Hermann spring

[iris lilies]

Today is beautiful. Sun out, cool. Bluebells are waning, but iris are coming on. All photos are ipside down. Ack!

iris farm. Room for 400 cultivars in 4 levels.

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fruit tree grove. 20 something trees.

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Sad grape arbor. None lived thru the winter. They were expensive and difficult to get. Ugh.

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[catherine]

I want to come out and live with you for a month and take hands-on classes with you and your DH. This is beautiful.

[razz]

Neat to see. Thanks, IL.

[Tradd]

Very nice!

[iris lilies]

I want to come out and live with you for a month and take hands-on classes with you and your DH. This is beautiful.
Aw, that’s nice. We could sure show you how NOT to grow Norton grapevines!
Seriously, we ordered about a dozen from Univ of Missouri way station, 2+ hours away. They are the official supplier of
Nortons.* They are dug in June, shipped out, and recommended not to go in the ground until summer heat lessens.

8 of our grape plants lived thru those summer heated weeks,and 8 went in the ground with about 4 looking really good.

None survived! Drat.

Norton was bred from a Missouri native grape 100+ years ago. Once they start growing they are tough. I would have been happy to raise 3 of the 12.





*Norton red wine is the only drinkable Missouri wine.

[razz]

I went through a similar experience with rhododendrons that are especially bred for colder climates. I sheltered them carefully throughout the summer and met all the environmental conditions advised, they seemed to be thriving - not one survived. I feel your pain.

[SteveinMN]

Much ground to cover there. Thanks for sharing!

[iris lilies]

I went through a similar experience with rhododendrons that are especially bred for colder climates. I sheltered them carefully throughout the summer and met all the environmental conditions advised, they seemed to be thriving - not one survived. I feel your pain.

We bought 5 azaleas last year. They dont look good.

[iris lilies]

I should also mention that I use iris in a conventional way in my perennial garden at the front of this house.

But the “ iris farm” area in back is for serious growing and evaluation of cultivars. I am thrilled with its location: full sun, on a hill, wind sweeps over it to keep iris dry and free of fungus. The soil leaves something to be desired, but we are amending it as I plant.

The process of moving several hundred cultivars has been a challenge, and I lose many along the way. I also end up with several of the same cultivar unintentionally planted in several places. Some of the little beasts are hardier than others and they thrive wherever they touch down.

[razz]

Iris in full bloom over a couple of weeks is a glorious place to visit as are lilies - OK, so are poppies and sunflowers and peonies ....:) I wonder how the gardens, both private and public, are going to handle the visitors of the coming season. Soon it will be time to start visiting local gardens around here.

[iris lilies]

Iris in full bloom over a couple of weeks is a glorious place to visit as are lilies - OK, so are poppies and sunflowers and peonies ....:) I wonder how the gardens, both private and public, are going to handle the visitors of the coming season. Soon it will be time to start visiting local gardens around here.

The Missouri Botanical .gardens have been closed since early March. They started up a Facebook page for MBG volunteers. They have our email addresses because We are required to give that when we sign up as volunteer. They send us regular photos from their archives of past blooms. I’m sure the weeds are taking over like crazy without volunteers working the grounds.

I hope I will not miss iris season at Missouri botanical Gardens. I work in the Goodman Iris Garden there, they have a really nice collection of iris. My Iris Society funds their new purchases and chooses new cultivars for the garden.

[happystuff]

Very nice!!!

[Tybee]

So nice to see these pictures, thank you! My irises are only 2 inches tall right now, but it was 24 last night.

[KayLR]

Iris...just sharing the view from my office window---and our rhodies are all in full bloom too.
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[razz]

Lovely, especially the rhodos.

[iris lilies]

Iris...just sharing the view from my office window---and our rhodies are all in full bloom too.
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There are beautiful, thanks! The PNW can grow such nice rhodies.

[early morning]

IL, we drove around in Hermann last July on our way home from a reunion in Hannibal. I remembered you bought a place there and so we went to see it (town, not house, lol! No idea which one was yours, but we probably passed it!) It is a lovely looking town. We stopped at a candy shop- Ricky's Chocolate Box - it was the only thing open we could find- and they had the most lovely hard candy rods and pieces. Thanks for posting your photos; I like the yard very much and hope you get grapes going the next go-round. KayLR, I am jealous of your rhodies - they are glorious. They don't seem to do well here in my part of Ohio. I do well with most natives but not anything that needs TLC. But maybe I'll have more time now that I'm retired and will be more successful with plantings. I love spring wildflowers - I have red and white trilliums, Dutchman's breeches, blood root, jack-in-the-pulpit, yellow, white, purple and purple/white violets, bluebells, forget me nots, bishops hat, Solomon seal, bleeding heart, wood poppy - these are my spring bloomers. Most all were collected from the wild (with permission!!) and have settled in well and multiplied over the years. While I really enjoy them, I also like splashes of intense color, which is why I have a bed of daylillies, and some peonys stuck in odd places... At our first house, I had a lot of iris, but I have limited sun spots here and I've not had much luck with them.

thanks for posting photos!

[iris lilies]

You probably did go past my Hermann house.
Ricky’s
chocolate Box is nice. i got DH chocolates from there for Valentine’s Day.