You did it again!

Absolutely breathtaking!

I'm quitting gardening today because I know there is no hope I can ever approach the standards you have established.

Gorgeous photos! I have Gypsy Romance too & just love it. Wonderful brilliant color. I have Dover Beach too, this will be its 3rd year & it had better bloom this year. The last pic is especially adorable.

My goodness. Your iris are yummo!!! I can see why Gypsy Romance is your favorite, its STUNNING. I really need to start trying to grow bearded iris. I love to mulch my beds and I know its not good to cover them up with mulch but I do have some spots that I don't mulch so I may just add some in those spots. Your sweet little daughter is just precious. Such a cutie!!! Do you order yours off the internet and if so where? Thanks a a bunch, Judy

Lovin' this! Thanks for posting.

Just unbelievably beautiful. I can just imagine the time it must take to maintain such a gorgeous garden.

Thanks for the compliments.

I got most of my iris from iris farms. They have literally hundreds of different kinds of iris, and I got to walk up and down the rows and pick out my favorites. I also got some from local nurseries and trading.

Harryshoe, no reason to quit, it's not a competition. If it were, I'd have had to quit years ago because there are some real garden gurus out here that impossible to approach.

I need to divide this year, they are all getting so crowded.

Your irises (and your photos) are absolutely gorgeous. I would love to have the name of all of them............

I'm like Ingwe4. Would love the names especially in the bottom 3 photos. The last picture is a real treasure!

Those are so stunning! Your photos are gorgeous! I have to have Gypsy Romance now it is so gorgeous...and what a beautiful job you have done with the combinations. Thank you for sharing.
kay

Absolutely beautiful gardens! Obviously a lot of work put into them. Especially the blonde plant!

Can you please tell me what nepeta you have with Dover Beach? What a match! As soon as I find out I will be ordering Dover Beach.

Gorgeous! Thanks for posting--I ENVY the room you have to garden. Perhaps one day.....

That's nepeta Walker's Low with the Dover Beach. DB is one of my latest tall bearded iris to bloom, so it does well with Walker's Low, which is about a week too late to bloom for my early tall bearded. Contrary to it's name, Walker's Low is NOT a low growing plant, but quite tall and floppy, so I grow it behind the iris and let them flop through the spiky foliage.

My generic nepeta is a small plant and does grow low to the ground. It blooms a few weeks earlier than Walker's, so it's the better companion for the early tall beardeds. Notice here how it makes a nice edge in FRONT of them.

Mikesc - For years I lived in condos, and my garden was a 20 x 20 plot that I rented from the local community garden center. That little plot kept me sane because I needed my hands in the dirt. So keep dreaming, my dream for a huge property came true.

Thank you so much.

You combos are just amazing. You have the 'eye'.

What is the pink iris, third from bottom photograph? They're all stunning!

Mike

What's the name of the iris planted with the wild blue indigo? Is it Yaquina Blue? if it is, then i'm so glad that i bought it last year!

The light pink iris is either Beverly Sills or Pink Horizon. I have the tags for both, but they are no longer attached to plants. The bicolored pink is Camelot Rose.

I have lots of blues and I'm pretty sure Shipshape is planted with the wild blue indigo. ( but tags have gotten mixed, so not 100% sure) It is one of the tallest and latest to bloom of my tall bearded.

Love all this photos!!! You really have the master touch.
I never forget the first time I see an Iris in Utah. After that I plant few of them and was great.
I move to Florida and now here I can't have them... I try many times, and no luck.
I hope that one day I can have just few of the beauties that you show here.

Those are surely the most beautiful iris photos I've ever seen!

Can you share with us how you maintain those beds so well? Do you have a "work schedule" that you follow?

I'm a big believer in low maintenance. I weed and mulch with aged horse manure in the spring, then cut back when I can. If you feed the soil (with manure or compost) then the healthy soil takes care of everything else.

Brenda, what is the almost black iris on a second photo?
You garden is stunning! You know, you were my inspiration to grow iris in a fist place when I saw your pictures while back.
This weekend I will be visiting an iris farm and rewarding myself with some gorgeous plants. Can hardly wait!
Thank you for posting photos - truly an eye candy and inspiration to look at and dream.
~Natalie

Gottagarden, thanks for the tips! It sure looks like you spend hours and hours on those beds! I've never had much luck with bearded iris but recently found by soil testing, that my pH is around 4.9 so I've been spreading lime around!

Wow! Your gardens are spectacular! You could have tours and charge admission! Really, REALLY beautiful!

Absolutely gorgeous garden! I love it! Thanks for sharing with us.

Wow, just had to bump this the photos are spectacular! Wonderful job you've done. I've read multiple times NOT to put manure in Iris beds. Wow, I'm glad I stumbled upon this. In the Iris beds the manure goes! Thanks! Rena'

beautiful - love the iris samurai warrior

thanks for sharing

mr toad

Time to look at Gottagarden's irises again.
Renee

What is that black looking one in the 2nd photo?

Wow, I love that Gypsy Romance and Dover Beach. Gorgeous!

Absolutely stunning pictures of your beds. How in the world did you do that? All those beds and flowers. I am so envious! The picture of your little girl dancing in the flowers would win lst prize in any photo contest. Love the ice storm pictures too. You truly have a gift. Thanks so much for sharing those photos with us.

What kind of plant markers do you use? My markers always either fade, get lost, blow away, or break off. So most of my iris I have no idea of their names anymore.

Thanks!

for plant markers, I use a sharpie PAINT PEN (not marker) to label window blinds, then the tag is stuck deep in the ground. I usually write the name on top and bottom of tag. The part underground will not fade, the part above ground will.

I used window blinds but they seem to break off. Maybe I'm using the wrong blinds! I bought 3 of those paint pens and I can't make them work. They must be too old?

Your gardens are so remarkable I can't stop looking at your pictures. Can I get your email? mine is: steelskies@yahoo.com. I see you have horses. I have many too. Beteween gardening and the horses, not much time for anything else......... BTW, the composted horse manure is THE BEST.

Bumpity bumping this for those waiting for Iris blooms.

Oh my goodness! Inspiring and beautiful and incredible... what an eye you have! Thank you posierosie for bumping this post!

Thanks for the bump. I definitely have the winter blues. These photos sure do help. I am really liking the alphabet threads as well! Can't wait for iris season!