Moraea polyanthos

"It is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool, 

than to open it and remove all doubt" 

Mark Twain

If that quote ain't as much truth today as it were back in Twain's Day. What an insane world we are living in. With the pandemic rolling along, and the "leader" of the freeworld a babbling buffoon 

spouting drink the poison kool-aid, his followers.......oh, here we go again. Occasionally the political hijack of the rare flower bulb blog comes along and things just have to be said. 

Easter seems like an eternity ago. In the mean time i've been working on the vegetable garden. Kiddo and I built an aquaponics system in the greenhouse and she is running a comparative analysis of a few different expanded clay grow mediums for the production of Romaine Lettuce, Collard greens and Cucumbers. 

Moraea polyanthos, is an easy to grow South African irid family charmer. From an area of the South Cape with year around rainfall, and a prevalance toward clay soils. It seems to be pretty well adapted to Oregon's Willamette Valley. 

I've found the winter wet species from the warmer regions the most difficult. I seem to learn a new lesson about the
South Africans every season I grow them. 

It is nice to have flower filler between the Fritillaria's and the onslaught of the California later bloomers like Calochortus, brodaiae and the like. 

A lot of the South Africans are starting into bloom now. A few Alliums and the Camas species are all coming on nicely as well. 

The weather has been in the low 70's for highs and pretty warm nights as well.  

Cheers,

Mark