New This Season

This season new flowers are in bloom and some new techniques are being used. Here are some things that are new in my garden.

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Iris - Unknown variety

This beautiful yellow iris blended among the yellow daffodils and tulips. It was a nice surprise when I found it mixed among them. I planted a few named cultivars last season, but perhaps one was mislabeled. It looks nothing like that ones I purchased. Either way, it's a beautiful iris.

Prairie Fire Crabapple
All of the blossoms have floated away in the past days, but what was left behind was a portrait of beauty. The burgundy foliage stands out nicely against a lawn of green. They look ablaze against the sky on a sunny day.

Blueberries
It is tough to see all three. Two are to the left of the birdbath. The other is just to the right. The varieties I have chosen from left to right are as follows: Patriot, Blueray, and Chandler. I chose three different varieties to prolong the harvest as well as to assist with cross pollination. Painfully, a few days ago I had to pop off the berries that were forming. It was one of those moments where I just had to close my eyes (not really) and POP. Bye bye berries. I suppose a strong root system and branches are more important in the long run....I suppose.
Al's Flower Pouches with Fort Laramie Strawberries

Pros: Squirrels are finally leaving my strawberries alone! I still have some in strawberry planters...you can see them hiding behind the pouches. The squirrels still dig these strawberry plants out. They also take up very little space. If they produce well, this will the way I grow strawberries from now on.

Cons: More frequent watering. When planting, water well as you go. If not, the soil will settle later on and you're plants will not be lined up with their planting holes.