Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - June 15, 2011

Wow, how can it be the middle of June already! After a week of being sick and kind of ignoring everything, I am amazed at just how much progress the garden has made in the past month. Everything seems just so much bigger and farther ahead of where it was last year at this time. Of course, some of that is due to the fact that things are more established than last year. We've had some pleasantly cool, overcast days the past week (even got a smattering of rain a few days ago), and the garden is loving it...and looks great.


Here you can see the definite palette of the spring garden tends to be in the yellow/gold and purple/blue spectrums. Some of it is by design, but a lot of it is just luck!


Here is the same border from the opposite direction. Some of the sections of this garden were re-planted last fall, due to my growing realization that the light and soil in certain parts of the bed are totally different than the rest of it. I'm hoping that by the end of this season, everything will have filled in, so far, the new plants are much happier than their predecessors (more on this in a later post).


Pink hybrid Lupine
I posted about this pink Lupine in a previous post...and how it was stolen late that same day! There are now a few new blooms coming up, so I guess I can forgive whoever that mean, awful, horrible person was...sorta ;-)


Iris 'Gerald Darby'
I was really surprised that this Iris bloomed this year, but I'm not complaining! It's a very soft, opalescent blue/purple with nice contrasting veining. It looks smashing blooming on top of it's near-black stems. I can't wait to see this plant bulk up and fill in its space in the coming years. As a bonus, it looks great in contrast with Astrantia 'Ruby Wedding' that grows nearby.


Astrantia 'Ruby Wedding'
And here is 'Ruby Wedding', one of my growing collection of Astrantias. I was unsure how I felt about these darker-colored Astrantias, thinking they might be too dark and fade into the background. True, they are a bit more somber than many other flowers, but I find them to be lovely and sophisticated. As a bonus, this Astrantia also has foliage that is flushed with a deep maroon-red, a wonderful accent. I've also found that so far, Astrantias seem very vigorous and easy-going. For some reason, I thought they might be very persnickety...then again, we haven't hit summer's heat and wind yet...so their resolve WILL be tested eventually!


Pimpinella major 'Rosea'
I actually just purchased this from Joy Creek Nursery a few weeks ago. I was surprised at just how floriferous it turned out to be. One little plant has expanded to fill a decent amount of space, although airily, and has started throwing out these delicate umbels of softest pink flowers.


Centranthus ruber with Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
These are both wonderful, traditional, cottage-type plants. They are vigorous, free-flowering and wonderfully informal. I have them planted in a patch together with Geranium 'Rozanne' and they grow together to form a mass of color.

Columbine 'Tequila Sunrise'		Astrantia major

The Columbines have gone crazy this year, with some plants pushing 4'tall. I always love their loose, informal branching and how their blooms seem to float in the air. The Astrantia is an unnamed variety I have growing in a difficult spot...so far, they seem very happy. I may have to re-arrange them a bit, as they seem to be especially vigorous, but I'm giving them a year or so to settle in and then I'll re-assess them. Love those pink and green-tinged bracts.


Astrantia 'Abbey Road'
I have this interplanted with the above Astrantia, and while it's much bushier, seems to be a bit shorter. I think this is the Astrantia color I like most, a deep wine-red...not terribly noticeable from a distance, but stunning up close and en masse.


Nepeta 'Walkers Low'
Again, you can't really go wrong with Catmint...beautiful in its own right, and a wonderful companion to other plants, softening hard edges and easing transitions.


Knautia macedonica 'Mars Midget'
The shortest of the Knautias I have planted and the first to bloom. I was unsure how I would feel about the color of these last year, but they are very different in bloom than how they appear in many photos. They aren't pure red, but more of a claret color...much prettier and easier to work with. They harmonize well with almost everything I can think of. A bonus, they bloom from early June until frost!


Allium 'Purple Sensation' and Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'
I have about a dozen of these Allium scattered throughout the garden, and plan to ad MANY more this fall. Along with the later-flower drumstick Allium, they add great vertical accent and wonderful points of color throughout the garden.

Linaria purpurea		Geranium 'Ann Folkard'

I was intrigued by the Linaria after reading Andrew Keys wonderful post on them at his blog last year. So far, they are a bit spindly (it is their first year), but have attained a nice height and are now blooming. I really hope they do reseed as they are ephemeral enough to be allowed to grow up around other plants, adding their delicate verticality and stunning red-purple flowers. Geranium 'Ann Folkard' is one of my garden standbys...it grows rampant in my garden in spring/early summer, weaving the garden together with it's wonderful chartreause foliage and now, it's intensely-colored flowers. The blooms are small, but the color is outstanding. Violet-magenta with a contrasting black eye and veining.


Dutch Iris with Persicaria 'Lance Corporal'
I got a bag of these Dutch Iris at a Box Store this fall. I forgot about them and planted them in a guilty frenzy just a few months ago. Amazing, they all seem to have emerged, and in a lovely array of colors. This is a purple one, which I think contrasts nicely with the foliage of nearby Persicaria 'Lance Corporal'


Geranium 'Katherine Adele'
I'm really guessing at what Geranium this really is, I bought it at the HPSO sale a few years ago, and realized after I got home, it didn't have a label...oops! Does it really matter, however, when the foliage is as stunning as can be...and the flowers are so light and delicate...I think not!


Oxalis crassipes
This has to be the bloomingest Oxalis ever. It will truly bloom at this rate all summer long. I never know how it manages to save enough energy to make it through winter!

Ligularia 'The Rocket'		Astrantia maxima

Two new plants in the "shady" portion of our backyard. The Ligularia surprised me a few weeks ago by sending up blooms spikes. I considered cutting them off, so the plant could focus on getting established this year, but thought, "What the hell", might as well enjoy them! Astrantia maxima is a bit different from my other Astrantias...the leaves are divided into 3 leaflets (rather than the more typical 5) and the flowers have much wider bracts...it's a very interesting effect.


Amsonia hubrichtii
While the flowers of Amsonia are not its claim to fame (that would be its glorious fall color), they aren't bad. The color is the palest, milky sort of blue, and are easy to miss on smaller plants (like mine). Still, they are pretty in a very understated way.


Geranium 'Rozanne'
Geranium 'Rozanne' is a plant that most gardeners are familiar with at this point. She is the unstoppable superstar of the Geranium family. While this is a pic of one of the new plants I planted this spring, the plants that returned from last year are enormous already, almost 2' x 3'...and are just on the cusp of blooming...can't wait!

Rodgersia aescufolia		Sidalcea oregana

The fist bloom is of Rodgersia Aeuscufoli, and while not terribly impressive, is the first Rodgersia bloom I've had in my garden, so I just had to share it! While grown primarily for their range of stunning foliage, Rodgersias do bloom, with the blooms resembling those of Astilbe. The Sildacea, or Checker Mallow, is a quaint native plant I got at the Audubons Society's annual Native Plant Sale last spring. It really 'slept' last year and didn't do much of anything. This year, however, it's already pushing 3' tall and has sent up numerous spires of these delicate blooms. Not a show-stopper, but definitely a nice accent.


Tiarella 'Pacific Crest'
I'm surprised this Tiarella is still blooming...it's been pumping out flowers for over a month...and is spreading in all directions at the same time. Love it.


Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Taurus'
Ok, so this is barely a bloom, but I wanted to include it because I was surprised it was starting to bloom so early (a good month before when it usually blooms for me).

Sanguisorbia 'Pink Elephant'		Clematis recta purpurea

While I love the crazy, spontaneous way that Sanguisorbias tend to sprawl all over and lend their little buttons of color, I'm hoping that mine gets a little more self-supporting next year. It gets about 6' tall and then flops all over. The Clematis is really grown for it's outstanding purple foliage (which is now starting to green as the weather warms) but the flowers are nice and airy, if not terribly showy. They are supposed to have a sweet fragrance, but I haven't noticed any yet.


Blue hybride Lupine
It figures that the one blue Lupine in the mixed pack I bought would show up in the middle of a huge patch of Catmint and Geranium 'Rozanne'...hmmmm. Oh well, I'm still crushing on it, and it was a surprise, as it didn't bloom last year.


Front Garden
And here are the front and side gardens in (pretty much) their entirety. The back yard is actually starting to take shape and will get it's very own post soon. Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day each month. I can't wait to start making the rounds to all your other blogs to see whats blooming. Also, check back later this week (maybe early next week) for my Foliage Follow-Up...lots of good stuff there too!