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Saturday, April 6, 2013

Color for the Weekend

Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin' in our Shade Path garden this weekend.
Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin' in our Shade Path garden this weekend.
A few years ago I fell in love with these spring gems, the rock irises. I planted 50 in our shade garden last year and they have come up again this year! Here it is with the evergreen Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides.
Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin'.
Iris reticulata 'Katherine Hodgkin'.

Have a nice weekend!

17 comments:

  1. Love Katharine and mine are popping up too!! They are by far my fav reticulata.

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  2. Fantastic, I always thought they needed the sun, now I'm thinking just what I need on a slope in the woodland!!

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    1. It is very dry here, Pauline, so perhaps that is why? And also very open in the early spring when these are up, soaking up the sun before the trees leaf out.
      ~Julie

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  3. Lucky you, they don't always return for a second year. But worth planting the little beauties anyway; sadly mine are long gone, it's tulips now.

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  4. Gorgeous! My fav I. reticulata. Lost most of mine in flooding last year. A couple survived and managed to flower back in February. They are now lifted and into pots. I will replenish in autumn with more bulbs but need to find an alternative spot for them. I see you have them in shade - like Pauline above thought they needed sun to dry out in summer.

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    1. Very true- they usually take sun. This shade garden is very DRY! Perhaps that is why they have done well, as the other bulbs have in this area. I cannot wait to have some "normal" shade someday... where I could grow a dozen primroses :) But we should all make the most of what we have! This iris is a great example of that, I guess.
      ~Julie

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  5. That 'Katherine Hodgkins' is gorgeous! Maybe I'll put some in my shady back garden.

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  6. I grew these one year, but they never returned. Still, I just adore this bloom. Such beautiful detail on each petal. I love how you have them planted with the snowdrops.

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  7. Hmmmm, and they capture the light in such a beautiful way. I remember falling in love with this Iris on someone else's blog last year. If they grow in shade, maybe I need to add them to my garden! Gorgeous!

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  8. Lovely, the Katherine Hodgkin is also my favourite early Iris. I planted several times some of them, but they don't return well in my garden.

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  9. I'm not a fan of the taller iris, but I have a few rock iris that I have fallen in love with. Shade bloomers are hard for me to find, and these bring some great variety :)

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  10. So delicate and beautiful. I've tried planting them several years in a row, but not much luck as yet. Not sure if it's too wet/heavy soil in my yard, or if they are getting eaten by the critters.

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  11. What part of the country do you live in?

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    1. PA, zone 5. We are having a very slow spring this year.
      ~Julie

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  12. I've got the dark royal purple 'George' in my garden and he's been fabulous. Just finishing now after all the snowy weather etc - I love Katherine Hodgkin though and will keep an eye out for her.

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  13. They are gorgeous! I've never seen this variety..... lovely thanks for sharing.

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