I have loved gardens and flowers every since I was a small child in Ohio. At that time, the old un-named bearded Irises and common Daylily forms really caught my attention. Now, 30 years later, and now in Florida, Irises and Daylilies are still the most represented plants in the garden.

When living in Kentucky, one day in the mid 1980's, I went to the mall, and found an Iris show in progress. I was hooked. A couple years later, I was "introduced" to Louisiana Irises. Although late season freezes harmed them sometimes, they still did quite well in Kentucky.

Now, in Florida, I have some of the same Louisiana Iris varieties I had up there, and have since added some. Since I live on a range of low rolling hills, the sandy soil dries enough that the Irises must be grown in containers so the root zone will not get too parched. I take "cheap" kiddie pools, and poke a couple of drain holes in them.

Then, I place the pools in a hole dug deep enough to allow the pool to be sunk into the ground. Then, I backfill the pools with a mixture of Canadian Peat and the sandy soil. The Louisiana Irises love this arrangement, because it is a reasonably close mimic to the alligator filled swamps in which they would naturally grow.

In this part of Florida, the bloom season for the Louisiana Irises starts in late March, and continues through April. So far, I have yet to have any rebloom on these Irises.

In addition to the Louisiana species and hybrids, I also grow some forms of Iris virginica, Iris pseudacorus, and Iris tridentata. Besides these, I have some plants of the TB Iris WINTERLAND and Iris japonica and Iris wattii growing in pots.

In addition to the Irises, the Daylilies already mentioned make a big part of the garden. I have a Daylily page at http://daylily.net/gardens/tallpine.htm The Daylily bloom season runs from late March to early October.

Also, I have come to love the ornamental Gingers, especially the Butterfly Gingers, botanically known as Hedychium. These are showy and fragrant, two traits I adore.

Some other plants I am growing are Irids, or cousins to Irises. Among them are the Walking Iris [Neomarica], Tiger Eye Iris [Trimezia], Blue Eyed Grass [Sisyrinchium], Painted Petals [Freesia laxa], and Montbretia.

In terms of other plants, I have Camellias, Azaleas, Redbuds, Dogwoods, Fringe Trees, English Dogwood [Philadelphus inodora], and Crape Myrtles around for color. ... And, although not everyone here does, I even have some Palms growing here.

Mark A. Cook
BigAlligator@aol.com
Dunnellon, Florida