You are going to make me hungry now.....

My bearded are in raised beds with stone so the grass has not really made much headway. Easy to weed the bits that make a stab at it. My LA's and JI's are mounded beds and aren't edged with anything, and the grass is really happy about that!

Well, I went to the store and bought pita chips and hummus. Not exactly chips and salsa, but I'm still blaming it on this thread.

At least we are always your alibi since we are always to blame! Enablers in all ways.

Yes, hot chips are freshly chipped wood chips. If one leaves them in a pile, they will actually start a fire. I had to hose mine down every day until I got them spread. The pile sent up steam. They will burn weeds/grass/vegetation under them; but not start a fire at 9 inches thick. In a few years they break down into the nicest humus earth. One has to keep them off wanted plants. Use old chips around wanted plants.

I love wood chips because they never hurt my mower blades or get broken or have sharp edges. They just make nice dirt.

Thanks everybody. Took a day off from digging -- the back is sore from two days in a row. Mowed the grass instead. Pulled a few weeds. Mapped one of the Nursery Beds. Oh -- I did run a hose for awhile in that section of the fenceline bed -- hope it'll make digging easier tomorrow.

I've been giving serious thought to getting steroid injections in my back. It's what one of the doctors recommended last fall -- but I wanted to avoid anything invasive if I could. I've tried every alternative that is available to me -- they all help, but don't solve the problem. And I think I've given everything a good long effort. I'm really tired of dealing with limitations and discomfort -- I'd really like to have my life back. I've talked to two good friends who have had these, and they tell me that it has helped them a lot. Anybody here have any information, either pro or con?

I take a friend to get injections in his back every month, He has 6 compressed disks and has had 3 back surgerys. He says he can't live without them and it's the only thing that makes him feel normal again.

Wow. Thank you for that information, Jen. If the injections can overcome all of that, then I should be a cake-walk. My back issues are not as critical as his. My big objection would be surgery. I'll do just about anything to avoid that.

Yeah, he is trying to avoid number 4. So far so good the injections are working well enough to hold him off until his son is a little older.

If there is soft tissue damage, ultrasound is a wonderful pain reliever. My physical therapist used it on me until insurance cut off the PT visits (pre-surgery). I bought a $40 home ultrasound and it works as well as the fancy expensive one! I have used it on my massage clients with great success too. The only problem is finding someone to ultrasound your back. It isn't like you could do it yourself.

What's being injected? Cortisone? Cortisone helps me sometimes, for a while.

I have had cortisone shots in a shoulder. Extreme pain for an instant & later relief. I only needed shots twice & watch out now that I don't overuse my right shoulder.

I've had ultra-sound, Linnea -- and it does help. But it's temporary. And ya can't keep going to physical therapy forever. And it's not really soft tissue damage. There's arthritis in the spine, and the lumbar discs are bulging. You'd think a chiropractor could fix that................

I think probably Cortisone, Jan. I haven't sat down and talked to a doctor about it yet. I've had trigger-point injections, and I've had dry injections. The dry injections helped the most. Trigger-point was pretty much a waste of time.

Muddymitts said:Thank you Missy and Jan! If I was facing it again -- I don't think I would even attempt it. But the allure of having room for more new Irises was irresistable!!

As we get older, don't most of us feel that way? Today I sit back and look at my spread, I look in awe, so glad that I started it 15 years ago. I would never venture to start something so huge today. It was my retirement dream to have a beautiful garden since I would have time to work and enjoy it. I sit back and think about all the changes I have made over the years...and all of the plants I had to try. But the irises have won out, followed by gardening for beneficial insects...bees, butterflies, etc, and for birds. And even today I am making changes, simplifying it, trying to make the garden a pleasure and not a a chore!

I hear ya Nancy (and to our group, BTW) -- it would solve a lot of my problems if I would take the time to spread pre-emergent over ALL of my beds. But I get busy, or I forget, or I get around to it but too late to have the best result.

Nancy !!

Hi, Nancy.

Mary Ann, I hope the shots work.

hi Nancy, hope he decide to pull up a seat and stay a while. Welcome

irisarian said:I have had cortisone shots in a shoulder. Extreme pain for an instant & later relief. I only needed shots twice & watch out now that I don't overuse my right shoulder.

Lucy - this could have been written by me. 40 years of making pottery wore out my shoulders, the right one particularly!
But I still keep working.

Progress report!!

Saturday evening I did more digging in the last section of the Fenceline Bed -- made some real progress after soaking the area with a hose the day before!


I was able to dig out four clumps of Irises heavily infested with Bermuda grass. On Sunday morning, I separated all of those four clumps. Had to jet-spray them repeatedly with the hose.


Here are the rhizomes I have salvaged so far:


The pile of Bermuda is growing:


I'm going to try to finish digging this evening. Hot weather is on its way back in -- would sure like to avoid digging work in that!!!

Looks great, do you know what the irises are that are there?