Our spring has been a slow one to start this year because of the weird weather...it has arrived!

Very nice bloom pics, Carla! This is pretty impressive for Arizona!

I agree, that is a gorgeous garden, Carla!

Thank you Karen and Linda,

I am sure your gardens are just as gorgeous. This year has been a difficult one in the Valley, the wet has killed or made our plants struggle. As I drive around I see many cacti that have rotted from the bottom, I am sure many will die this year.

I have many daylily and am hoping for a few blooms but if they are too late the bloom will just burn. The iris are continuing to struggle and am hoping for a dryer summer so I do not lose any more...I always said Mother Nature is fickle and this year shows us not to get to comfortable!

Happy Gardening!

This year was actually much better for our yard. I don't think we get quite as much rain as you get in Gilbert or Buckeye. My cacti bloomed much better, and none are rotting. I have an Orange Jubilee bush that is spectacular right now. The extra rain made it really bloom well. Ruellias are all gorgeous with their purple flowers and my bougainvillea was better than ever and totally covered with colorful bracts.

Nothing rotting here either. Daylily plants look great, no blooms yet of course.

We've had a pretty good spring in Prescott. There was a little more moisture in winter and spring, and there were fewer round-trips between 80F and freezing, which can really tear up a garden.

I posted a few of these elsewhere:

Brilliant Idea


NOID Yellow, possibly Final Decision


Celebration Song at dusk



NOID Purple Bicolor, Possibly Romantic Evening

Very nice, Steve, What is the name of the rose in your profile? It's lovely.

Thanks Karen. I'm 98%+ sure it's Folklore. It's a relatively easy rose to care for as Hybrid Tea roses go, IME. The colors are sometimes more of a dullish copper, but sometimes they have glowing yellow or orange highlights as shown. They are not always huge by HT standards, but I find them to be very nicely formed, almost always.

Thanks, Steve, I'll look for it. I only have one HT rose and it's doing well. It's "Henry Fonda".

A few more photos from today...

A brand new Chasing Rainbows Iris


A three day old Chasing Rainbows Iris


A garden friend


And another


One more Brilliant Idea

Carla, you have a marvelous iris collection!
Do you remember where you got your iris? I'm particularly interested in the orange over grape plicata and the dusky rose one with the speckles.

Just this year I planted Amethyst Falls Wisteria. If it survives I will have to erect a pergola in its honor. And if it outcompetes the feral grape nearby, I'll erect a great monument to it. So far, though, I can only report that it bloomed in spring and it is not dead yet.

@Steve812

Thanks Steve,
I think one of the ones you are talking about TB Iris Latin Jazz, it is new to me this year. Could you please copy or count the picture sequence of the rose one and I will tell you the name. I buy a lot of iris from clubs around the area at various sales. The Margie Valenzuela Iris are from Nola's Iris Garden, she is a hybridizer from the Tucson area. And I have about 9 that I purchased from Schreiner's.
I just love Brilliant Idea and Chasing Rainbows, we should start a trade list and when they are ready to trade we can mail them to each other or meet up and trade them.

I am still having Iris bloom and we are about 3 weeks to a month behind on bloom and the heat is here...ugh!!! But the daylillies have started blooming too!!!

Happy gardening!

Here are more spring iris pictures...

I can't believe you have daylilies. I usually don't see any until July, here.

In the post numbered (3) it's Iris #2 and #5 that I commented on specifically. I like the idea of swapping iris. I'll have to figure out a foolproof way of inconspicuously labeling my iris so I can dig up the right ones at the right time...

Carla, those are all so beautiful. Very lush and happy looking.

I agree, they are all so beautiful, and I would never have guessed they could grow in the Phoenix area with all the heat. Are they totally in shade, or just morning sun?