The Wind does not want to go

One of the best comedy skits ever done was Carol Burnett's "The Wind Done Gone" and boy do we here in West Texas sure wish the wind done gone. But she's still lingering around, refusing to budge for long. Today has been a particularly ugly day throughout Texas as the local news just reported that seven counties were battling wildfires. The weather forecast shows winds through most of the upcoming week. We're suppose to finally catch a break on Friday. Ugh, what a waste of days during which I could be gardening.

During those few times in the day when the wind is catching its breath, I'll wander out into the garden to see what's happening. So much is blooming, it's as if a switch was turned on and everything went into overdrive. The irises have started blooming which is unfortunate as the winds are causing the petals to curl into themselves. I managed to peel back some of them to get a few shots. The three below are passlongs from a friend's garden.

We have no idea of their names, if they had any, so I just call them Lyn's Irises. The first one is the shorter of the three and the most hardy. I have dug up the bulbs for these, replanted them in another bed and still they bloomed three weeks later. A VERY hardy iris, to say the least. And prolific too, as I've divided them each year to spread around the front and back beds.

This one always makes me crave grape jelly on toast. 

This one is a little more blue and taller than the two above. I only have a few of this variety but hopefully they'll live long and prosper so I can spread them around the garden beds. Their height, along with the striking sword-shaped leaves add vertical interest to the beds. 

The main wind damage I've noticed is to the largest and most full of the four Climbing Americas. Several stalks have literally had their leaves and buds completely ripped off in large sections. It's sad to think of all the roses I won't be seeing due to this. I had around a 100 blossoms on this huge plant last year. I probably should prune these down to where the leaves are but I so hate to cut the plant down.