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A Gardener's Notebook: The latest incarnation of my column detailing the trails and tribulations of my garden. Join the list and ask your own questions about gardening Subscribe

I get many benefits from writing this column each week. I enjoy hearing from you about your gardening successes. It lets me know that I am not the only one interested in why this tree isn't thriving or that bush hasn't bloomed yet this season. An even larger benefit for me is the fact that when I write about doing something in my garden I have to follow through. The thought of you reading these words (and pressing writing deadlines) gets me up from my chair and out into my garden. Let me take this moment to thank you all. Sometimes we can all get a bit sedentary in our lives and you, through reading this column, help me get things done almost as if you were here lending a hand. Keep up the good work.

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The Great Iris Move is Over!

One recent result of my writing is the completion of the Great Iris Move of '99. I gathered up about 35 iris rhizomes from throughout the garden. There were actually more than I had originally thought. Sometimes you don't realize what there is in your garden until you actually go out and look at it. We either spend our time looking at a few small details or basking in the overall sweep of our gardens. Searching out particular elements of our gardens can really help to separate the forest from the trees, the flowers from the bushes and the grass from the herbs.

After a few minutes of cleaning and dividing I ended up with about 15 plants that I felt good about transplanting. I was surprised that I had so few rotten tubers. I figured the irregular watering and dramatic difference in soil would contribute to this common iris malady. Instead I found many more of the rhizomes to be large, misshapen and lacking the extra sets of leaves that show it needs to be divided. I am thinking that the plants were getting enough moisture and nutrients but the lack of sunlight was their biggest enemy.

Before	After
	Click these thumbnails for larger images
Closeup

I added 9 new iris that I had purchased to the transplants. I believe most of the irises in the garden were blue in color; so I picked 3 different colors of iris, each with a base color of blue, but having different accents of white and yellow. This is my first effort to color coordinate any planting bed. Normally I am a bit haphazard about such things, but this gave me an opportunity to try to coordinate. I am particularly fond of combinations of purple/ yellow and blue/ yellow. Without knowing the success of this first effort I am already planning for my next try.

What's going on here?

Of course, the weather is acting crazy again this week. The Santa Ana winds have driven our temperatures into the low 100's again even as fall is getting started. These "devil winds" also drop the humidity to 20% or 30% and sometimes-even lower. Everything dries out quickly and any water applied through traditional sprinklers evaporates even more rapidly than usual. My potted plants are suffering especially hard since they require more frequent watering to start. The winds can gust to 60-70 miles per hour in the most wind-prone areas. Luckily, our position near the center of the San Fernando Valley helps to limit the effect. The highest winds are located where the canyons and passes meet the valleys. These passes act as funnels and help to focus the winds. The surrounding areas that are still predominantly desert in nature often have problems with falling trees, blowing sand and toppled tractor-trailers. Thankfully we don't get these winds very often. Everyone dreads their arrival and breathes a sigh of relief when they depart.

I need to take some time now to think of what project requires my attention next. You will surely be the first to know. Otherwise it might not get done at all.

Until next week...

Keep Digging!

Douglas