Saturday, June 26, 2010

Are you Superstitious?

Are you Superstitious? My first reaction is 'no, absolutely not'. But then, I do knock on wood regularly and have been known to toss a little salt over my shoulder now and again. I am fond of black cats, neutral towards the number 13, and I absolutely would not walk under a ladder, but that's just for safety reasons.
But I digress. The reason I am thinking of Superstitions is that my first Iris Germanica is in bloom. It is the near black 'Superstition' and is said to be the darkest of the irises. I am completely captivated by this bloom, which stands well over 3 feet tall.
In contrast to the dark flower on light background, here we have a light flower on dark background. A white cosmos. The simple and delightful shape of the bloom makes me smile.
Do you see what I see? One of the blue flax isn't happy with it's expected colour, and has chosen white instead. I think it is trying to gain the attention of the birch it is planted under. The other flowers don't seem to mind. In fact, it makes them appear all the more blue!
My little geranium is blooming well now, this picture reminds me of how badly I need to weed the bed, and that I should't hang a birdfeeder over a flowerbed (this area use to be grass). I had gotten behind on maintaining this bed due to the aggressive Robin. I have a very sad update about him, there were torrential rains & storms here for about 36 hours last week, during which he vanished. I am sad to think of what happened to the eggs (or chicks?) in the nest. Especially given how very hard he tried to protect them.
Stella has just started to bloom! The other daylilies are still setting buds (except Bonanza, which has yet to send up a flower stalk...). The garden hose makes for a nice sculptoral element ;).
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm thrilled with 'Stairway to Heaven'. Could the little blue flowers be any lovelier?

It is doing a good job tying together my problem child bed. The mix with anemones, violas and sweet woodruff is quite pleasing.
The tango wiegela is growing well, although I had to hard prune quite a few branches that didn't make it. The little trumpet flowers are a nice addition to the dark foliage.

Time for Roses! Not sure why I didn't have any before this year. 'Sunrise Sunset' is covered in blooms, they are not quite the colour I had hoped for and are a little shocking, but it seems happy and healthy so it is a welcome addition.


I much prefer the delicate beauty of Morden Sunrise. Although she only has one bloom, it is so very elegant she has already become a favorite. You may notice the few black spots at the bottom of the picture, any advice on how to treat them would be appreciated, since I am a rose newbie.


Here is another favorite, a well established good old fashioned bleeding heart. It is missing some of it's gems due to little hands, but still looks great. It takes up a lot of space, and it somewhat unruly, but I think it adds to it's character.


Enjoy your time In Your Garden! :)

15 comments:

  1. Your blue flax look terrific at the base of the tree, and yes, the little white one fits right in with the birch bark.

    Did you get the flooding that they were getting in southeastern Alberta? It sounds like the rains stressed out your wildlife, and it's too bad about the robin.

    I like your geranium with the lavender colour, very pretty. Mine have lots of buds, but aren't showing their colour yet.

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  2. Rebecca girl !
    I absolutely love your black iris ! .. i want one too now and I am not a fan of bearded iris at all .. but for this colour ? or lack of colour ? I would put that aside and love this one : )
    It is wonderful seeing Stairway to Heaven in bloom in your garden .. I love mine too and it is holding on to its foliage very well .. so you will enjoy that added bonus too !
    Ah .. Blackspot is what you have on your beauty or our beauty since Morden Sunrise is my favorite too.
    There are sprays (fungicides) that will help control it .. and there is a simple baking soda mix that you can make yourself and spray in one of those spray bottles you can pick up at the dollar store .. I have to get busy and do that too .. it doesn't kill the rose but it is better to get it under control early in the game .. I bought another rose called William Shakespeare .. a David Austin one .. I'm not a fan of the style of these roses .. but the scent was so amazing !!
    Another gardener with her guard down ? LOL
    I can keep my old fashioned Bleeding Heart foliage going almost up to the Autumn .. not a lot of flowers but it still looks pretty : )
    Lovely pictures girl !
    Joy

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  3. OMG I absolutely love that Iris. The colour is fantastic! I am going to have to hunt this one down locally. My brain is spinning a little!

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  4. Hi Northern, thanks for your comments. I really prefer Rozanne, maybe I will add her this year? The little white flax is very special, and is a nice surprise. I do have quite a flood story, involving my trust canoe! If you send me an email I can fill you in...

    Hi Joy, I'm not a bearded iris fan either, but black is swoonworthy. Thanks for the rose info, I will look up the mix and see if I can make it. I also keep my bleeding heart til autumn. I don't mind the way it yellows and I still find it appealing. Thanks so much for your great message. :)

    Hi Laura, Thanks for your compliment. My head totally spins when I look at it, it is truly mezmerizing. I hope you are able to find it! Let me know how your search goes. :)

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  5. Hi Rebecca. Oh my, it is a beauty. It looks more like black that my so called Oreo Iris. It really pops against the white background. I so love the pure white blooms of that Cosmos too. So pretty.
    I am not superstitious at all I guess. Have a great weekend.

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  6. It is sad news to read about your Robin. Flowers are lovely, but like others, I am amazed by the color of iris. And it’s a perfect place for it - against the white wall.
    I used to have wiegela, but it dried last summer. I am planning on getting another one. I love its flowers.

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  7. Hi Rebecca, that black iris is dazzling! And you've put it in the perfect location. I think your 'Stairway to Heaven' is really pulling things together and is a charmer.

    Also, as Joy says, best to get on that black spot right away. It won't hurt your rose but can become unsightly and the spores can hang around.

    Great early summer post! :)

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  8. Yes, add me to the chorus of oohs and ahs on the black iris. Nicely photographed against the light background, to show off its intricacy.

    My approach to blackspot is that, since it's a cosmetic problem and doesn't seem to hurt the plant, why not just ignore it? Although I'd give that baking soda spray a try, if it looked like a big problem.

    Haven't grown wiegela but your photo is making me wonder why.

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  9. Hi Lona, thanks for your message! I am very impressed at how dark it is. The buds were black while opening, but sometimes the actual blooms are much lighter.

    Hi vrtlarica, my other 2 wigelas didn't overwinter well, hopefully they will recover. The robin story is very sad, I hope he is ok somewhere.

    Hey Ms S, thanks for your message and advice! I'm glad you like my blooms. :)

    Hi Pomona, thanks for stopping by! I will try the baking soda spray, since it does seem to be spreading. I just discovered wiegela last year, I planted 2 with dark purple foliage, and one with beautiful variegated foliage (I think it comes in green as well ;) ).

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  10. AW Rebecca,,everything looks so pretty..super gorgeous post..just awesome! I love that iris..wow!
    Kiki~

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  11. Rebecca, I'm delighted to see that it is finally truly garden season where you are. I'm only a little ahead of you. My early reblooming daylilies opened their first flowers about a week ago and suddenly today, I had flowers on 7 different daylily varieties. (I love this sudden rush of blooms.) Your black iris is stunning! -Jean

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  12. That Iris is just beautiful! I am a little superstitious, knocking on wood is the main thing I do though :)
    Your roses are so pretty! The Bleeding Heart looks great! I've cut mine all back now, but already miss them.

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  13. Hi Kiki, thanks for stopping by! It is a wonderful time for flowers, I think our short summers make us appreciate them even more!

    Hi Jean, 7 daylilies at once? Lucky you!! It must be beautiful! So glad you like my special Iris.

    Hi Catherine, Nice to see another 'knock on wood'er here. I don't cut my bleeding hearts back, they don't turn yellow til august, and then seem to suit the fall changes.

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  14. I am a lover of dark colored flowers too! Hi-Fi! That Iris looks lovely! You have so many blooming in your garden right now! Hope you had a great weekend!

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  15. Hi Chandramouli! Thanks for your message, so glad you like the dark iris, she is certainly a mysterious beauty.

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