With a week until the official start of summer, we're experiencing a very comfortable spring. Highs have rarely gone past the mid-80s and many days have still been in the 70s. I woke up this morning for a run and it was 55* outside. I'm not complaining. If I look at my
June 2013 Bloom Day pictures, I can see we're about a week or two behind. Flowers are starting to pop but it doesn't seem like a lot is going on yet.
Back yard
In the back there is very little going on. The baptisia and peonies are done for the year. Spiderwort bloom daily but I'm waiting for different plants to start blooming. Note to self: Plant more transitional flowers for next year.
I have historically not had a lot of shade in my garden but I do love some shade-plants like astilbe. I created some welcoming spots for them by underplanting them beneath large shrubs or perennials that would create shade, like my giant baptisia or this red twig dogwood.
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| The ubiquitous salvia |
The allée
The real show is going on here - where I barely had a semblance of a garden last year. This space is about to undergo a transition soon, one being forced upon me, but I'll save that for another day.
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| Nepeta 'Walker's Low', Heuchera (variety escapes me), and Geranium 'Rozanne' |
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| Geranium 'Rozanne' |
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| Monarda 'Jacob Cline' |
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| Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' beginning its show |
Above, Penstemon 'Dark Towers' looks very similar to Penstemon 'Husker Red' (below). The biggest difference I see is that 'Dark Towers' foliage is much more red.
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| Knautia (with missing tag - oops!) |
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| Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' |
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Coreopsis 'Moonbeam, Nepeta 'Souvenir d'Andre Chaudron', Echinacea, neighbor's new
shed (foreshadowing!) |
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| Phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise' just starting to open |
The front
The flower beds in the front yard at this time of year are mostly muted. The real show will be getting started in the next few weeks.
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| Grandma's evening primroses, the last of the Amsonia 'Blue Ice' |
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| Verbena 'Homestead Purple' |
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| Astilbe, a couple different Euphorbia, Nepeta 'Walker's Low' |
And my favorite:
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| Callirhoe involucrata |
That wraps up another Bloom Day. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Thanks to
May Dreams for hosting again.
I'm hoping slow and steady wins the race! For all the work I've done this year, I feel like I'm still waiting on the blooms. Oh well, I guess gardening teaches you patience :)
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigues by your neighbor's new shed. I know you've been working in the allee, I hope you aren't going to have to redo it all!
Patience is definitely a virtue needed with this hobby/obsession/lifestyle. Hope you see the fruits of your labor soon! And yes, probably going to have to redo some things. But not 100% sure yet!
DeleteEnjoyed your post very much. I am new to Garden Bloggers' bloom day (loving it!!). Your photo of your Grandma's Evening Primrose convinced me I had mislabeled one of my flowers for several years now. I was never condiment of the label anyway. I was told I had Buttercups, but, after seeing your post, I now know I have Evening Primrose 'Sundrop'. I appreciate it! I corrected myself and mentioned your blog! I am @ edgygardner.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWelcome! I think buttercups is another name for Evening Primrose (though not a true buttercup according to Wikipedia). My neighbor always called them the former and my mom called them the latter. Hope you enjoyed your Bloom Day.
DeleteIt looks like everything is about to pop! I love the Callirhoe involucrata! I checked my plant-want list and "wine cups" was already on there. Are those from seed?
ReplyDeleteThey're not from seed. I bought them as a single plant years ago (maybe 8?). I read that they didn't like to be moved but move them I did and they love their current spot. I think they've multiplied to several plants now and they've also seeded themselves in next to my sidewalk. It's probably annoying for the mailman but I love them!
DeleteI can see why the wine cups are your favorite. I have heard they are difficult to grow unless they have full sun and sandy soil. Is that your experience?
ReplyDeleteThey are in a full sun location but my soil is more clayey than sandy. Maybe I lucked out with this particular location.
DeleteThings are shaping up so nicely in your yard. But how do you manage to get euphorbia, catmint, and astilbe to grow in the same spot, with all three looking good? I would have thought the astilbe needed more moisture and shade than the other too. Yet yours look great.
ReplyDeleteIt's complete luck. I planted astilbe there several years ago because I desperately wanted it but didn't have any shade. For some reason, two different astilbe plants are doing perfectly fine there despite being in full sun for most of the day!
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