|
Grow Where You Are Planted 
The Quest
for Bliss
There's an old expression my Grandpa Park used: "Grow
where you are planted." Grandpa was a man of few words, but he communicated
volumes with the ones he chose. From a very early age, I have fond memories
of traveling from my deep south Louisiana home up to Kansas, where my
farmer-turned-lawyer grandfather created a cornucopia of growth in his tiny
back yard. My brother and I would argue over who got to be the farmer and who
had to be the horse as we took turns tilling rows with Grandpa's old plow in
the vegetable garden! We would watch with amazement as Grandpa worked on his
hybridization attempts with irises and roses. I could tell that Grandpa was
happiest when he was in his garden, and he wanted to share that bliss with my
brother and me.
One of the things Grandpa shared was a rhizome of
his favorite bearded iris: Cliffs of Dover (Fay 1952). With the faith of a child,
that rhizome was planted in Louisiana. No one told me bearded iris wouldn't
grow here, and no one told me it shouldn't be placed under a tree, and no one
told me I shouldn't plant the rhizome too deep. Nope… that rhizome went in
under the fir tree covered with mulch so that it wouldn't get too hot! Over
the years, the iris didn't seem to catch on that it wasn't supposed to grow
here either. Like clockwork, it bloomed every May… reminding me of Grandpa
and happy times we were to share. That iris sparked a gardening glee in me
that was seldom matched by any other activity. Though my parents weren't too
big on the yard thing, I saved my allowance to buy annuals. I brought home a
seedling tree from the woods and planted it in the most inappropriate place
(and, of course, they COULDN'T cut down my "baby" when the tree did
what trees do… and grew!). I created patches of green all over the place,
with pumpkins in the side yard and marigolds running by the driveway. But the
one plant that held my attention best was that iris. Miraculously, it went
through its yearly cycle of bloom and decline, a tiny little teacher with the
message that all things have a time; that even when things look stark and
ugly, beauty can be just around the corner; and that with enough love and attention,
you CAN grow where you are planted. Every year, Grandpa would get the word
that the iris had bloomed, up until May 3, 1975, when it bloomed on the day
Grandpa died.
Sadly, the college years took a
toll on old Cliff. My beautiful iris did not survive when I was no longer
there to care for it. But the memory of its beauty and the bliss I felt in
Grandpa's garden stayed with me as I moved from home to home, always
searching for the "perfect" thing to plant for absolute joy. At our
first home, it was perennials and roses. Our second home was the years of
azaleas, cultivated wildflowers, flowering trees and woodland plants. I also discovered the instant thrill of
container gardening there. Home #3 brought the fish pond and fountains. Our
Louisiana iris were carefully dug with each move and brought along for the
journey. A little over a year ago, we moved to our fourth home… and this one
is where we plan to stay for good. The yard is smaller, but the potential is
great. We have spots of shade, spots of full sun, and spots in between. Best
of all, the beds that existed when we purchased the home were horrendous, so
they could be completely ripped out guilt-free. I had an empty canvas!!! In
went the Louisiana iris. In went the roses and perennials. In went the
azaleas, woodland plants, and containers. In went the fish pond and
fountains. In fact, in went everything I'd ever dreamed of playing with in
yards of the past. Everything, that is, except the bearded iris. Soooo, here
we are, full circle. Without that childhood faith, it's easy to be discouraged
by the local gardening gurus who are certain that bearded iris will not
thrive in our heat and humidity. But with the words of my Grandpa ringing in
my ears, I know it's time for me to quit wishing and begin this great
experiment of finding the bearded iris cultivars that WILL grow in the deep
South. New cultivars have
been introduced that just might make it. Rebloomers actually enjoy a bit more
moisture, and a few Southern hybridizers have added their creations to the
mix. New gardening products have been introduced to fight a host of problems
that might occur. Soil testing, water analysis, bio analysis… it's all at my
fingertips. Even if my irises never rival those of the more northerly regions,
the personal growth, knowledge, friends I have met through research and correspondence,
and beauty of those flowers that do
bloom here will all have helped me grow where I am planted.
This website was born out of my
desire to share that growth along the way. I welcome any suggestions or
contributions you may offer to help in this endeavor. Below you will find
links to a directory with photos and details of every cultivar that I am
planting in the garden. I will be posting notes along the way for each one,
detailing the soil prep, growth, additives, problems, blooms and virtually
anything else that occurs. In this way, I hope to create a reference for
other Southern gardeners, so that we may accurately identify those cultivars
that can succeed in our heat and humidity and those that cannot. I have
carefully selected the cultivars from those that have been reported as
bloomers in Zone 7 or 8, including a good representation from the two
Southern hybridizers I found: Walter Moores and Bernice Miller. I have also
compiled all the information I found regarding bearded iris culture, editing
it to create a planting guide for deep South gardens. Finally, I have
included a list of links to many other iris-related sites. I invite you to
explore what is offered here.
|
