There are many species of this beautiful flower and history tells us that Irises actually go back to the 11th century. Iris actually means a rainbow and it is said to be the flower of the Greek Goddess Iris, the messenger of love. A much loved flower by most gardeners, Irises come in various shapes, forms sizes and colors. Most gardeners agree that even when the plant is not in bloom, the sword like foliage of Irises is quite attractive in any garden. Irises grow from bulbs and are considered herbaceous perennials so once you plant you them, you will have them for years to come.

According to the American Iris Society, Irises can be classified in two groups, rhizomes and bulbous. There are countless varieties and species of Irises within these groups but the most commonly found in most gardens is the bearded German Iris. Other types of hybrids have come along which are crosses between tall and dwarf varieties. Irises with rhizomes are the ones used in many perfumes even today and in medicine during ancient times.

Did you know that some Iris bulbs are shipped in the fall and some in the spring? Before you start planning your Iris garden, figure out if you want the iris bulbs in the spring or fall. Assuming that you ordered the bulbs in the spring plant them in the fall in well drained soil and 4 inches deep. Make sure the bulb is near the surface and firm the soil tightly. Take a look and be sure the bulb is just beneath the surface of the soil. Irises like a sunny bright location but will also do well in partial shade. To give you an idea of the Irises that ship in the spring and fall, here are a few of my favorites.

Spicy Cajun Louisiana Iris – ships in the spring
A beautiful Iris that blooms mid-summer with two toned flowers to add beauty to your landscape! The flowers are sunny yellow and have violet or lavender petals and the plants have long stems and grass like foliage. It is hardy and deer resistant so it can be planted anywhere in your garden, backyard or even near ponds. Spicy Cajun thrives in zones 4-9 and grows 38″ high.

Siberian Iris Blue King – ships in the spring
Blue King has brilliant blue flowers that are a bit smaller than those of the bearded Iris. It is easy to grow and blooms in late spring and returns every year with lots more gorgeous blooms. After its blooming season, this Iris will add beauty to your garden as it remains in the garden with its attractive grass like foliage all summer long. It thrives in zones 4-9 and grows to 40″ tall.

Beverly Sills re-blooming Bearded Iris – ships in the fall
Bearded Irises come in different colors and most of them bloom in the spring and again in the fall. It is the most popular Iris by most gardeners and used extensively in bouquets and many other flower arrangements by florists. Beverly Sills described here comes in a pink color that is just beautiful. It blooms mid to late spring and then again in the fall. It grows from 30 to 36″ tall and thrives in zones 4-9.

Lion King Dutch Iris – ships in the fall
Gorgeous Iris created by one of Holland’s premier bulb growers and first offered by Breck’s which is a reputable bulb company. Lion King is very unique in that the flowers have purple and bronze falls with tiger yellow stripes. It is very different than most Irises with this color combination that will add a very dramatic and exotic look to any garden or landscape. Lion King blooms early to late summer and grows 20 to 24″ tall. According to Breck’s, these tall stemmed plants will thrive under most conditions and do well in zones 5-9.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Ornamental plant - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
AAnnounce : Message: Learning To Grow- Flower Gardening For ...
This is what flower gardening looks like | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Flower Garden Design Basics
Warm up this winter at indoor flower shows - USATODAY.com
Will Rogers Gardens - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Technorati Tags: Bulbs, Gardening, Iris Bulbs, Iris flower, Iris varieties

Most of us feel the fresh air and warming temperatures signaling the coming of spring and want to get out and start gardening. We also know that it has been a long, miserable winter and look with anticipation to those gorgeous spring days ahead. You are probably wondering why I am talking about a long winter when I live in the sunshine state of Florida. Well, let me tell you that we had the coldest winter on record here in central Florida this year. With two very cold spells that brought down our temperatures to the mid-twenties, all my flower gardens are basically dead with the exception of roses that seem to be coming back slowly. All my other plants look dead so I have lots of gardening to do this year.

During the month of March, most gardeners want to start planting new flowers. But be careful and watch your weather patterns carefully before you plant any new flowers. If you live in a colder region, be sure that dangers of frost are gone before planting anything new in you garden. If it is still cold in your area, just go out to your garden and start doing some clean up and get rid of plants that didn’t survive the winter. If you have snow in your flower garden that is beginning to melt, you can start removing it from the roots of the plants carefully to allow the sun to reach the roots and promote growth. Don’t do any cutting for now, just remove the snow.

In warmer climates like mine, it is time to go out there and start gardening. In my case, I need to first assess how many of my gardens survived the cold winter spells we had and start cleaning up all the dead plants. So far, it looks like my roses survived and I see some growth especially with my knock out roses. I am grateful for this as I have 16 of these planted and don’t want to loose them. The hibiscus shrubs look dead and I am surprised because hibiscus is usually very hardy. This week, I will cut the hibiscus short and wait to see if new growth begins within a few weeks. It is really sad for me to see my beautiful gardens so dead and lifeless but we have no control of weather patterns.

Once I clean out all the dead plants in my flower gardens, it is time to buy new plants and start planting. I will most likely start replacing the flower beds around the rose garden and buy colorful pansies and pentas. The next task will be to get rid of all the tropical shrubs that are dead and decide what I will plant in that area. One idea here might be to look for shrubs that survive cold weather and Indian Hawthorne comes to mind. Not sure if my clematis vines will make it as they look dead right now. What I will do here is to cut them back and wait and see if new growth starts.

Yes, my work is cut out for me this year with my gardening and it is time to get started. And you can do the same, so go out there and start gardening too. Also remember that if you want to plant summer flowering bulbs, the time to order them is now. Summer flowering bulbs ship in the spring and you can get a great selection at Breck’s. This is the company that I use for all my flowering bulbs and love doing business with them because of their great quality bulbs from Holland.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Purdue University Garden Publications
Garden | Define Garden at Dictionary.com
4-H PLUS Flower Gardening
Tips for Practical and Successful Flower Gardening - Yahoo! Voices ...
Can someone give me tips on flower gardening please? - Yahoo ...
Flowergardener

Technorati Tags: Garden Spring Cleaning, Gardening, Hibiscus, Pansies, Roses, Summer Flowering Bulbs

Growing up, I remember that my mother always had hollyhocks planted all over our flower garden. Mom would tell us stories of how my grandmother made sure that she had hollyhocks planted as well and considered them a must have flowering plant for any garden. Everyone that I talk to about hollyhocks tells me that somehow they inherited some hollyhocks seeds from their grandmothers. It seems that hollyhock seeds do get passed on from generation to generation mainly because they are beautiful but also because they are easy to grow.

It has been said that hollyhocks go back to ancient Roman and Greek times and these existed in lots of their gardens. Some say that they were planted amongst lilies and roses and hollyhocks were also depicted in ancient art work. The Romans used hollyhocks in many culinary recipes and the ancient Greeks used it as a sacrifice to Apollo in many celebrations and also for medicinal purposes. In Greece, the roots of hollyhocks were used to treat indigestion, toothache, inflammation and even earaches.

Hollyhocks are also found in many cottage gardens and the reason might be that these types of gardens don’t really have any design to speak of. In a cottage garden, flowers are usually planted together and all over the place so that it looks like the flowers grow wild. So in country cottage gardens, anything goes and it is okay to just plant flowers any way you like. Cottage gardens are informal where you may have a path that leads to the flower garden and nothing more. But one thing is for sure, you will see hollyhocks planted there because these require very little care.

Hollyhocks come in many colors but the most popular ones are pink, red, rose and white. Most of the bloom from July to September and can grow up to 6 feet tall so be sure to plant them in an area in your garden where these will not crowd your other perennials. Ideal places to plant hollyhocks are fences and walls where these can create a backdrop for other smaller flowers. Hollyhocks tolerate drought conditions and do well in full sun.

When you plant the seeds, Hollyhocks will only bear leaves for the first year. It is recommended that you add some compost to the soil when the leaves die and mulch around the plant to protect them during the winter months. Don’t worry, hollyhocks do well in zones 3-9 and are very hardy so these will come back in the spring. And because these are perennials, you will have them for years to come. If you don’t have any seeds and would like to have hollyhocks in your garden, check out Breck’s as they have some plants that come already established in 3 inch pots. You can then start saving the seeds and adding more hollyhocks to your flower garden every year.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Flower Gardening: News & Videos about Flower Gardening - CNN ...
BBC - Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - RBC New Wild Garden - Nigel ...
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14 winter-prep tips for your lawn and garden - MSN Real Estate
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MyEnchantingSilkGarden.com Promotes Lasting Floral Beauty ...

Technorati Tags: Cottage Gardens, flower garden, Gardening, Hollyhock Seeds, Hollyhocks

In my humble opinion, yes, flower gardening can be addictive. The addiction referred to here has nothing to do with food cravings or other known additions but rather the compulsion of shopping in abundance for roses, different types of plants, flowering shrubs, bulbs and even seeds. For me, the compulsion is roses as these are my favorite flowers. For some, it’s the stunning colors of annuals come spring time. And those of you who love bulbs completely ignore your budget and buy tons of these.

It goes without saying that most flower gardening enthusiasts love to have a beautiful and colorful garden but tend to overspend when buying plants, trees and shrubs. For example, I have a friend who loves irises and she always has to have the latest type of iris that is available. Recently she confided in me by saying that she was spending a fortune on her iris garden. My reply to her was that if she loves her iris garden and has the money to spend, she should just sit back and enjoy every minute of it. I also suggested to her to shop online for irises and she could spend less money than going to her local gardening place.

When redoing my gardens, I am tempted to just buy everything on site when I visit my local garden stores or even when I buy from online places like Breck’s. Knowing that this is not a good idea, what I normally do is to design the garden area first. If you design your garden area before shopping for plants, you can basically count how many plants you will need for your garden. Believe me this will save you lots of money. You will be tempted when you visit your local gardening place but just make a decision to buy the plants you need and nothing more.

So yes, flower gardening can be addictive but this is one addiction that is easy to combat and it is a positive one. Don’t be tempted when you see a two for one sale at your local gardening place and just buy what you need to redo your flower garden. Be sure to take you garden design plan with you when buying your plants and this will help you to control your spending. Whatever you decide to spend on your flower garden will be money well spent. Remember that a beautiful flower garden adds value to your home and your heart and soul. There is nothing more satisfying than stepping outside and seeing a flower garden in full bloom.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Horticulture for the Home: Flower Gardening — NDSU
My Flower Garden
Tips On Flower Gardening
pansy: Definition from Answers.com
Off Topic Flower Gardening - Groups - Yahoo
Page 5: Flower Displays Wipe Away Winter Blues - ABC News

Technorati Tags: Bulbs, Flower Gardening Design, Flowering Plants, Gardening, Iris, Roses