Laughing Ravens

iris versicolor (not sure which SIGNA seedling) iris brevicaulis, donated by a friend in Michigan 'Byakuya No Kuni' ( Hiroshi Shimizu by Carol Warner, R. 2005)  'Labrador Hollow' - ( Joseph Musacchia , R. 2017) 'Mama Janice' ( Joseph Musacchia , R. 2019) 'Percy Viosca' ( Patrick O'Connor , R. 2014) 'Annette Brown' ( Harry Wolford , R. 2013). 'Brown Recluse' ( Walter Moores , R. 2011) first year bloom, species iris ensata, from seed from SIGNA.org 'Acadian Sky' - ( Joseph Musacchia , R. 2017)    The weather has transitioned from over a month of nearly daily rain (42 days in two months) to suddenly being humid and oppressively hot. Dangerous heat warnings started this weekend. Stepping out the door this morning, I was met with the same wall of hot/wet that I associate with getting off the plane in Miami.  Part of that transition is the change in iris season: from Siberian iris season (with iris versicolor sprinkled in fo...

Seeds are another gateway drug. Heck, I'd put dahlias into that category too. Seeds are definitely the Doritos of the plant world. You can't plant just one. Seeds are relatively cheap, easy to store, last a while, and when they grow, they make you feel awesome. I wish antidepressants made me feel as good. (Maybe you have to add water and warm soil to make antidepressants work?) Seeds are cool. For less than $5.00, you can get a pinch of seeds that let you attempt to grow a real plant. No guarantees. Chances are, you'll kill more than you grow. At least at first you will. In a perfect world, all those dead seedlings will teach you something. Either you should have stuck with accounting, or maybe you need to learn some basics about plant biology. I love folks who think gardening is easy.  Seeds come in so many flavors, shapes and sizes! I had a conversation with a friend the other day and we were talking about 'kid seeds'. Things that young kids (and newbies to garden...