Iris

The first iris is one of my seedlings that finally bloomed for the first time last year but wasn't too impressive. This year, it has really done well. Its pod-parent was Edith Wolford, which has opposite colors.



The second picture is one of my seedlings that looks very similar to the original species I. Germanica. The beards are vibrantly orange.



The last one is the heirloom iris Eleanor Roosevelt.

I hope to have a couple other seedlings blooming soon, one I know will be pink, the other is too soon to tell. The weather this "spring" has been so nuts that things are not blooming when they normally do.

Smells of Spring

One of most favorite smells of Spring are those of burning leaves, branches, yard debris, and the occasional odd piece of plastic, fiberglass or other noxiously-fumed material. I think I'm going to make a line of candles of the new smells of spring:

Burning Garbage - combines the sweet smell of leftovers you can't feed the dog, burning plastic, putrescent eggs, and a hint of spoiled milk.

Burning Leaves - combines the smell of wet and moldy leaves of oak, maple, and ash trees with just a hint of gasoline and a touch of sulphur.

Shotgun Blow back - nothing more refreshing than the invigorating smell of a recently fired 12-gauge shotgun, complete with smoke.

Freshly Plowed Farm - a collection of cow, horse, pig, and sheep manure, mixed with highlights of diesel fuel and rotting hay

Lily of the Valley

Spring would not be complete without the intoxicating, sweet smell of Lily of the Valley. My pink ones, for which I paid a zillion dollars, did not bloom. However, the white ones did quite spectacularly. The photo is of a bunch I picked to bring inside. My entire room is sweetly scented. It's heavenly!

LOSER

I'm not sure which is worse - being a school board member and living in his parents' basement, or having his dad call 911 because he's a slob and then becoming a hot news item.


If I were him, I'd be looking at suicide options.

Mother Nature is a PSYCHO-BITCH!

The weather has been insane! It was warm one week and then cold and then semi-warm, and then rain, rain, rain, rain, and then HAIL FROM HELL - 3" I had all over my yard, shredding what was blooming. It has been pretty cool for this time of year, which isn't conducive to most flowers. My oldest and favorite peony - only half of it is coming up this year, the other half must be dead. Normally it would be knee-high by now. And my Seven Sister's rose, which I got from my grandmother, who got it from her mother-in-law, who got it from her mother...and so on and so forth - well, it died back to the ground, but is FINALLY coming up. Of course, it only blooms on old wood, so no beatiful clusters of seven flowers this year. I even protected it with chicken-wire. It was this crazy-ass weather. My lilacs are doing ok. The biggest one is blooming, but only on the highest branches. One of the babies I moved a few years ago is finally blooming, I might snap a shot of it tomorrow. The other two babies I planted at the same time haven't done shit. I'm going to dig them up and plant something else there. I've got 600+ daylily seeds in peat pots in the fridge, and I'll be able to start pulling them out in a few weeks. They don't bloom for at least two seasons but they are my babies. At least my flowers have sex!

First photos of Spring 2009

Now, remember, I am NOT a photographer. I barely know how to hit the damned button to take the picture. I'm a flower fag, not a technofile.


Narcissus "Stainless" - flawless white, beautiful fragrance.


Narcissus "Salomé" - pinkish cup, tall, long-lasting in the vase.


Nacissus "Ice Follies" - hard to see the yellow cup. They eventually turn white-ish. A good bloomer - I've had these for years.


Iris - ?? - Miniature Iris - I'm not sure of the exact name of this one. It's literally not more than 3 inches tall, in bloom. One of my faves.