Iris are on gorgeous display at this local historic Italianate house
Take a drive over the hill into downtown Castle Rock in the next few days and you'll be rewarded with a stunning display of iris.
Iris are certainly having a moment this year - strutting their beauty and taking us all back to the days when iris bloomed like clockwork every spring in Colorado.
The display at the Benjamin Hammar House, 203 Cantril Street, Castle Rock, will have you parking the car and strolling around the stone house to take in the beauty of this year's glorious iris moment.
According to History Colorado, the Hammar House was constructed in 1887 and is one of Castle Rock's earliest stone houses (local rhyolite stone was quarried from the Castle Rock area).
Benjamin Hammar was a stonemason for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad who worked on many depots for the railroad, and later owned the Castle Rock Stone Company and the Santa Fe Quarry. Read more about the house and follow it's ongoing renovations here.
Have iris that aren't blooming? Here are tips for growing:
Iris are hardy in Colorado, and typically reliable, easy to grow, deer resistant, and drought tolerant. They flourish in climates like ours where winter temperatures dip below freezing to allow the plant to go dormant before next year's growth.
How to Grow Irises: The Complete Iris Flower Guide
Iris are certainly having a moment this year - strutting their beauty and taking us all back to the days when iris bloomed like clockwork every spring in Colorado.
The display at the Benjamin Hammar House, 203 Cantril Street, Castle Rock, will have you parking the car and strolling around the stone house to take in the beauty of this year's glorious iris moment.
According to History Colorado, the Hammar House was constructed in 1887 and is one of Castle Rock's earliest stone houses (local rhyolite stone was quarried from the Castle Rock area).
Benjamin Hammar was a stonemason for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad who worked on many depots for the railroad, and later owned the Castle Rock Stone Company and the Santa Fe Quarry. Read more about the house and follow it's ongoing renovations here.
Have iris that aren't blooming? Here are tips for growing:
Iris are hardy in Colorado, and typically reliable, easy to grow, deer resistant, and drought tolerant. They flourish in climates like ours where winter temperatures dip below freezing to allow the plant to go dormant before next year's growth.
- Plant the rhizome sideways in a sunny spot in a very shallow hole (one to two inches max), keep the area fairly clean (they don't like competition), and divide them every three to four years to avoid overcrowding.
- Plant the rhizomes at least a few inches apart to give them room to grow and to give you a few years before needing to divide. You should see the top of rhizome clearly visible on the surface of the soil. Water around the protruding rhizome once or twice a week, but never directly on it. Don't water too much, as you don't want to rot the rhizome.
- Iris need lots of sun, good drainage, and good soil.
- The best time to divide is 6-8 weeks after they have finished flowering. Iris beds should be dug up and the iris divided and the healthiest parts of the rhizomes replanted. Non-healthy rhizomes are mushy, rotten, small, and under formed. Divide every three to four years.
- In mid-summer, when the plants begin to look ratty, cut the foliage down by half (always cut the leaves at an angle). At the end of fall, after the leaves have been hit by a couple of frosts, completely remove all foliage, as most diseases overwinter on the leaf debris.
- There's really no need to fertilize - most iris do best when left alone after being established.
- Have patience. Only 60-75% of iris bloom the first year after planting. Sometimes they need an extra year to get comfortable in their new space.
How to Grow Irises: The Complete Iris Flower Guide