Ordering and shipping are complete for this season. A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who trusted me with an element of your garden’s census, so to speak.

2026 was a strange year for weather, yet it seemed busier with more inquiries and engagement, and a growing number of orders.

There are lots of seedlings that show promise of great things to come. The Facebook page has been showing off many of the more notable “babies.” For now, it's a matter of getting the plants ready to sleep, managing uninvited vegetation, updating records, and hopefully breathing for a little while before the 2027 season kicks into gear.

I am planning to have updates made to the site and have the Shop live around January 1. ‘Till then, rest, relax, and enjoy the dormant season.

The US Postal Service raised rates late in 2025 for the Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes.

The medium flat rate box now ships for $21.95. This is per box, no matter what’s inside, and is automatically added to the price of plants in your order at checkout. Like you, I’m not wild about it costing more to get plants to various places, but my preference is this service, both for price and the 2-3 days average transit time to most locations.

On average, about 6-9 TB Iris rhizomes fit in the medium box.

Despite a warmer than average winter season, the Hosta area didn’t fare very well. Until I am able to sort out what happened to them, they’re not available. The true lilies (Lilium spp) came up way earlier than average, and I wasn’t able to justify disturbing them and shipping them after they had emerged above the soil line. I’ll also admit that I was distracted by early dwarf Iris bloom by that time.

Container production of my wares has been slow overall with soil temperatures and moisture levels being inconsistent and difficult to hold relatively steady.

The 2023 crop of seedlings was planted in the field behind the house on the grounds of the arboretum that employs me full time.

A full 95% of the 849 seedlings rowed out in the ground bloomed the spring following germination! A healthy majority of the 2024 crop of seedlings was rowed out next to the 2023 crop. I knew in-ground production was more to their liking…my observations drove the point home.

I was pleasantly surprised when the overwhelming majority of the 2023 crop of seedlings bloomed in 2025. There were some very intriguing color schemes and blends that I hope remain stable.

64 pods were produced in 2025, a new high for this one-person operation. As of December 31, 27 of those crosses have at least one emerged seedling (some of those have over 10 awake). Progress waits for no one…

I planted half of the bed area behind the house at the arboretum with the 2023 crop when it was ready to be rowed out. After the maiden bloom of well over 90% of those seedlings less than a year later, the other half of that same area was planted with as many seedlings from the 2024 crop year as I could fit.

Soil testing verified that the soil is just what bearded Irises like, much better than life in a container (though that latter is slowly being changed to be more accommodating).