Sowing the Seeds

One of my passions is gardening specifically growing PERENNIALS. My favorites are Iris of all kinds (Tall Bearded, Dutch Iris, Japanese Iris), Peonies, (both Herbaceous and Tree peonies), Lilies of all kinds (Oriental, Asiatic, LA's, Dayliles), Poppies, Hosta, Ferns, Hellebores and Hybrid Tea Roses. As this season approaches, the Iris are now starting to bloom. Our season has been filled with damaging hail storms, freezing temperatures, and overcast days, so our bloom season is about 2-3 weeks behind schedule. I've had quite a bit of damage in my beds. I lost about 150 tulips--just broken right off with the hard hail storm we had. The bleeding heart and roses also took quite a beating. That's what happens when we're partners with Mother Nature--you never know what to expect from season to season. This Iris is CLASSIC LOOK (Schreiner '92,  EM  36"   Classic Blue plicata.  Ruffled, pristine White petals have a 4" breadth and flawless form;  Lobelia Blue stitching.  Fragrant.  HM '95, AM '96) one of 150 different varieties I have in the yard. I have 7 different beds where they are planted in various color schemes: A bed of pinks/magentas; another of blues/whites/blacks; the upper bed has yellows/purples and white blends; the front side bed, front foundation bed, and rock garden beds are filled with blues/blacks, pinks/peach and whites. I love working with iris. They grow especially well here in Utah, where our summers are hot and dry.