worst time to move any plants while they are flowering. He said to be patient and wait to the end of August to move them, otherwise they will suffer and die back. I hope they survive till then, but at least I have a bit of info to go on. And just in case they don't, I picked up a new iris 'Ziggy' and popped (... Ziggy Pop! ha ha) it into the front garden right away. This is one of my favourite colour combinations for iris.


We also bought two other flowers for the front gardens, both in white. The first is gay feather 'Alba' (liatris spicata). Since all the flowers in the front garden were all purple this year (unintentional), I thought a bit of white might look nice. These flowers are tall white spires, which are yet to bloom. I do hope they bloom this year. Right now it just looks like a Muppet!


The front garden ... purple balloon flower, purple lupins, purple iris, purple spiderwort ...
The second flower is moss phlox 'Snowflake' for the garden alongside the steps and walkway to the front door. It should fill in a bit bigger by next spring. Looks like I still have room for another plant (or two) there!


up close
I also transplanted this little mystery flower from where it had sprouted up behind our garden shed. It's not one of my flowers, but I was happy to give it a better spot. It looks sort of like a geranium in the leaves, but the flower is very different. It is a low slightly mounding flower. Do you recognize it? I'd love to know what it is.




UPDATE!
Thank you everyone for helping in my search for the name of this mystery flower. We were all right that it was of the geranium family, and I checked out all the names you all supplied, but each one was just a tiny bit different to my flower. Anne of Design Dreams by Anne has been able to find the exact geranium species. It is a Geranium Macrorrhizum. I googled the name and came up with the image below, which you have to admit is an exact image of my own photos above. Thanks Anne! And thanks everyone for taking the time to send me your geranium names. I'm so glad that this wasn't a weed ... much too pretty ;) 
Geranium macrorrhizum flowers.jpg
Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geranium_macrorrhizum

I had quite a busy day of gardening on Sunday, but I won't load it all into one post. This is the best time of year for my garden, so there are lots of flowers to show. I'll just leave you with this pretty view looking the opposite way from the pond and you can see my son's beautiful clematis growing up the arbour he and his dad made a few years ago. I love this little garden spot in the yard :)



Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy



28 comments:

  1. Lovely to see your garden not under a foot of snow! It all looks beautiful. The mystery plant does look like a cranesbill geranium to me. I have one with flowers that look like that, but it has different leaves! So no idea on species. It's very pretty.

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    1. P.S. Mine is G. cantabridgiense if that helps any.

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  2. Wendy, I love the irises too. They are all beautiful! And your son's clematis is gorgeous, it is one of my favorite plants. Lovely images! Enjoy your day!

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  3. The iris from your mothers look lovely and as if you are doing just the right thing for them. Also what a pleasure it must have been to find this lovely gardening center. You are doing a beautiful job .

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  4. Wow! That clematis is gorgeous! Love the arbor. How fun to find a new place to buy plants. Everything is looking green and lovely in your yard. Enjoy!

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  5. Your mystery flower is definitely a cranesbill geranium - one of my all time fave plants!! Got any tips for Siberian iris?? I have a clump that never ever blooms - cannot figure it out!!!

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  6. Your garden and irises look beautiful Wendy. I do hope your Mum's irises survive.

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  7. Great iris growing advice! Your mystery plant is a geranium, I have one the same! We are geranium twins! xx

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  8. Wendy Dear,
    Your garden is so lovely and I am always truly amazed on how such a brutal Winter can lead to such beauty in such a small amount of time! I know how special your Iris are to you and they look fabulous to me and you will get them healthy again with these new instructions. Your clematis is gloriously vibrant, full and showy. Gardening is so therapeutic, isn't it-the soil, fresh air, sunshine and sweet memories. As for me right now, I am gardening on my 3rd floor patio-I have never done this before and I am finding it to be quite an interesting undertaking!
    Have the loveliest of evenings,
    xoxo
    Jemma

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  9. I think your mystery flower is a perennial geranium too. Your plants are doing really well.

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  10. Yep, definitely a cranesbill geranium. You were literally 10 minutes away from my Grandma's house in Bowmanville!!

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  11. Your little pink flower looks very much like Herb Robert, Geranium Robertianum, which is one of the cranesbill geraniums.

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  12. Wendy, your garden is lovely!
    Thank you so much for visiting my blog- and I loved the suggestion about the shop vac!

    Have a wonderful week,
    Laura

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  13. Hi friend! I read this post earlier but got distracted with kids spraying water into the house with the hose! Never a dull moment I tell you!! Just look at the beauty growing in your garden!! How wonderful to have happened upon that nursery! Sounded beautiful! And your irises! AHHH!! I need to grow some in my garden as I am smitten with yours! Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday! Nicole xo

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  14. How nice to find a family farm where you can get good advice AND plants that are already doing well in your climate!

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  15. I love the colours of your irises, and I understand entirely how important it is that your Mom's irises should flourish. We call that pink geranium Herb Robert - I often wonder who Robert was!

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  16. Beautiful flower pics, and I'm so glad you gave us that end of August tip. Unfortunately, some of my irises are in my pond garden which has become shaded over the years. I need to move them.

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  17. Your clematis is gorgeous! It's covered in flowers. Mine had 3 flowers this year. Total failure after last year's blanket of colour!

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  18. Your clematis is gorgeous! It's covered in flowers. Mine had 3 flowers this year. Total failure after last year's blanket of colour!

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  19. Love iris's, but cannot get them to grow for me, or rather they grow, but don't bloom. I ordered iris's that are suitable for our area, rather wet and humid, but it didn't help. Will check on the corms.

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  20. Your irises are amazing!! Such gorgeous colors. And that clematis and arbor with the bench there is a dreamy spot. Love!!

    I also wanted to let you know I nominated you for a Liebster award as I love reading your blog. If you want to get more info and accept go to my blog: northwoodsscrapbook.blogspot.com xoxo

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  21. Your garden is looking lovely Wendy, I love iris but they don't do well in my garden and after reading your post I now know why my soil is heavy clay so they wouldn't stand a chance. The clematis is beautiful such a lovely colour. :) xx

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  22. Your irises are beautiful. I love the new one you purchased. Your garden is looking fantastic!

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  23. Love a good mystery. How pretty your garden looks.
    Amalia
    xo

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  24. That is a beautiful place in the garden, Wendy, with your son's gorgeous clematis and arbor! I love all of your purple hued flowers, and your Iris. My Mom and Dad grew Iris, but I have never had any luck and now I know why. Thank you for passing along the great tips. It's so nice to have a little surprise pop up in the garden and to find out it's exact name! Blogger's know everything, don't they? Can't wait to see more of the garden. xo Karen

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  25. Hello ...I must remember that tip with the cinnamon , very interesting. We have that hardy geranium flowering in our garden ...what I call a good doer ! the leaves smell quite strong , it flowers and forms a lovely clump. Good luck with your iris...Gail x

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  26. Oh, you have lovely things growing! i am visiting from Judiths blog, she mentioned meeting you. So I popped over to say hi! Come visit me sometime! I blog from historic Charleston, SC.

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  27. Your garden is so vibrant and colorful .... Thanks for sharing it with us !! Have a lovely week ahead ...

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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