It is time to thin the Irises. When I read about when and how to do this, everything said August. Well if you live in Southern California, August is about the last month you would want to do any serious work in the yard, so I was dreading the task.

And we have lots and lots of irises. When we initially planted we had a small basket of bulbs we had dug out of an overcrowded, neglected, and sunless bed on the East side of the house. Then in my infinite wisdom about plants, (meaning none) I had my daughter put one here, and one there, kinda willy nilly, figuring let’s see what happens.

Well three years later those few have become many! I could not be more pleased, but once you have the super bloom, which we did this year, they have to be dug up, thinned and replanted. IN AUGUST!

In August the yard looks like this, and even more so. Definitely not easily accessible….sigh

I am going to tackle it, somehow. For not only do I want the irises to keep blooming, which they won’t if they are crowded, I also want to create a delineation between the grass and the wildness with a fence of irises. If only to keep the postal workers from tromping through the plants.

Thankfully the weather is cooperating. It was hotter this morning for Little Miss Happiness of the North, than it was for me in Southern California. Go figure, but I am good with it, no complaining here.

All I can say is, you messy plants better get outta the way, for I’m armed with my shovel again!