(Walking Iris bloom, first Green Bell Pepper forming and Walking Iris potted up sitting on my found bench)
It was a Sunday full of surprises first with my first Green Pepper forming. How exciting since I’ve never grown any kind of peppers in the past. This year I planted the Green & Yellow bell peppers as well as some Jalapenos. Some are growing in my squarefoot garden beds and a couple are in large containers combined with Basil & Onions. Then there was the nice treat of seeing a bud had opened on the pass-a-long Walking Iris sent to me by my good garden blogging buddy Darla this past Friday. What do you think of the ceramic pot I put it in? I remembered these were not being used after I had used them to disguise the plastic pots of the forced Paperwhites this past winter. According to my research on the Walking Iris or Neomarica (also referred to as Apostle Plant or Twelve Apostles) they prefer to be potbound to bloom. Also I think this variety is Neomarica gracilis since the blooms are a blue & creamy white. Also see the brown bench the pot is sitting on? Well this was a curb find that my son and his girlfriend brought to me on Mother’s Day. It was in good shape so a quick cleanup with the hose & a brush followed by two coats of brown spray paint and it makes a nice place for plants to sit or people. The last surprise was a nice little rainstorm mid afternoon which gave my garden a refreshing shower after days of 80 degree temps. Hope your Sunday is nice too. Anyhow, I better get busy with out family cookout now. Hubby has to work tomorrow so we are celebrating Memorial Day a day early. Have a nice rest of your holiday weekend!!! 🙂
Perennial Garden Lover 
Posted by Susie on May 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm
That walking iris bloom is really pretty.
Hope you enjoy your cookout!
Thanks Susie. We had a nice day. 🙂
Posted by Darla on May 24, 2009 at 6:19 pm
This is just fantastic!!! I am so glad that I didn’t repot that Iris!!!! Looks wonderful in the ceramic container. We do not have pepper blooms yet………….soon I’m sure. Love the curb finds..
Thanks Darla! I’m glad you like the container I put it in. It really loves it’s new home I guess. 🙂 I’m sure you will have some pepper blooms soon too. Yep I love curb finds especially when I can repurpose them for the garden. 😉
Posted by Janet on May 24, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Very cool Iris! I love the different colors and design of each petal. The nice white pot is a good choice. We will get plants for tomatoes or peppers maybe tomorrow!
Thanks Janet. It really is an intricate design on those petals, so amazing. Have fun planting your peppers & tomatoes. 🙂
Posted by cindeesgarden on May 24, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I had a walking iris at one time. It died)-: I don’t know why either. It was spreading well and growing well. Then it was dead. )-: Yours looks beautiful! I am sure it will do great for you!!!!
That is a shame Cindee. I don’t know what to tell you since this is my first experience with growing one & it’s not hardy here so it will be spending the winter indoors. 😉 Thanks!
Posted by Sunita on May 24, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I love walking iris… they’re the closest I can ever hope to get to growing the real Dutch Iris. Plus, they look so pretty! I love that white and blue combination. Is it surprising that I’ve got them ‘walking’ all over my garden?
They do similar to the Dutch Iris bloom Sunita. Thanks I don’t think mine will be walking all over the garden but maybe if it produces babies I can pot them up too. 🙂
Posted by greenwalks on May 24, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Love it – free plant, free bench, almost-free pepper! The best things in life are free, eh? Happy early Memorial Day, hope you have a fun family gathering!
I didn’t even think about it like that Karen! 🙂 The best things in life are free. Happy Memorial Day to you too. Our family gathering was fun, thanks for asking.
Posted by tina on May 24, 2009 at 10:48 pm
What a pretty iris. Quite different too. The bench was an excellent find. Hope your barbeque was great. We are getting rain here. A very good thing for the garden.
Isn’t it nice, that Darla is a gem for sharing this beauty with me. 🙂 Yep I love curb finds for the garden and thank goodness my son’s girlfriend spotted it. She told my son to put it in the car and he was like what? lol We had rain yesterday and this morning. Hooray no watering! And yes we had a nice cookout with the family. 🙂 Everyone got stuffed and happy. Then we watched the Memorial Day concert on TV.
Posted by Grace on May 25, 2009 at 2:16 am
Yes that Darla is pretty amazing isn’t she? What a great pass-a-long plant. Beautiful color. Congrats on the pepper. I see a bumper crop in your future.
She is a a real sweetie. I feel quite blessed to have this beauty passed along to me. Thanks Grace, from your lips to …. 🙂
Posted by OhioMom on May 25, 2009 at 8:09 am
Happy Memorial Day Racquel … love the bench, good find !! The Iris is beautiful.
Thanks Mom, I knew you would appreciate my new curbfind. 🙂 Happy Memorial Day!
Posted by Cameron (Defining Your Home Garden) on May 25, 2009 at 8:47 am
Oh, that’s such a beauty! I like your choice of a pot for it as it lets the iris be the star!
Enjoy Memorial Day!
Cameron
Thanks Cameron, I’m glad you liked my choice of pot, it really complements the Iris nicely doesn’t it?! 🙂 Happy Memorial Day!
Posted by Monica the Garden Faerie on May 25, 2009 at 8:47 am
Wow, that walking iris is great. My beardeds are opening each day!
Thanks Monica, I saw your Beardeds and they are lovely. Mine are long since spent now. 😦
Posted by Rose on May 25, 2009 at 9:15 am
Congratulations on your pepper bud! I still don’t have mine in the ground:( The walking iris has a lovely bloom; such an unusual plant.
Your front flowerbeds look beautiful, Racquel, and so neat! But we gardeners always want to expand the space, don’t we:)
Thanks Rose, I hope you are able to plant yours soon. Has the rain slowed down any? Isn’t it such an exotic beauty, I am so grateful to Darla for sharing a piece of her garden with me. 🙂 Aw you are too kind about my flowerbeds, if you zoom in you might find few weeds hiding out there, lol. Less lawn equals more planting space to me, don’t tell hubby! 😉
Posted by Kathleen on May 25, 2009 at 9:40 am
That’s a beautiful iris Racquel. I’ve never had one. Interesting they prefer to be pot bound. So it’s something that will never be planted in the garden? If anyone can keep it alive, I think it’s you. Happy Memorial Day too. We are getting rained out this holiday ~ cool (50’s yesterday), overcast and rainy the whole weekend so far. Bummer. But the rain is good for the garden so I won’t complain. Just no grilling or picnicing going on.
Thanks Kathleen. Actually further south they grow in the garden but it’s not hardy in my zone so I put it in a pot. It is interesting they prefer to be potbound, maybe it’s a case of survival so they bloom? 😉 Thanks for the compliment, I need all the luck I can get. Haven’t had an indoor plant in years! Happy Memorial Day & glad your garden is getting a nice drink. We got some last evening & this morning. 🙂
Posted by ChrisND on May 25, 2009 at 11:15 am
Great for your first baby pepper! The iris has a nice looking flower…fun when others share.
Thanks Chris, growing my own veggies is so fun & exciting! Yep I feel quite blessed to met so many generous gardeners via blogging. 🙂
Posted by gail on May 25, 2009 at 11:27 am
That is a great looking and unusual bloom…and congrats on your green pepper., that is exciting, gail
Thank you Gail, it really is an exotic beauty. The pepper was a nice surprise too! 🙂
Posted by easygardener on May 27, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I really like the Walking Iris, such a lovely colour. I’ve not heard of it before. Peppers are fun to grow, even better when they start to change colour!