Friday, June 5, 2009

A Must-See Iris Garden

I meant to post what I have accomplished for the rest of my week off last week, but I am so excited to share these photos with everybody! You see, my friend, Judy, who is also into gardening, took me to an Iris farm this afternoon. We took off one hour early from work and drove about half an hour to arrive at what I call ... an Iris Museum! ha! ha!

From the road, this is what you will see, show-stopping colors! ... four acres of Iris, Peonies, Lupines, Daylilies, Clematis, etc. It's owned and operated by the Borglum family whom I understand are a retired couple who enjoy gardening.
(all photos can be enlarged by clicking)


Iris as far as your eyes can see! I definitely give the owners two exciting green thumbs up! lol I was so thrilled and excited I felt like a little kid! ... I could hardly believe what I was seeing, a rainbow of colors!



... a few close ups.






... many varieties of lupines, hundreds of them with a kaleidoscope of hues, and such elegance! Judy said, she's contemplating on starting a lupine garden bed for next year. Last year, we were both into daylilies, this year, iris, so maybe next year it will be lupines? nah, not for me, my garden is getting hard to manage. ;)


... these are just a few of the peonies, there were too many varieties to photograph. Aren't they gorgeous? I've never seen a two toned peonies before! ... and a yellow one? wow, how cool is that!
I was so excited that I called another friend, Josie (she helped me put up my garden wall) and asked if she will be busy this weekend. I want to bring her to that place because I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy it. Maybe I will take more photos then.






I already have a few iris in my yard, they are all pictured below. Iris are very self-sufficient, they multiply annually and most important, they are fuss-free! They grow in full sun or partial shade. They are also an excellent cut flowers, and smell so sweet.








This is one of my newer collections. I think it is called Royal Blue Batik Iris and it is a re-bloomer, meaning it will bloom in the spring, summer and again in the fall. Too bad the rest of my newer ones are still tight buds so I can't show you.


The farm owners are selling their iris for $7.00 per clump but if you buy 10 clumps, you get 2 clumps for free. Judy and I decided to go for the 10 + 2 and divided it among ourselves. It was really a bargain because one clump consisted of about 6 to 12 rhizomes. It was fun because you dig your own, so we tried to look for bigger clumps for more rhizomes, and more rhizomes mean more plants, right?

And these are my share after Judy and I split the clumps. Twelve bags, each bag is one variety and contained about 3-6 rhizomes. If you enlarge, try to notice the lightest purple on top, somewhere in the middle, it is speckled, and we've never seen another clump of that kind in the farm (the worm on one of the bags is free) lol. I always receive garden catalogs in the mail and they are selling 7 plants for $30.00 plus shipping and handling, so I think Judy and I got a real bargain.
Now, my problem is, where in the heck will I plant these?! I promised myself not to start another garden bed anymore because it's getting unmanageable ... hmmmm, maybe I will just intermingle them with my other plants. Sounds good, eh?

20 comments:

Mari said...

WOW...WOW...WOW, Nance. What a place!!! And varieties I have never seen in my life. Well, I know of only one variety...the blue bearded iris. LOL I have a couple of those, but they died. Sniff...sniff. There goes my supposedly green thumb. LOL

You ladies are lucky.

docgelo said...

This blog is really inspiring.
I wish I can also do gardening soon or at least learn to have green thumb for I don't know if I was born with one. I haven't tried having a hobby other than blogging (and dining!) for schedules hold me but I know I'll make time for it in the near future.

Actually, I have been to somewhere with flowers and lush greens today too (and will continue to post it soon) but your photos here ms. Nance are more than amazing. They're awesome! I bet you enjoyed your afternoon and driving to that heavenly place was real worth it.

PinayWAHM said...

Wow! An iris garden...err museum? I wonder if we have one here in FL. Our little one will surely love to have some flowers blooming around here. She likes flowers a lot.

Your garden will definitely be a lot more beautiful with the addition of your new 'gems'....

Thanks for hopping by again Nance. I'll be adding your link to my blogroll so I can check in regularly. I need all the help I can get to start a garden...and your blog will definitely help me bunches.

Enjoy the weekend.

J

ghee said...

awesome!!ten (green)thumbs up from me!!oh,Im not yet sure if I do have green,probably yellow or light green?hehe

seems like a paradise eh?now,i can really relate with the people who are into gardening :D

happy weekend!!

ghee said...

oh,btw,nice new template. :)

Meryl (proud pinay) said...

wow! lovely flowers! i love flowers!
musta na nance?

docgelo said...

ms. nance, i came back to invite you to see what i found that i'm sure will delight you http://docgelo.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/hardin/
thanks for the visit. happy weekend!

Nance said...

That's what i felt, Mari when i saw the farm. Mr.Borglum must have noticed it for he came over and chatted with us for a few minutes; nice guy, he is the hybridizer.

Nance said...

Doc,
oh, I'm sure you do have green thumb, just give them a little tlc and they'll reward you with beautiful blooms!

I saw your post and I envy you for living so close to heaven on earth!

Nance said...

WAHM,
You have a good weather in Florida, am pretty sure they have beautiful gardens around with exotic plants.

Please feel free to ask questions, I'm not an expert but I know a little.

Thanks for linking me...as i did the same.

Nance said...

ghee,
welcome to gardening world eh? ;)
it's emotionally rewarding, right?
first thing i do when i get home from work is to go around and visit my garden...save my sanity! ha ha

Meryl,
buti din. thanks for hopping by! ;)

Eds said...

OMG! beautiful flowers. kainggit parang gusto ko rin tuloy magkaroon ng garden.

Meryl (proud pinay) said...

how i wish i have a lovely garden like yours! ^_^

Tracy said...

OMG...This place is heaven, right?! :o) All this floral splendor has my heart singing... I love irises...and most all flowers and plants really. This was such fun. Can't wait to see how you will incorporate all your new treasures into your garden. Thanks so much for stopping by... we're finally getting over the jet lag, getting back to routine... Happy Days ((HUGS))

PinayWAHM said...

Hi Nance...

Thanks for offer of help. I'm sure what you know is more than what I know....hehe.

J

Ciela said...

Hi Nance! This garden is so breathtaking! Ooh la la!! Incredulous colorful flowers! Just haven't seen any one of those here. Lovely! Those new flower plants would surely give your garden added attractions.

Btw, thanks for dropping by and the greeting to hubby's bday.

http://ailecgee.i.ph

Diana LaMarre said...

Hi Nance,
What a great place--I could probably spend an entire day there.

It looks like you made some great purchases. Have fun planting and enjoying them in your garden.

Lory said...

I have never had luck with iris. Maybe I should replant them. My SIL told me I should not bury the rhizomes too much, because they breathe through those. Also, that irises do not like fertilizers or compost or even mulch. Is that right?

Vk-mahalkaayo said...

wow ang ganda sa mga bulaklak..........i really love it.

malapit lang sa amin ito, siguro palagi ako, takes only some snap.....

ganda........

thanks for sharing.........

Teresa ~Gardening with Soule said...

Nance,
You are right I would absolutely love to see this place. Where exactly is it? Since we are both New Yorkers, maybe I am not too far from it either. Let me know. Thanks