Wayside Gardens Voices

Iris 'Black Gamecock': Thirsty Summer Blooms

Black Gamecock is probably the most popular Louisiana Iris available, a beautiful, dark, and interesting full-sun perennial for your summer garden. The dark purple to black flowers will bloom in June and July for an impressive mid-summer show. Combine with other Louisiana Irises and moisture-loving plants for a fuller effect.

This is one of those plants that solves a problem in your garden - it will grow in that low wet area that drowns your other plants. Louisiana Irises are perfect for bog gardens and the edges of ponds. They need constant moisture to thrive - do not let them dry out between waterings.

Black Gamecock spreads pretty fast, creeping through your garden, creating a wonderfully natural wild-flower look that really compliments water features and dense green garden designs.

Irises to Fill Tough Wet Areas

Many gardens have them: wet, boggy areas that just don't drain well enough.  Grass won't grow, plants won't grow, and the dog keeps coming in the house with wet feet.  OK, maybe just the plants are a problem for you.  Either way, you could, of course, set up a rain garden in that area (it's beautiful and great for the local environment), but that can be much more effort than many gardeners are willing to put in.  You could give up and have a boggy, mulch-covered area in your garden, but I know that you, my readers, won't give up that easily.  The best option is to try to find plants that thrive in those difficult conditions, and many of the best plants for that purpose are wonderful Irises.

Give Iris louisiana a try.    The do beautifully in damp soils, producing some of the most stunning blooms you can find.  They're the perfect solution not only for those areas that refuse to drain, but also for embankments of water features or other water sources (they look amazing on the banks of a pond).  Best of all, they're easy plants to keep, tolerating not only heat and humidity (as you can probably guess from the name), but also cold winters, some even hardy to zone 3.  Iris 'Bold Pretender' makes an impressively bright, cheery statement in red and yellow, and it looks great next to the Iris 'Black Gamecock's intensely rich velvety purple flowers.

When Nothing but a Black Iris Will Do

Black is beautiful. Black is slimming. Black is the epitome of elegance and sophistication. Streamline your garden with the mystique of timeless style by adding these enchanting beauties. Black plants from the dark side of Wayside Gardens will draw attention to your garden. How else can one sing the praises of springtime and be noticeably and utterly forlorn if not by growing a black Iris?

If you want intrigue in your garden, grow the dark flowers. Grow something completely foreign and unexpected. Maybe plant just one of these strange varieties, as a focal point, for novelty, or maybe plant a whole garden of nothing but black plants ( a little too 'Edgar Allen Poe' for me, but hey, do what you must). BTW, The black calla lily is my favorite.

 

Why do we Garden?

As Tracy DiSabato-Aust has shown us in the Wayside Gardens Collector's Edition 2007, design is a very important part of creating the perfect garden. Aesthetics is what draws many of us to horticulture, and for many it is the most significant reason to have a garden. Whether it is the untamed beauty of a lush tropical garden or the trim excellence if a well-planned estate lawn, the colors, shapes, and textures inspire us and motivate us to keep growing.

Humans seems to have a strong fascination with technology, mastery over nature and an unquenchable desire to know and experiment. There have been hypotheses that our tendency to gaze into a fire or for children to play with it are left over from ancient instincts that drove us to experiment with cooking and ensured the survival and expansion of our species. If this is true, maybe the awe inspired by the sight of a beautiful flower or the unending urge for some of us to plant and grow despite being engulfed in technological advancement and convenience is something a little bigger than a hobby. Maybe it is a part of who we are, and ages ago, it kept us interested enough to learn how to grow our own food and stop foraging.

Just a thought.

jdurst@parkseed.com

A Bog Garden Story from Wayside Gardens

Good Research Makes a Happy Gardener

While probing for ideas that might add a little intrigue to the pitifully uninspiring flora of my backyard, I was told by a fellow Wayside Gardens employee to check out bog gardens. My first thought was of a marsh or swamp, something more appropriate for a wildlife preserve or ghost story than my simple little yard. However, trusting my source, I dove, head-first into that murky swamp of information, the all-knowing internet. Using my favorite search engine, I typed in the obvious “bog gardens” and amassed a king’s feast of information that was all completely useless.

While wading through the many explanations of what a bog garden might be and the varied items that I should purchase to enhance my garden, I realized the one thing I always try to tell myself before starting any home-improvement project: Always start your research with reliable academic resources, and work your way up to the commercial resources. That is one thing I have learned while working at Wayside Gardens. By the time you get there, you should know what it is you need to buy. I had not even thought to ask myself if I even knew what a bog was much, less how to plant anything in one. So, I did my research.

Apparently, if you have a low spot in your yard that never completely dries and you plant some elephant ears there, you have not created a bog garden as some of the sources I found would lead you to believe. It is a clever way to turn a problem into an asset, but not a bog garden. A bog is actually a type of wetland formed from a deposit of dead plant matter, most commonly some type of moss or lichen. Its moisture comes almost completely from precipitation and tends to be slightly acidic. An exotic environment for exotic plants- It’s exactly what I was looking for.

I also found that recreating this environment on the small scale is not very difficult; some people even create indoor bog gardens in terrariums, which would be a perfect way to display those bog-loving carnivorous plants and make an excellent conversation piece. I just needed a place that will hold moisture and that I could fill with peat. I had the perfect place, that gross little pond insert that I installed two seasons ago, or as I like to call it, my “mosquito nursery”. I just cleaned that out and poked a few holes in the bottom for drainage- lined the bottom with coarse sand and filled it with moistened peat. The moss maintains the acidity and I use a soaker hose to keep my bog damp. I planted an Iris “Holden's Child, this very interesting Juncus effusus Unicorn, and two Pine Hibiscuses. Some of these plants could even be purchased right here at Wayside Gardens. Situated in the center of my garden, accented with two lawn gnomes and a pink flamingo, my bog has definitely added spice to my back yard.

John Durst
Wayside Gardens Voice

Jdurst@parkseed.com

The scoop on Pardancanda

It has been a week, hasn't it? But you'll be pleased to know, Kay, that I've found a Rose to end all Roses for spring. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

Now, your Pardancanda question. That's x Pardancanda, if you please -- it's an intergeneric cross of Belamcanda chinensis x Pardanthopsis dichotoma. The name is taken from part of each genus name: Pardan + canda. I have wondered if they knew they were going to call it "Candy Lily" when they came up with the new genus, because the "canda" bit does fit in nicely. (And if you've never heard of Pardanthopsis, it used to be called Iris dichotoma. It's one of the beardless Irises, and has the lovely common name of Vesper Iris -- presumably because the blooms opened at the hour for Vespers? If you ever want to explore Irises further, you must read two people: Molly Price, who will make you realize you know nothing about Irises whatsoever; and Louise Beebe Wilder, who grew only what she loved and didn't mind telling you what she thought of any given plant.)

Anyway, where was I? x Pardancanda was introduced by our own Doc Alston in the early '70's, but Doc will tell you that all the breeding was done by Sam Norris, who purchased the original plants from Park Seed. The species is named for him, but Mr. Norris never released any varieties onto the market, so Doc redid the crosses and came up with the mix that Park has been selling so successfully for 30 years or so. Doc claims he played around with selecting individual colors but was never satisfied with the results, which does sound just like him -- too modest by half! At any rate, there have been other selections, but I believe 'Sangria' is the first individual color. The flowers are larger and the season of interest even longer. Candy Lilies have those big, shiny, blackberry-like seedpods that people are keen to use in indoor arrangements, so after the blooms pass in late summer or early fall, the performance continues with a new look.

Have you seen the photo of 'Sangria' yet? Kay, you are going to fall hard for this one!

My phone will not stop ringing. More in a while. Please, please, Los Hermanos for lunch?

What's the story on Pardancanda?

Dear Tamsin and Ebbett:

Do either of you know the origin of Pardancanda norrisii? I was entering information about the new variety we're offering this spring, and I was surprised to read that the original was developed at Park! Why have I never heard this claim to fame for our sister company?

Curiously,

Kay

Product Administration

KayRavenel@gmail.com

Dividing Irises by Labor Day and other silly rules we never follow

Dear Tamsin:

I know Eb will give you the real response, but I had to put in my two cents. There is an old gardening saying in this country that Bearded Irises must be divided only after Memorial Day (the end of May) and before Labor Day (the beginning of September). It certainly would have been simpler to say, "Divide them in summer," but that is a relative term depending on what part of the country you live in. The problem is, so are those deadlines. Down here in the south, nobody in his right mind would divide Irises in early summer, because they won't have bloomed yet and they will be too stressed by the heat to re-establish. On the other hand, maybe up in Maine, where the growing season is so short, if you don't get them divided by the end of June, you're out of luck. The rule worked perfectly when I lived on Long Island . . . but no matter, I would never have fainted at the sight of a neighbor dividing them two weeks after Labor Day unless we were having a freakishly cold spell! So I think your neighbor may be a little out of line, though I hate to say it of a fellow Master Gardener. He probably just thinks you, as a real live hort, should know better!

Here in South Carolina, I often wait until the end of September to divide my Irises. It's just too hot too long to do it any sooner. Plus, that way my rebloomers often get a chance for their second bloom! Yes, I always have an ulterior motive!

Let me know if you want some Immortality, the classic white rebloomer. I divided them 2 or 3 years ago and they have spread like a rumor. In a couple weeks, or when you find a new place for your Iris bed, come over and we'll dig you some up. I am really proud of them. This year I'm putting it a bunch of Let's Boogie off by themselves, where their riotous colors won't bother any neighbor plants. I usually stick with rebloomers, but I'm just crazy about those colors on Let's Boogie!

By the way, what do you do with all that diseased foliage from your "scrap heap" border? I can't burn it (within city limits), I refuse to risk the compost pile with it, and I don't have a place to bury it.

Have a lovely day!

Kay

Product Administration

KayRavenel@gmail.com

Bearded Iris -- Question for Eb, Kay, and Everyone Else

Here's a question that will expose my ignorance of New World gardening. Sunday I was out back dividing a huge patch of old Bearded Irises that my predecessors planted countless years ago (they look like Copper Classic, Kay, with something rich and very deep blue -- maybe Tom Johnson? Gorgeous, whatever it is!). There I was, whacking away (serious iris borer problem; I believe I'm going to move them to the other border in back, and I may still have to treat them next spring), when my next door neighbor the Master Gardener saw me and recoiled in horror, as if I'd been out bludgeoning small animals. He said something about the "Memorial Day to Labor Day rule," then stalked off. Well, to tell you truth, I was in no mood for banter, and may have encouraged him to leave. But putting all that aside, I thought the Memorial Day/Labor Day thing was about wearing white shoes. I know we just had Labor Day, but wasn't Memorial Day in spring? What is he talking about?

By the way, I'd share the divisions, but I had to throw out so many iris borer-drilled rhizomes that I don't have enough. That border looked like a scrap heap when I moved in, so it's anyone's guess how long the borers have been feasting on my Irises!

Cheers,

Tamsin

TamsinGuthrie@gmail.com