Chaos, by Design

As I’ve said before, I truly love to garden. And weather-permitting, I will do it at the expense of everything else on my “to do” list. I wouldn’t go all the way to describing it as an obsession, and now that I have this Comedy of Iris gardening project to work on, the amount of time spent out there getting things finished, making sure the beds aren’t too wet, well, I legitimately need to be doing that, especially while the weather is above 50°F and it’s not raining. It’s practically mandatory!

But, well, working in the garden during most of my free time has often meant that other items on that aforementioned “to do” list... they get neglected. Ignored. Forgotten. Blown Off. And otherwise remain undone, except for the ones my darling husband has taken over. (Once again, a sincere “Thank you,” dear fellow!) And it has created a certain amount of chaos in my non-gardening life.

Some of the results of my garden-fever (for I am willing to acknowledge my interest does reach a feverish intensity sometimes) are simply that laundry gets done late at night, or pizza is ordered more often than usual. Consequences that don’t ruin marriages or create irreparable damage to my ability to function and do my job, but it does sometimes mean that the level of chaos in my household is past my tolerance level, so I have to shift back indoors, and get the details back in order.

'Mild Manner' ( Joseph Ghio, R. 2000) Sdlg. 93-93K4. TB, 34" (86 cm), Midseason late bloom. Standards pink; Falls silvery blue shading to orchid edge, shoulders soft pink; beards coral. 90-19J3: (87-129W3: ((( 'Persian Smoke' x 'Entourage') x (( 'Strawberry Sundae' x ( 'Artiste' x 'Tupelo Honey')) x 'Borderline' sib)) x 'Sweet Musette') x 88-51N: (( 'Cascade Morn' x 80-87N, sib to 'Ardor' pollen parent) x 85-24K2, 'Signpost' sib))) X 'Boudoir'. Bay View 2001. Honorable Mention 2003.

On a recent day that found me doing just that (mail, laundry, dogs, chores, and cooking all claimed me at once!), I was pondering the nature of chaos and order, and how fun the balancing act between the two is. In my life, I really crave order and organization. I like it when things are put away where they belong (especially when I go looking for them), and I like clean windows, and clutter-free work zones. I’m not always indoors enough to maintain the kind of clean and orderly environment that I like, but the extra chaos that results from me being out in my garden... well, I seem to tolerate that.

As a gardener, I crave orderly, tidy beds. No weeds. No pests. No spots too wet or too dry. I’d love it if my rhizomes were uniform in size, and spaced evenly apart, and had the same habits throughout the season... what a fantasy. I begin each bed with a plan that at least has a bit of order in mind, without any OCD practices like measuring the distance between rhizomes, or trimming all my greenery to the same height. I am realistic about what nature does, and I am under no illusion that I can conquer her plan through any plan of my own.

As I was yet again separating rhizomes from my mother’s long-neglected beds, I realized that nature is both chaotic and orderly. Rhizomes grow, develop increases, and bloom in mostly predictable ways. We count on that, we know pretty much when, and how much, and how many when it comes to our iris. Not entirely, of course, Mother Nature is still wild, we certainly haven’t tamed her! But, as I was on my hands and knees, separating rhizomes that were so grown together and impacted that they haven’t bloomed in three years, I was admiring the chaos of the weave they created and the seemingly random way one set climbed on top of another. It was beautiful, chaotic, organic, and altogether natural. Chaos within order within chaos...

'Orange Pop' ( Larry Lauer, R. 1998). Seedling #91-189. BB, 26" (66 cm). Late midseason bloom. Ruffled orange self; beards orange; pronounced sweet fragrance. 'Role Model' X 'Gratuity'. Lauer's Flowers 1998. Honorable Mention 2000; Award of Merit 2002; Knowlton Medal 2004.

I wondered how, if left alone, iris could continue to grow and flourish, since the mess of rhizomes I was separating had been gorgeous and happy in 2010, and such a tangled mess in 2015. How could it be nature’s plan for this plant to survive without someone getting on their hands and knees, separating the rhizomes, and transplanting them a nice distance away from each other every few years? 

Whatever the answer, I realized how happy I was to have a role in the plan, to be the one that brings a little order to the chaos of the ‘Iris plan.’ Left alone, they become chaotic, they stop blooming. Iris lovers are needed to tend and care, separate and replant, arrange and maintain. And the reward is seen in the amazing blooms these plants produce when they’re given that little bit of order and care. What fun that is to see and be part of.

Of course, the balance of chaos and order is also and indoor/outdoor struggle for me. The more I’m outdoors keeping things organized and tidy in the garden, the more the indoors suffers for my absence. This time of year, though, Mother Nature is kicking me out of the garden, and giving me the opportunity to get the balance of chaos evened up. Sure, I’ve been spending some of that mandatory indoor time making labels, updating my database, blogging, and doing other things “Iris.” What do you expect? But I’m also bringing down the chaos in my domestic environment, getting projects done, and making my inside life easier and nicer. 

Which is good, because once those rhizomes start growing in March, I will be running–not walking–back out in the my garden, and spending my time with Mother Nature again! I know I’m not the only one who feels that way...

Also, any day that it’s not raining, or terribly cold, I will be outside, checking on the beds, changing the balance of chaos indoors for ordering in the garden. The chaos is built in, and I’m ok with that.

'Wintry Sky' ( Keith Keppel, R. 2002). Seedling 95-14A. TB, height 36" (91 cm), Early midseason bloom. Standards steeplechase blue (M&P 43-HG-11) central area shading to light blue (42-AB-6) edge, midrib flushed foxglove (42-GH-9); style arms light blue (42-AB-3); Falls blue white (42-A-1/2), foxglove shading in throat beside beard; beards cream at end, yellow in throat, with blue base; heavily ruffled. 'Crowned Heads' X 91-165A: ( 'Spring Shower' x 'Modern Times'). Keppel 2002. Honorable Mention 2004; Award of Merit 2006; Wister Medal 2010.

A Grateful Gardener

Somehow, it is once again Sunday night, and even though it’s December, the weather today was just magnificent, and I was able to work outside in the garden all day. I am a lucky so-and-so, I just know it. There are plenty of locales where iris are deep under the snow already, and the fact that it was 70°F in our area today is decidedly unusual for this time of year, but not so rare that I was unprepared. I worked outside until it was too cold and too dark to stay out, so of course I consider today to be a roaring success.

There isn’t much for me to do in the iris garden these days, as pretty much everything is planted, and the hatches have been battened down for a few weeks. Well, I will admit to still working on getting name tags finished and into the beds, but I have my layout in an xl file, so I can focus on that when it’s actually too cold or wet out to be IN the garden. And speaking of name tags, I am in the continuous search for a more efficient and long-lasting way to label my rhizomes.

Currently, I am using the metal staked tags with printed labels. The label media is weather resistant, which is good because before we knew better, we used whatever label cartridge came with the printer, and all our labels (and that was over 100 of them) faded in one season. What frustration. I am still in the process of remembering names and trying to match them to blooms each Spring... Having learned my lesson, I now use the metal staked tags, and weather-ready labels.

I also write the name of the rhizome on the back of the tag with a paint pen, so that if the tag should fade or peel, the name is still preserved on the back. This has worked well in previous years, but for some reason, this year my pen is, er, what’s the nice word... inconsistent? Irregular? Here’s what I mean:

Well, it’s good enough for the backside, right? Ahem... at least I can tell what the name is supposed to be if the front side gets ruined. No style points, though, ha ha.

I’ve also painted a few of the backsides completely, creating a dark, solid field. I will experiment with using a china pencil (white or yellow) on those as the alternate label, and report my findings.

Additionally, I’ve got some weather-resistant labels on plastic knives, which are great in beds that don’t have a gardener near them. I put the label on the blade portion of the knife, then stick the handle-end into the ground, with the label facing away from the sunniest/hottest direction. Not effective if you have sheep or other critters moving through the beds... it’s a long story, which I’ll save for another post.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear what methods you use for labeling your rhizomes. I have heard of several very clever and attractive methods, and I bet you have some good ideas to share... hmmm?

But, I’m saving labels for rainy/cold days. Today was not that day, and again, I feel lucky! Being able to go outside for hours at a time and (comfortably) work in my yard is just my favorite thing to do. It feeds my soul. It makes me happy. It heals me. It brings me joy. And at the end of the day, or to be more precise, at the end of the daylight, when I look around and can see the difference my time and efforts have made, I have an enormous sense of accomplishment that few other things bring me.

I think gardeners in general are very lucky people. We have a bit of land, a bit of time, a bit of nurturing, and a bit of nature in us. We have a desire to work with nature, the patience to wait for the results, the creativity to choose and plant, and the time to give to our gardens. Those are traits to be admired and cultivated, no pun intended! I know in our local iris society there aren’t too many member under the age of 45... I also know it’s very expensive to buy a house, and most people in their 20s and 30s have kids which absorb the kind of free time required to garden. Nontheless, I have a hope that gardening, and iris gardening in particular, continues to be popular, not only for the sake and beauty of the plants, but also for the traits and qualities gardening engenders. My favorite people are gardeners.

I would love to know how you were introduced to gardening, and iris gardening in particular. Please feel free to share that in the comments section below, or you can write to me through this blogsite. We compassionate, patient types have to stick together! I’m grateful for my garden, and what it brings me. I’m also grateful for my gardening friends—they’re lovely people, and I’d really enjoy adding you to my list of gardening friends.

The weather will go back to normal late-fall temperatures tomorrow, and the nights have been hovering near freezing. Leaves are coming off the trees in steady droves. I will be “stuck” inside soon, since I don’t have the toughness to garden in cold and wet conditions. You can bet I’ll be sitting at the window, peering out at the leaf-covered yard, watching it rain, anticipating the new growth we’ll see in the Spring. My labels will be finished, and in the beds before the end of the month, I’m sure. Then, we all wait while nature works her miracles. How lucky are we?

As promised, a gorgeous blooming iris, to keep us warm until the Spring

Jaguar Blue' (George Sutton, R. 2001). Sdlg. G-57. TB, 36" (91 cm). Midseason late bloom. 

Heavily ruffled ethyl blue (lighter than RHS 112D); beards ethyl blue, hairs tipped pale yellow; edges serrate; slight sweet fragrance. 'Silver Flow' X 'Silverado'. Sutton 2001