Growing Louisiana Irises
by Tom Dillard
I like Louisiana irises, but they are merely one among many different plants I grow in my garden. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a garden composed solely of Louisiana irises, just as some folks could find satisfaction in a garden of cactus, or asters, or, I suppose, daffodils—though in the later example the garden would appear awfully barren for most of the year!
Actually, I grow two gardens—one is filled with flowers, shrubs, trees, ground-covers, statuary, a fish pond resplendent with pink and yellow water lilies. I grow my other garden in my mind, in my imagination. Both of these gardens are real to me. From one I derive the pleasure of working the soil, producing scenes of beauty, cutting flowers for every room of my home.
From the garden of my mind I take equally valuable gifts. I can close my eyes in the middle of January, while sleet lashes the window panes, and see the great swaths of black eyed susans that meandered through my garden last year. Or, I can try out new plants, experiment with new designs, or banish every dandelion from that garden of my imagination!
Often my real garden, situated on a rocky ridge in an old Little Rock suburb, falls far short of measuring up to the garden of my imagination. There's much too much shade, not nearly enough humus, and I've spent far too much money on stone retaining walls and not nearly enough for irrigation. And then there was the problem of sticking in far too many Louisiana irises into every bed and border, even into the vegetable plot.
- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
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- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
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- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
Read more: Propagation and Cultivation of Louisiana Irises by Claude W. Davis
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- Category: Growing Louisiana Irises
Read more: Garden Culture of Louisiana Irises by J. Farron Campbell
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