How to grow great Iris

 Ric Silver, from Groton, Ct.,  grows beautiful Jackson & Perkins Iris.
We asked him to share some tips on growing beautiful iris.
Many thanks Ric.

I guess the main thing is to soak the corms in water for about 1/2 an hour before planting - then place them just slightly under the soil - the tuber should protrude from the soil at the plant end - and can even be slightly exposed the full length of the tuber.

Full sun is a must as they will die in the shade - I do have some that are in a spot that is shaded in the afternoon and they bloom later than the others and also the blooms are smaller - they like good brown dirt - but will grow in rocky soil as well - just so it's not gravel or sand. I fertilize once a year with MiracleGro Shake and Feed. If your Iris have stopped blooming - it's probably because they are crowding themselves out - every few years you need to tear up the whole lot - and start over - making sure to separate them well. clip the leaves in an inverted "V" about 2 inches above the corm. Using a 3 prong spade, lift from below and break into sections - even the corms with no greenery will come back if not rotted. I usually do this every 4 to 5 years . Till the soil to clean out the weeds and broken roots and space the corms about 8 to 10 inches or more apart. -Ric Silver-

Plant Give-Away video

Hosta Video

Hosta is almost the perfect plant for gardens in our area.
This video will give you the basic information on planting and caring for your hosta

New London Parks History

REMEMBER -  click on any image to see it in full size.

A little book of park plans for New London, prepared for the city in 1918.
 They had some big dreams back then. An interesting look at our past.
General Plan of a Park and Playground System for New London, Conn.

Perennials Not To Feed

Beautification Committee member, Diane Smith recommended this article from
Horticulture web site

Certain perennials do not benefit from additional fertilizer. Before you spring-feed your garden, review this list of perennials not to feed.

Most perennials don’t need a lot of feeding, particularly if the soil is healthy and rich and was prepared well at planting time. A spring top-dressing of compost may do the trick. In areas with poor soil, a once-annual application of granular fertilizer in spring will suffice for most perennials. Exceptions include “heavy feeders” such as mums, lupines, lilies, delphiniums, astilbe and border phlox.
Perennials that do best with no supplement fertilizer include butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), false indigo (Baptisia australis), asters, pinks (Dianthus spp.), rock roses (Helianthemum spp.), sea holly (Eryngium spp.), bee balm (Monarda didyma), speedwell (Veronica spp.), coneflowers (Echinacea spp. and Rudbeckia spp.) and all ornamental grasses.

Two New Projects

The New London Beautification Committee is very excited to announce two new initiatives this season in an effort to further encourage gardening in New London.  The first initiative is a Plant Give-Away that will be held on Sunday, May 20 from 11:00-2:00 at Ocean Beach Park.  Plants from Beautification sites around town as well as members’ own gardens will be available on a limited first come, first served basis until the supply runs out.  The Give Away will be a rain or shine event, and Beautification members will be available for advice regarding care of the plants.

The second initiative to encourage gardening in New London came about because Beautification was aware that its annual awards presented to local businesses didn’t include all the beautification efforts going on throughout the city.   A “Thank You” campaign has been created to recognize both homeowners and businesses trying to improve New London’s appearance.  Noteworthy gardening efforts that come to Beautification’s attention will receive postcards in the mail thanking the residents or business owners for doing their part to beautify New London.   If you would like to draw attention to a beautifully executed planter by a business’s entrance or to a delightfully landscaped yard, please contact Beautification through its website: nlbeautification.org or contact Tita Williams at 860-443-9694.

An Old Video for a New Year

This video was made about four years ago. It was one of the first videos that I made for the Beautification Committee. Since then, You Tube and my ability to make videos has improved a great deal, but it is this video that has remained the most popular of all our many videos posted on our You Tube page. The video was picked up by  an online magazine , and has over 40,000 views, and pages of comments. It has brought a lot of traffic to our sites from around the world, and added many new subscribers to our video pages.
I am posting it again, for those of you that might have missed it the first time around, it has not been seen on this site for about four years.
I hope you enjoy this look back at our old movies.

A Gardener's Year, Four Seasons with the Beautification Committee

A video of Beautification Committee member's favorite photos of their home and public gardens.
All the photos were taken in New London.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

The members of the Beautification Committee have been busy the last few days, cutting and preparing the plant material, to fill the planters at City Hall. It is the last big project of the year, and the last time the members will get together before the holidays.
Go to our  photo album   to see more of our preparations, and more photos of the finished containers.

The Bump Out in Bloom

Beautification Committee member, Diane Smith, took these great photos of the Bently Bump Out, this past week.
Diane planned and planted much of this garden. She did replace the beach roses with "Knock Out Roses" for a season of continuous bloom This garden requires little care and little watering.
See the post below for the past history of the Bump Out. It is fun to see how a garden was started and how much it has filled in in the past three years.