LA Iris, Gravel Path, Etc.

Louisiana iris 'Jeri'.
This is the first bloom we've seen after I planted this last spring, but I'm impressed.  Quite a few velvety, richly hued flowers on a very sturdy stalk.  Louisiana iris (sometimes shortened to "LA iris") seems better adapted to our climate than a lot of other irises.

I split the pot into just about as many plants as I could, and they sulked last summer.  They're all looking better, this spring, though this is the only one to bloom.

We bought another Louisiana iris this year-- 'Sinfonietta', which is a blue and yellow.  I probably won't divide that pot quite so fiercely, and with luck we'll see it bloom next year.  

Now for too many photos of 'Jeri'.

Chinese foxglove -- Rehmannia elata.
It's short, but still pretty.  I think that if it can get established the bloom will be better.

The pineapple guava is covered in flowers!  If most of these turn into fruit, there will be plenty.

I'm not sure what kind of oak this is-- pin oak?  It's one we got from a local arbor day seedling giveaway.  It's always one of the last trees to leaf out-- maybe the last.  I love the shape of the leaves, and if I'm not mistaken, they turn reddish/russet in autumn.

I finally moved some succulents out of the house.  They weren't getting enough light, and it's too warm this time of year to keep the blinds open for their sake.  Now I need to get them used to brighter sunlight and figure out where they'll be happiest.  (Oh, is that all?  Wouldn't it be nice if they could just tell us what they need?)

Annual coreopsis is really getting going in one or two places around the garden.  I got my start from Granny L., and it seems to be one of those plants that will hang around for years (or forever) if you give it half a chance, reseeding itself effortlessly every year, but not to the point of being invasive. (Plus they're so easy to pull, if they grow where you don't want them.)

The elephant ears are picking up speed, now...

Society garlic.

The indefatigable blanket flowers continue.  I need to get out there and deadhead, soon.

Our tomatoes are doing well, so far.  We're seeing a few tiny tomatoes on the cherry and grape tomatoes.

And the flats of seedlings are getting pretty full.  It's time to deal with some of them, already...

- - - - - - -

Last weekend, Donald finished preparing the last bit of path for gravel.  Then we worked on removing the ivy from the trellis.

(The English ivy was just too vigorous and the trellis so close to the wall that there was no easy, practical way to keep the ivy off the brick.  So we took it out and will plant something else there-- maybe a non-invasive honeysuckle?  In the meantime, I'll probably put an annual vine or two in that spot.  Some of the ivy is destined for a new home, eventually.  I'm keeping it in nursery pots, in the meantime.  The rest went to the burn pile.)

(Whew.)  Then we started hauling gravel.  We need to finish the gravelling and trim a few pieces of landscape fabric, but it's much better than it was:

It feels good to scratch that off the list!

Daylilies

Daylily season has begun in earnest, now.  I'm still not sure which ones are from my seeds versus other places-- but at least a few are definitely blooming for the first time, and some of them must be the ones I grew from seed, because there shouldn't be this many others that I wouldn't have already seen in bloom.

In no particular order...

This one was a little battered by the rain, but it's still pretty.

This one has that slightly deformed look. (g)  Not bad, but one petal didn't open neatly... (But that's really just being picky!)  The color is nice.

The red "eyes" on these give them a tropical look, against the apricot petals.  I have no clue why (except maybe because the petals are round like mouse ears?), but these make me think of Mickey Mouse and Disney in general. (g)

This is one of the very, very few that I know by name-- 'Happy Returns', if I'm not mistaken.  It's a smaller daylily (in stature and bloom size), but I think it's supposed to be evergreen, and it's a repeat bloomer, which is nice, as most of my daylilies (well, maybe not counting the still-maturing seedlings) are not repeaters.

This larger yellow is a stunner.  I never think of yellow as a particular favorite color, but it's cheerful, and it works well with just about every other color I can think of.  The ruffled petals are interesting, too.

Another that didn't open as neatly as it could, but again, the color is eye-catching.

I love that gradient of green to yellow to salmon-pink, with the contrasting colors of petals (back petals lighter than the front ones).

This one looks a little mottled, which makes me wonder if it's not one of my seedlings... Not a bad flower, in my opinion.  Could be better, but maybe it will improve.  I think the apricot color is nice-- peach with streaks of yellow and pink.

So far, this is definitely the ugly duckling of the group.  This must be the first bloom of one of the first bunch of seedlings, so I'll hope that the flowers will improve with time.  If not... It's not exactly a looker.  If it can't do better in a year or two, it might be destined for composting.  That would be a shame, but there's no sense in keeping an ugly daylily.

The rest of the photos were taken with a flash, because it was too overcast the morning I took them to do without it (since I didn't want to fuss with a tripod).

This one's very softly-tinted, but I like it a lot.  I'm always a sucker for a green or yellow-green throated daylily.  The raspberry eye that bleeds down into the veining of the petals is particularly pretty.

That little streak of raspberry on the single petal is odd.  I wonder if all the petals (of future flowers) will eventually have raspberry marks-- or if it's just a random thing that will appear on just some petals of only certain flowers.  Technically, it's an imperfection, but the rest of the flower is pretty enough to overlook it.

The bright golden-yellow throat of the next flower makes a pleasing contrast with the clear red of the petals.

I love this burgundy, and the white edging on three of the petals really stands out.  (It would be even more of a stand-out if all six petals were outlined, but let's not be too picky. (g))

The same flower, again...
The lemon-yellow throat is a strong contrast with the petals.  That's one of the things I find myself admiring most in daylilies-- a contrasting throat.  That or a contrasting "eye"-- or both on the same flower.

Though it takes patience to wait two or three years to see the flowers, growing daylilies from seed is exciting and addictive.  I'm feeling tempted to do it again, believe it or not.  Maybe next year, if I haven't thought better of it by then... I think it's too late to do, this year, in any case.  And I already have too many seeds to deal with this season, as it is.

Edited to Add:
Ok, I caved.  More daylily seeds are on their way here, and I will germinate them, pot them up, and tend to them all summer-- maybe longer-- before they'll be ready to plant in the garden.  And then there will be at least a year or two before I'm rewarded with flowers, some of which may be absolute duds in the beauty department.

But once the first several months of care (mainly watering and acclimating them to the sun) are done, most of it's just waiting and caring for them as part of the flower beds as a whole (weeding, mulching, fertilizing, occasional watering), and those years are going to pass, regardless.  This way, there will be a prize at the end of them.  A mystery surprise!  ;o)

Roses

'Joseph's Coat'.
It's not without its problems, but I can't complain about the flowers and variety of colors on display!

'Apricot Drift'.
So far, there haven't been anything like drifts of bloom, but maybe it will be happier this year than last, since I've moved it.

I mentioned recently that the unknown pink climber/rambler/whatever rose may not be quite as dramatic as last year, but it's still a pleasure to behold.