It's rainbow time iris time in Tennessee! And what a lovely spring it has been in between the rain storms. Over the past week we have received four inches of rain. Rain is a delightful thing for gardeners but geez, can we get it spread out a bit? In between rain storms I managed to take some photos of the rainbow in my front garden. The irises are mainly congregated around my vegetable garden but there are some different kinds scattered in other gardens. I am trying to get a good picture of the colors I have and this post is a start. There are still about 7-8 more colors I am missing because they are later blooming but here is my rainbow during this rain.
I've acquired a good many of these irises from my friend Angie, roadside flea markets, plant sales, the Daylily Barn, trades from other gardeners, and I have even bought a few specialized ones. It does not take long to get a good color palette and I so enjoy the beauty of irises.
A tip for growing them is to make sure the rhizome (modified stem) is not buried, do not mulch, keep weeds down, and fertilize lightly. Divide the bearded irises every three years or so. Irises like full sun but will do okay in part sun. They will even do okay in part shade but the bloom will suffer and your irises will be prone to getting iris borers and rot.
Everyone have a great day....
in the Rainbow Garden.....
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden
