Pacific Northwest Gardening: Taming the wild garden, 0 by PhilsFlowers

PhilsFlowers wrote:
OK, I will start again. Without thinking I wanted to look at the full sized picture of Tillysrat's Iris and without thinking clicked on it, losing everything I had written so far. I like the brownish veining on this iris as bronze, rust, brick colors are quite popular for summer plants, don't know about spring. The iris is bright enough, at least I think so, but if you want to punch up this area of your garden why not go with some deep orange tulips, whichever ones bloom at the same time as your iris. When you divide your setosa irises, if they bloom at the same time as the yellow iris, why not try putting some of them with this yellow iris as well. I think that color combination would look very nice. The best (but most expensive) thing to do is what I do, (very unfortunate for my bank balance) go to the nursery looking for plants in bloom that look nice with the poor orphan at home.

Your setosa iris is much larger than mine and absolutely gorgeous but I just got them earlier this year. I have a spot under a camellia tree which I know kills anything good I put in it. I expect it is a combination of soil that is very dust-like and an inconsistency in watering. Without thinking I asked Reggi to plant three of the four I bought in this location because they were short and below it is going to be my alpine garden where nothing should be more than a foot in height, the fourth of these irises she planted in the raised bed which began life as a berm for two cedar trees which we didn't like so had a stone "D" wall (only its a backward 'D' with the flat side running along the driveway. The other three sides are round. Had them truck in top soil and replant everything I liked in this bed. The setosa iris in this bed really thrived and I think I will get Reggi to replant the third setosa (and only other living setosa) iris from under the camellia tree somewhere near the other one in the former berm which now is known as the Cedar Tree bed. We have to move the Euphorbia griffithii "Fireglow" out of this spot because it is encroaching on a red peony which my husband likes and peonies don't like to be moved so it's the euphorbia that has to move, like it or lump it. Doing this will also give me room for the other setosa iris without crowding them.

If I find that salmon-colored poppy next year I'm definitely going to get it. It will have to go somewhere in the back yard border which runs for approximately 75 feet along the back of our small back yard. My husband is not really a flower person but he loves any flower that is red. Because of this we have numerous red poppies in the back yard border and, without him knowing, Reggi and I are going to have to remove some of them because I don't think that red and salmon in close proximity go well together.

I do know where Bremerton is and have always wanted to go there as I think there is a Burlington Coat Factory store in a mall there. They used to have one near the Southcentre mall, located near the SeaTac airport, but that was years ago and once, when we went to look for it, something else was in its place. I loved shopping at the BCF, also liked shopping in Seattle but haven't been there for a long time either. I have Sjogren's Syndrome so don't like to travel alone for any length of time any more.

Our geography is very confusing if you haven't grown up with it or don't have a really large good map. Victoria is on Vancouver Island which is the large island a beautiful ferry ride away from the Lower Mainland. It isn't the ferry that is beautiful, of course, it is the views seen during the crossing. If lucky you might even see some of the black and white orca (killer) whales. Most of them migrate but because the water remains fairly warm, a few always stay and it is a treat to see them. There are several local pods. To get to the ferry you travel by car from Victoria to Schwartz Bay, take the ferry to Honeymoon Bay, then you travel along the road from Honeymoon Bay, which used to be quite an attractive little place, through West Vancouver, across the Lions Gate Bridge, a beautiful suspension bridge across Burrard Inlet, to the city of Vancouver (there is also a North Vancover which is actually north of West Vancouver. Burnaby is north of the city of Vancouver. Clear as mud? On reaching Vancouver you follow signs to "Seattle" or "to Highway 99" which is the route south to the border with Washington State where it becomes I-5., which everyone living along the West Coast from British Columbia to Mexico knows. Follow Highway 99 practically to this border and take Exit 2, the White Rock/Crescent Beach Road exit. Follow the Crescent Beach Road to 128th Street and turn left on it and you are in the lovely suburb of Ocean Park in Surrey where I live. It is much easier to go to Bremerton and follow the highway east to reach I-5, follow it north through the border and take the first exit, Exit #2 (don't ask about Exit #1, I've looked and its definitely missing!) Follow it to the first roundabout, curving around it to the left and over the bridge, follow the second roundabout around to the left too and just past the King George Highway, take 8th Ave. Follow it as far as it goes (right to the built up railway tracks with the ocean on the other side and turn right along Marine Drive. Follow it with the ocean on your left and the City of White Rock on your right. You will probably miss the pitiful marker that lets you know you have left the City of White Rock and are now in the City of Surrey. Continue along Marine Drive to reach 128th Street and turn right along it until you reach the first stop light and you are in Ocean Park.

I just let the clematis run along the ground as it doesn't seem to dislike being there. Reggi is the one to patiently drape it over the plants. I have a white oriental lily, a beautiful very fragrant flower (I'll attach a picture of it), which grows higher every year and is now about 7 feet tall, we thought would be perfect for this poor misguided clematis to grow up on. No luck. I think next spring we will take your suggestion and when it gets long enough we'll tie it to the Japanese maple tree and see what happens.

I would love a honeysuckle vine as they are supposed to be very fragrant and I love flowers that are not only beautiful to see but smell beautiful too. Reggi bought a Passionflower vine and one day when we were in the nursery they had them for a reasonable price and she persuaded me to buy one too. I really didn't want to, look at the luck I have had trying to get a clematis to get up off the ground!! I said they weren't hardy in our zone, she said they were and if I planted it in a pot I could bring it in at the first sign of frost and keep it in the garage where my husband overwinters his red fuschias. He is very proprietary about these fuschias, Reggi and I don't touch them 8>). I couldn't think of any other excuses so did buy it, it is now September but there aren't any flowers on it. I think that it is because my yard, with all the trees, just doesn't get enough light. Just in case we happen upon honeysuckle vines next year and she persuades me to buy it, please tell me what you did wrong with yours so I don't do it 8>}.