Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Miss Saigon

By SKEETER I was out of my Georgia Garden for about 2 weeks. A Garden can really thrive when one is not looking. Kind of like that old saying, "A watched pot never boils" Well, a garden will not grow if you watch it daily. Be away for 2 weeks and you will find many surprises upon your return. I walked through the Semi-Formal Garden gate and was happy to see the Yellow Swamp Jessamine blooming and growing along the garden gate as planned. Once inside the garden, Look what I saw! Oh my goodness, Miss Saigon has arrived! I found Dutch Iris (Miss Saigon) bulbs a year ago while at Costco and could not resist the deal of 18 bulbs for $2.50. I planted them and did not mark the area where I had placed them into the ground. That happens when you purchase many bulbs and go on a planting frenzy and don't mark those areas. I thought maybe Voles had a great meal. The buds are so beautiful. The blooms are Awesome! Especially with phlox and dogwood in bloom. I plan to leave these beauties where they are located until they grow stronger. Once I feel they are strong and hardy, I will move some around to different gardens. But for now, I will sit back and enjoy MISS SAIGON, where she is located, In the Garden... Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

27 comments:

  1. Skeeter, she is beautiful! I would love to see larger shots of this garden, it looks great!

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  2. Skeeter,
    These are pretty and a good deal too! We inherited dutch irises in our garden, did nothing this year first time I recall that happening.

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  3. Miss Ssigon is beautiful and does indeed look great. The garden is awesome!

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  4. The buds remind me of a peacock's feathers. Don't you love a good deal on plants? $2.50 for that many is a steal. As someone else said, I'd love to see a photo of the entire garden.

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  5. She's a beauty! I forgot to mark where I plant bulbs all too frequently. gail

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  6. We have had some HOT weather here in GA the past few days, breaking record temps. A front arrived today putting us back where we should be this time of year. Whew, it felt like mid-Summer!

    Darla, For larger shots, look to the right of this post and click on “Skeeters Garden”. You will see examples of all my ever changing gardens. Search Georgia Flower Garden and Georgia Flower Garden Pt 2 and you will see how the Semi-Flower garden began…

    Randy, I believe I got them into the ground too late last year for them to do anything for me. I thought they flopped on me or a Vole had eaten them. But after a year in the ground, they gave me a show!

    Tina, Thanks girl. Did you notice I posted the same picture twice? Duh, I just noticed that but oh well, pretty pic to share twice I recon, hee hee…

    Carla, It is fun playing in this garden. It is ever growing…

    Wendy, I was just telling Darla how to see the garden. See what I told her and you too can take a peek at its progress over the years. This area was neglected last year and I lost some things but this year, I plan to make this area a show piece…

    Gail, that is an issue with bulbs. I now have a bag full of popsicle sticks so no reason to not mark them from here out…

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  7. They sure are very pretty so the cheap price just adds more to the beauty.

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  8. Miss Saigon certainly is performing for you. Enjoy!!!

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  9. The iris are indeed lovely, but so is their setting. I'm impressed. (Also envious, but we won't go there...)
    --Kate

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  10. I LOVE Dutch iris and yours are just beautiful! Iris don't do well where we live now so I must enjoy them vicariously through photos like yours. Thanks Skeeter!

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  11. Hello all.
    Skeeter, surprises sure are nice. I've found one or 2. I also forget where I put things.
    Your garden is lovely. It is a show case.

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  12. those are a stunner..wow...I also go on a planting frenzy in the fall and never know where I planted anything until it surprises me..I am rarely disappointed...

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  13. That garden scene is so lovely! Good job putting it all together. It's so true about staying a way for a couple of weeks and then noticing all the changes. What fun!

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  14. Hi Roxanne, when i saw the title i was thinking maybe Skeeter went to Vietnam! Then lo and behold Ms Saigon is an iris, and yes, even just the unopened flower looks awesome. The flowing skirt when opened even look more gorgeous!

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  15. Good evening all...

    The weather was so cool that I took myself to the front of the house and worked on clipping the hedge a bit. A tough job and I curse that long hedge every time I clip it but love the end results. I so wish I could take it out and replace it with something less painful to maintain but it is so healthy I dont have the heart to kill it. I can think about it each time I clip though...


    Night all...

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  16. Beautiful bloom/bud Skeeter! I think you made a great decision that fateful day at Costco. :-)

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  17. Miss Saigon is now on my list.

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  18. She's a beauty and what a great deal you got on her! Your garden is so pretty right now Skeeter, glad you came home to some nice surprises. :)

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  19. She looks like a Queen - Miss Saigon! I remember the arch that you built last year. It's looks great now.

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  20. Your garden is looking so beautiful, Skeeter! All the neatly bordered rock paths really set off your plants. 'Miss Saigon' is lovely indeed; you certainly got a good return on your investment. I've had those planting frenzies in the fall, too--I've been trying to figure out this week what some of the new green growth is:) I guess I'll find out when it blooms!

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  21. Miss Saigon, well worth the wait!
    I love the colors of it. And it will probably multiply and you will have even more next year. Def a keeper!

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  22. Your garden is just perfect- so full of color and interest. That was a terrific investment in Miss Saigon- beautiful!

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  23. Miss Saigon is beautiful! I love the combination of blue-violet and yellow and smoky lavender.

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  24. skeeter, I only recently bought my first house and am only learning. I bought some bulbs today from walmart. On the package it says annuals, but the bearded irises my mother have sent me from Indiana (I live in florida) are perennials. Am I missing something? Is there something I need to do differently from my bearded irises? I am so excited about these. Thanks for your input.

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  25. Hi Andre! Congrats on your first house purchase! And double congrats on wanting to get some flowers in the ground. Landscaping for your home is an awesome investment. 'Miss Saigon' is a Dutch iris (Iris x hollandica) type bulb whereas bearded irises are German Irises (Iris Germanica). Dutch irises grow well and will usually bloom the first year wonderfully but in my Tennessee garden they tend to fade out after the first year or two-Miss Saigon will be especially prone to this since she is such a looker-just one of those rules in horticulture the prettiest plants are sometimes not the longest lived. That being said if you plant the bulbs properly, and leave the foliage to yellow so that it makes food for next year's flowers you might keep them around a long time. This may be the reason they are marked annuals in your region but don't worry-just plant and enjoy. Gardens by their very nature are changeable. German irises are very hard to kill and are very hardy. Plant the rhizomes half exposed, do not mulch, and plant them in full sun good garden soil if possible. Fertilize yearly-usually early spring-March in my Tennessee garden. They will return faithfully every year but will need to be divided every three years or so because they multiply like crazy. Good luck and enjoy your new home and garden! P.S. Skeeter sometimes doesn't see comments on old posts so I hope you don't mind I answered your questions. There are SO many types of irises out there it is hard to know exactly how to treat them all without experience and research-you've done the research now comes the experience. Enjoy! Here is a link to planting Dutch irises: http://www.hollandbulbfarms.com/planting-dutch-iris.html

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  26. Hello! I found your post when writing about a recent purchase of Miss Saigon bulbs! Loved your garden photos!

    I'll be back to visit,

    Susan

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