We say this every fall because it’s just so easy, important, and we have new subscribers since last fall (hurray!): For more flowers and healthier plants, give your peonies and iris a simple fall clean-up.

powdery mildew

PEONIES – Although relatively care-free, peonies can be afflicted by powdery mildew (pictured here) and other fungal diseases.

To prevent spores from overwintering, cut stems as close to the ground as possible, carefully bagging everything as you go. It’s best to do this earlier rather than later, before the leaves get dry and crumbly – or even as early as August if the foliage has been hard hit.

Disinfect your tools with rubbing alcohol or bleach between plants to avoid spreading disease. Dispose of all clippings in the trash. Do not compost!

If you’ve tried this and still have problems, you may also want to try a fungicidal spray. Mancozeb is one good choice. Drench the ground around the base of the peonies after your fall clean-up, and then spray in spring as soon as sprouts emerge and again every 7-10 days until bloom-time.

iris borer

IRIS – Fall is also the best time to control iris borers which are a common pest in gardens east of the Rockies.

Borers hatch in spring from eggs laid in the fall on iris leaves and anything similar that’s nearby. To destroy them, simply (a) wait until a hard frost kills the adult moths and then (b) cut back all leaves to a couple of inches and (c) remove, bag, and throw the clippings in the trash along with any nearby debris or mulch. Do not compost!

Fungal diseases such as leaf spot may also afflict iris, and fungicides such as mancozeb can help control them, too. Spray after fall clean-up and once again in early spring.

Healthier plants look better and bloom more – so get out there and give yours a boost!

Some of us grow flowers for their beauty, brightening the days for ourselves, friends and neighbors, but some of us love to show our best blossoms in local competitions held by garden clubs, botanical gardens, and at county or state fairs. Please send us reports - and photos - of your successes this year. Which varieties do you swear by? Which have never let you down? We’d love to hear from folks across the country as we can always learn more about how each of these heritage varieties perform in different areas.

With night temperatures cooling as fall approaches, the dahlias in our gardens are blooming exuberantly. If yours are too, it’s fine to just cut them (ideally early in the morning so they’re well-hydrated) and put them right in a vase, but if you are looking for more ideas, here’s what we do for extra-special fall bouquets.

Choose blossoms whose back petals are flat, not recurved. These will be the younger flowers that will last longer in the vase, perhaps as many as 3-4 days, and that won’t drop spent petals on your table or shelf.

A single flower or little bouquet can be supported well in a small-necked vase. If your vase is large (and opaque), you can make a ball out of chicken wire to put inside it and then feed the stems through different holes to support and separate them. Or use strips of floral or Scotch tape criss-crossed over the top of the vase to make mini-openings.

And it can be fun to try other types of vessels! At this time of year, Rita likes to hollow out a pumpkin, squash, or cabbage and set a jam jar or vase inside of it to hold the water and stems, or to simply drill holes in the pumpkin or squash, poke a stem in each, and let the moisture from the interior hydrate the bloom.

Although our dahlia bouquets tend to be mostly dahlias – or even just one dahlia – you can add goldenrods, asters, or other late-bloomers, twigs of ninebark or boxwood, or foliage like coleus or Sweet Annie.

If you’d like, share a photo (or other ideas) on our Facebook page, and have fun!

‘Aerolite’ daffodil

‘Sapphire Beauty’ iris

‘Princess Amalia’ tulip

‘Prins Claus’ crocus

You may have already received a postcard from us reminding you that it’s time to order for fall planting. (Its beautiful illustration was our catalog cover 20 years ago, and we wanted to bring it back in our 30th Anniversary Year – since we no longer publish a paper catalog, we knew it was the one for the postcard.) Fall orders have been streaming in, thanks to your enthusiastic response, and it seems that every day Vanessa tells us about several more varieties that have just sold out. While we accept new fall orders through October, if there’s a particular bulb that you’ve been meaning to order, avoid disappointment by doing so now through our website, where you can see which pest-resistant daffodils, vibrant tulips, cheerful crocus, long-lived peonies, fragrant hyacinths and lilies, and shade-tolerant or naturalizing others are still available. If you just want to add something to an existing order, drop us an email or give us a call to let us know what you’d like, but note that after September 22 it may not be possible to make any changes to existing orders as we ramp up for October shipping.

If so, please let us know your new shipping address – we’d hate for the bulbs you’re eagerly anticipating end up sitting forlorn at your former residence or returned to us as undeliverable!

We’re happy to report that our many crates of sturdy tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs from Holland are on their ship crossing the Atlantic to us now. We expect them to arrive (by truck) here in Ann Arbor by the last week of September and we plan to begin shipping October 2, beginning with customers in extremely cold zones and then the customers who ordered last winter. If we have your order now, we expect to have it to you by the end of October, a perfect time for most gardeners to plant. But don’t worry – your bulbs will come with directions on when different varieties need to be planted and how best to store them if you can’t plant immediately.

Sometimes we’ll hear from customers who see that the big box stores already have fall bulbs for sale, and ask why we don't ship ours sooner. Mainly because it’s better for the bulbs. All bulbs have to mature and dry after harvesting, especially daffodils which need to lose over 20% of their weight in moisture – and this takes time. But big box stores want to sell as many bulbs as possible before they start ramping up for Halloween, so mainstream growers have been forced to ship bulbs before they’re ready. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t – and we don’t want to take that risk with our rare jewels.

We hope you understand, and thanks for your patience!

When asked what has impressed her most this summer, office-manager extraordinaire and all-around good-egg Rita was quick to draw our attention to the way that German garlic (Allium senescens subsp. montanum) can bring color and interest to an area of the garden that has become dull or pallid. Their lavender/pink blossoms are a favorite of both bees and butterflies, while their pungent foliage isn’t liked by deer, rabbits, or groundhogs. They do just fine without coddling or special care and will return reliably year after year. She’s right (as usual!) – what could be better??

‘George Grappe’ tulip

‘Princess Amalia’ tulip

‘Prins Claus’ crocus

‘Sweet Harmony’ daffodil

‘Kinglet’ daffodil

‘Hermione’ peony

For the first time, our friends at the Hortus are going to be able to share with us two tulip varieties we’re happy to offer to you this fall: ‘George Grappe’, a beautiful lavender/mauve introduction from 1939 named after the director of Rodin Museum in Paris at that time, and ‘Princess Amalia’, glowing in regal cerise, developed before 1908 to honor the first wife of Dutch Prince Hendrik. Both are Single Late varieties, meaning that they’re tall, reliable, and will be lovely additions that extend the tulip season in your garden. We’re also celebrating the return of ‘Greuze’ and ‘Dillenburg’, two incomparable beauties whose glowing colors (deep, rich purple and glowing orange respectively) are not to be missed.

And (as introduced in our previous newsletters) you’ll also find at our website many other new and newly-returned varieties, including:

4 crocus (with sparkling ‘Albus’ and lively ‘Prins Claus’)

22 daffodils (don’t miss luminous ‘Double Fashion’, cheerful ‘Sweet Harmony’, or fragrant ‘Kinglet’)

3 diverse (Galanthus lovers particularly take note!)

5 peonies (introducing ruby-red ‘Rachel’ and lush ‘Hermione’)

So grab a cool beverage, put your feet up, and start (or add to) an order for October delivery!

Our tulip broker in the Netherlands has warned us that it’s been a bad year for tulips in fields there, rest assured that our order has been confirmed and there should be no crop shortages. It does mean that if there are varieties you’ve been meaning to order, now is the time, as stock may be more limited than in years past.

And we recently heard from Alan Shipp in England that - due to a volunteer’s error - he’s lost a year’s worth of rare hyacinths (though luckily no varieties completely) and will be spending the fall propagating and planting his remaining bulbs to increase their numbers. We’re heart-broken, as we so admire his hard work and dedication and always look forward to being able to announce which varieties we’ll have each fall – and we wish him great success as he rebuilds his collection.

It feels like only weeks since we were out dead-heading peonies and knocking lily beetles into soapy water, but here we are with cooler nights and the dahlias taking center stage in the gardens! Now that they’ve finished blooming, our hundreds of iris are gradually being transplanted to our new farm and have been establishing well. We hope your own gardens have been flourishing this summer and providing you with respite, beauty and bouquets! We’ve just put many of the spring-planted bulbs back for sale at our website, so if there are varieties you’ve especially loved and know you want for next summer, you can put in your order now (or sign up for an email alert if we’re still waiting to see what the harvest is like.)

You might not expect it, but daylilies make fine cut-flowers – or at least our graceful heirloom varieties do. Although an individual flower lasts just one day, buds will continue to develop and open for up to a week indoors.

Way back in 1954, two University of Illinois professors wrote in a USDA booklet that “daylilies have become very popular for home flower arrangements.” They recommended cutting stalks with “several perfect full-blown flowers and a number of well-developed buds,” ideally in the morning when they’re “still fresh and undamaged by wind, sun, or insects.”

“With a little practice, almost anyone can display them to advantage,” the professors continued. “They may be used alone or in combination with other garden flowers and a wide variety of green and dried materials. Delphiniums, gaillardias, gladioli, Japanese iris, Shasta daisies, snapdragons, and zinnias are only a few of the many annuals and perennials that work up nicely with daylilies. Endless combinations can be devised that will brighten up the mantle, party table, or altar. Leaves of caladium, canna, hosta, iris, and peony can be used effectively in place of the natural foliage, as can also the graceful branches of various shrubs and evergreens such as huckleberry, magnolia, rhododendron, and yew, [or] the silvery leaves of artemisia.”

For a little extra inspiration, check out our daylily bouquet with flowers from our fields and home gardens. And to learn more about using other bulbs in bouquets – from snowdrops to dahlias – visit oldhousegardens.com/BulbsAsCutFlowers.

We’re almost finished with summer shipping – if you missed out on getting a variety you’ve wanted, or just want to see the choices, you’ll find our current iris offerings here and daylilies here. Because we’ll be moving our growing fields, we’ll be digging up more varieties than we can do for spring shipping, so this is a great opportunity to get some varieties that we might not normally offer for a couple of years. All our varieties have been loved and treasured for generations now, and - as our Michigan spring and summer has reminded us - are quite drought-tolerant in addition to being beautiful! Can’t decide? Our samplers will give you a charming collection while being less expensive than the varieties purchased separately. Order by noon (Eastern Time) Wednesday July 26th.