Little Iris, Orchids And A Bucket Of Trilliums

I worked in my own garden today. It was a late start. I actually managed to sleep in this morning. Unfortunately, that was because I caught the cold my mother has. I don't feel so good.

I started in the roadside vegetable garden which is way behind schedule. That may have worked out fine since we are under a freeze and frost warning for the next two nights. Light weeding was done to prepare for planting and the perimeter weeds were sprayed to keep the Lush at bay. I am testing out vinegar as a weed killer. The more we know about Roundup the worse it gets. I am going to make an effort to reduce my already limited use of it.

When I finished up for the day I went for a little stroll. The Iris cristata have begun to bloom. Between the two gardens here there must be 50 patches of this sweet little iris.

It also comes in white. This was bought maybe three years ago. There is enough of it now to start spreading it around.

I'm not sure what group of iris these belong to, but they are short, only six to eight inches tall and bloom before the larger iris that they resemble. Somehow I ended up with all dark ones. Dark red.

I'd call this a port. It is purple with a red tint. I think this is the clothes line iris. The slugs have been quite active on the iris in this bed beside the cabin. Damn slugs!

I wandered deep into the forest and yes the Showy Orchis, Galearis spectabilis, are in bloom. I re-caged them after their photo session. Damn deer! In a forest full of wildflowers they ate the orchids. They must be a delicacy. I want them to be able to set seed and multiply. The deer will just have to suffer.

One of about eight Viola species here, Viola canadensis has formed a massive colony beside the giant rock that sits on top of the stream.

My other project for the day was trillium transplanting. I went down into the deep forest and dug me up a bucket of the Trillium grandiflorum for planting in the garden becoming. The plan is for them to settle in and multiply to the point of becoming a pest. Depending on my identification skills this will make six or seven trillium species in the garden becoming. If I keep at it, future springs could be quite the trillium show.

While I was down in the deep forest I discovered something new. This is Prosartes lanuginosa, Yellow Mandarin. The plant itself has a very interesting form. It is a single, multi branching stem with alternate Solomon Seal like leaves. I like it. I won't move it though.

It is on my list of chores to wander into the deep forest and pick up all the deadfall to tidy things up. It's a mess down there made worse by the death of the now decomposing hemlocks. Then I'd like to lay out a series of paths through the deep forest. There is a beautiful natural garden down there that needs to be seen and enjoyed by more people.