Saturday, May 5, 2012

After The Bloom- What to Do?

It went from THIS  to . . . . 


THIS

I have this annual dilemma, what to do after the iris bloom?  I never cut them back, I hear it's better for future growth.  I've heard of braiding them, but I don't think I'll do that.  They are in the back of the garden but still at a focal point, with the bird bath in front of them.
Any suggestions?  What do you do with your iris?

The red hot poker plant is in full gear, a transplant from the mama plant.  I've had two that bloomed already  with their orange and yellow spikes, but this one has more coming up by far.

The Swiss chard is adding color to the little side garden.  The stems are much more colorful than my camera will show you.  Today the big garden gets plants!  Hip, Hip, Hurrah!


Spinach and lettuce doing well, along side the collards.


Tomatoes across from radish and lettuce.
We couldn't eat as many radishes as I planted so some are getting big.
Did you know they get THORNS when they get big? 
I do now.

Ouch!

I better get on the gloves, pluck these guys out and dehydrate them for use in soups or stews.



4 comments:

Beth in NC said...

I hate leaving the stems around too, but I do. It is a shame Iris blooms don't last.

Concerning the post you left about our chickens. I wish I could cut a hole in the back of the coop for cross ventilation, but it backs up to a car-house that is inclosed too. :-/ So far the two fans have been helping and I placed some water in the coop for them to walk through.

Have a super weekend!
Beth

Manny said...

Not much you can do with the bloomed out Iris. Perhaps they are in the wrong spot. They probably shouldn't be a focal spot. Your garden looks beautiful.

Candy C. said...

I always cut them back...sometimes not until late fall or early winter though! LOL!! Mine bloomed like crazy this year and have been multiplying like crazy too, I really need to thin them out this winter. Love all your veggies, they are looking great!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I do think I'm stuck with them. I will try to peel off part of the dead papery stuff and maybe I'll scatter some zinnia seeds around them, the tall kind.