Damaged Irises Have NEW Growth: Flower Photographs

Today when I went to look at the irises that were damaged by the lawn mower I was happy to see that some have signs of new growth. 

These backyard irises were damaged when the husband cut his corner too close and ran them over with the lawn mower. Know that many of the rhizomes were damaged and did die, however, some were not as badly damaged and did respond to the immediate care that I gave them.

When the mowing occurred I went to irises aide by applying one inch of compost to the flower bed. Then set up a soaking hose to water them with a slow drip in the morning. The damage to the irises occurred during the hot summer when there were drought conditions.

 I also treated the garden bed with neem oil extract for spider mites. I used a concentrated formula that you mix with water and spayed the soil at dusk because it is not good to use neem oil in direct light.

A month after the occurrence I noticed that the irises garden is pest fee and suspect it is due to the neem oil insecticide. I also noticed that the irises have signs of improvement. The leaves that looked sickly are now showing signs of new growth, leaf bud on one of the rhizomes. 

 Granted a few flowers are still struggling to survive and 10 have turned brown and died due to the shock of the lawn mower.  I have not given up. 

 Know that my neighbor has tossed his irises that have had borers into the woods, thinking that they were hopeless and they have survived. We now have wild irises blooming in the woods in the spring, so anything is possible.

Here are some photographs of my irises, all photographs were taken of my personal residence flower gardens.

Outdoor Living Ideas: Creating a Space

Recently one of my online followers emailed a question. They told me that they were following my home and garden sets on my blog and that they did not have a patio or a deck, but instead a large yard and wanted an outdoor space.  They asked me if I had any ideas or suggestions. 

small outdoor living space

 My follower asked if they could create an entertainment or outdoor space where family and friends could sit and enjoy the view of their gardens and lake. I replied, that she could have an appealing outdoor space that she would enjoy for many years.

Know that you can create space anywhere and that you do not need a patio or a deck. Although it is nice to find an area in your yard that has a nice shade tree, garden overlook, or view of the lake.

simple backyard space

You can create a quick space by filling in an area with gravel, and mulch or doing a stone patio. If you do not want to do that you can buy cobblestone molds and make your own cement walkway for your outdoor space or base for your garden furniture.

Of course, you can always create an area by setting your furniture on the grass, but I would recommend cutting it very short in this area and treating it with an organic insecticide; concentrated spearmint oil or garlic are two products on the market that work very well.

cozy space by the lake

Here are a few outdoor living areas that I designed at polyvore.com. The first one shows a natural setting with outdoor furniture, a heating unit, and a fire pit for ambiance. I accented this set with a variety of autumn throw pillows and a lightweight blanket. All of these products are from my zazzle shop.

Anyone can create a space in their backyard, find the area that has the best view then set up your lawn furniture, add decorations, and create a space that is comfortable and has ambiance. Outdoor living will enable you to enjoy nature and you will feel more relaxed.

***You can buy the cobblestone cement molds at Lowes.com and create your own walkway or unique area for your patio furniture. It is a fun DIY landscape improvement project.

Caring For Damaged Irises

The other day my husband decided to run the mulching lawn mower over my backyard irises. He thought it was a good idea; quicker and faster way to trim back the fans and needless to say I was devastated. Many of the rhizomes were damaged and other plants had no leaves as they were cut down so low that I doubt they will produce flowers next spring or the year after, that is if they survive this shock.

My backyard irises that grow next to the rock wall

Anyway I was upset but today I dried the tears from my eyes and decided I would try to care for my damaged irises; try to save them. The first thing that I did was add some organic compost to the flower bed. Normally I do not cover the rhizomes but today I did cover most of them, leaving only a small section before the leaf would begin. The compost is a rich fertilizer and hopefully will aid in provided the irises with the nutrients that are needed to grow and not die.

When I completed the compost, I then watered the irises, in fact I set up a soaking hose that will provide the irises with a slow drip in the morning.

Presently I am watching the irises for sucking insects like spider-mites and aphids and if I see these garden type insects I will treat the irises with a spraying of neem oil insecticide. My friend is a master gardener and she does not think that the flowers will survive. It is a terrible shock to flowers and like I said the rhizomes were cut.

Know that my husband is a great help to me with the garden and that I had explained how to trim back the leaves, even showed him how to sterilize the garden scissor but he thought the mower was a good idea and cut down the irises. Of course he knew immediately that he made a mistake and did say he was sorry.  But the damage is done.

Keeping Irises Insect Free with Neem Oil

This summer has been a real buggy one. I suppose it was due to a cold and damp spring, followed by standing water due to ground saturation then it got hot and the insects came out in full force. Overall my irises took a beating from the sucking insects and when I found that natural soap  treatment was not strong enough I cut the irises back and treated the soil rhizomes and leaves with neem oil insecticide

Keeping my irises healthy with neem oil concentrate

Neem oil insecticide is natural and is safe to use in your garden. Plus it will not harm the butterflies or hummingbirds. I bought the brand Garden safe Neem oil extract concentrated liquid from Lowes.com. The label featured that it eliminate the garden pests; spider mites, aphids, powdery mildew, whiteflies, black spot and rust.

I followed the directions and treated my irises and roses in the evening after the sun went down. It is best to use this plant and shrub spray on a cloudy day or in the evening. Not a good idea to use during the heat of the day or in direct light as it will burn your plants leaves.

I saturated the soil, around and my plants stems and leaves. I am am pleased with the results thus far. Now as far as the grasshopper and other chewing garden pests I plan to treat my entire yard with concentrated spearmint as this was recommended to me by pest control expert.

Know that if you irises are under attack by mites, leaf spot disease, rust and aphids then neem oil concentrate mixed with water will help. If you have grasshoppers or other chewing garden pests then neem oil will not get rid of them

Learn the dos and don’ts for cutting back irises here

DO NOT Trim Iris Leaves with Lawn Mower

This post is not like my usual How to care, plant or maintain your yard and gardens, instead it has to do with what NOT to do.

Know that yesterday my husband offered to help me cut the leaves of the irises, because I am having a problem with garden pests and needed to treat the irises with concentrated spearmint.   I thought that the leaves were  cut on irises then it the pest repellent would have a better chance at getting to the rhizome and then get rid of the borers. 

I sterilized two sets of garden scissors and showed my husband the proper way to cut the leaves.  I generally cut them to three inches and the  leaves look like a fan.  Husband said he understood. So I got started with the garden in the front, 300 irises and husband started in the back; 287 irises.

About ten minutes into the project husband told me that cutting the leaves was ridiculous and that he decided to cut the grass. So I thanked him for what he did and went about my garden business.

I heard the lawn mower and was happy the grass was being cut.  A few minutes later my husband approaches me and says “ I cut them too short” I was not sure what he was referring to and asked “what did you cut too short” He replied “the irises” 

Bearded irises growing both sides of garden path

Know that if the rhizome is cut then they are damaged and yes this is too short, I had showed him and thought he understood how to cut the irises leaves.  Apparently not because I followed my husband to the backyard where the Batik irises are planted on both sides of the garden path and yes he did cut them too short and I suspect I lost a couple hundred irises flowers because my husband ran them over with the mulching lawn mower.

Using the lawn mower or grass trimmer is the wrong way to cut irises and if you do this you put them at risk for borers and damage that cannot be repaired. I suspect that they will all die.

Know that my husband can be a great help to me in the garden, and I have no idea why he thought using the lawn more on the irises was a good idea. He watched me cut the leaves so that they looked like fans  with a sterilized garden scissor. I am shaking my head in disbelief. He said he was sorry, but does not really understand the damage that his actions have created.

Learn proper care for irises here