As it stands now, I have three Boss Tweeds left. Two are pending trades - waiting to hear back. Still plenty of Gudrun, Two-tone purple and Grandma's Purple Flag. Incidentally, if I were you, I'd be going for the GPF. :p Did I mention it blooms again in fall? Did I mention it is one of only TWO plants that I brought here from our previous home? It wasn't easy to make that cut, you know! It's a beautiful, very deep purple that I can never capture in pictures, and it multiplies like crazy.

Like a lot of folks have mentioned, bearded iris do very well in the warm-winter areas of AZ (and the cold-winter areas too). I grew quite a few at my last garden here in Scottsdale and just made a Pity Purchase a couple of weeks ago for some very dry/neglected 'Batik' irises. We'll see if they make it, but when I've purchased non-neglected rhizomes in the past they've always thrived. Keep us posted on what you plant and how it does, and keep that camera handy this spring/summer. :) Take care, Grant

It's great to hear native species like these being used! A lot of folks still seem to use aliens like Elephant Ears/Taro, Umbrella Grass, Bamboo, and Philodendron. And while those look kind of interesting in a tropical way, they do absolutely nothing for our Louisiana ecosystem. The insects won't even touch them. Even worse, they occasionally escape out of yards and invade riversides and lakesides. If you plant the Irises and Horsetail in "clumps", they will definitely both survive. Another great native bog plant is Pickerel Rush. In fact, I got rid of my Horsetail and Irises and I only have Pickerel Rush now. It looks like an ordinary green stalk and green leaves at first...but then it has these gorgeous purple flowers that appear and stay for the entire warm half of the year. They are a crazy magnet for bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and even hummingbirds. Some sort of colorful wild visitors will enjoy them almost every day. One more great native bog plant is the Dwarf Palmetto. It looks super tropical. It's easy to find in commercial nurseries. It doesn't have the fast-spreading underground runners like these other plants, but it's just as beautiful in my opinion. And I stumbled onto an amazing native ground cover for bog gardens. It's called the Pennywort or Dollarweed and you see it in ditches. I've never seen it sold anywhere. I've never heard of anyone trying to cultivate it intentionally. But it popped up in my bog garden, spread its tiny round leaves all over the ground underneath my trees and shrubs, and the result is a beautiful "carpet" of what looks like large clover.

Daffs will be well over by late April so you should probably cross them off your list. Sorry :-( Tall bearded iris typically bloom around Mother's Day (mid May) at the large commercial farms here on the west coast.....don't know why they would bloom much earlier in TN and may even be a bit later. Would you consider Dutch iris as a possibility? These seem to be available by cut flower distributors throughout spring and into early summer. And are a bit more manageable in bouquets or arrangements than the unwieldy TB's.