Native Plants

 

I keep talking gardening even though there's still snow, snow, snow.  I'm looking forward to the color coming.

One thing this farm came with was a plethora of Blue Iris Flowers/iris versicolor.  Did you know they are native plants to Maine and throughout the USA? I had no idea.  It has lots of iris cousins, but not all iris flowers are native (such as the bearded iris have been introduced from Europe and the Mediterranean area). They grow best in full sun, rich soil with moderate moisture, but at this farm, they were in lots of nooks and crannies, but not the nooks and crannies that I could really enjoy them. They were stuck along the house and not really blooming (picture above shows the bittersweet intermingling, ugh), stuck in brush and within brambles, under trees and in a swampy area in the field.  I spent a good part of the fall moving lots of them into organized clumps and paths in spaces we frequent where we'll be able to SEE them.  As in I'll be able to look out my kitchen window and see them instead of having to go on a scavenger hunt to find them. I put a whole row along our back walkway and I put big clumps next to the front steps. The seeds probably spread and the rhizomes multiplied and it was HARD to dig them up, they were so thick. A lot of effort and sore muscles, but I did it.   I'm so excited for them to pop up and hope the move doesn't mean the blooms will skip this year. I'm ready to see them and see the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds enjoy the blooms. Plus you know they will end up in bouquets.