Friday, May 15, 2015

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - May 2015

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Here we are, almost unbelievably in the Merry Month of May...not even just starting...the middle of the month! Spring has been fitful but pleasant...and we're finally settling into a pattern of cool days and pleasant nights (good sleeping weather, to be sure). While we've had some dry spells during the past few months, we've been getting fairly regular rain, thank goodness, and the garden is filling in nicely. Without further ado...here we go!

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If April is all about Tulips, then May is the season of the Iris and Allium. I inherited 4 or 5 different varieties with the house and have slowly been thinning them out so I just have a few of each now...instead of a million of one type and practically none of another. The bicolor one in the foreground is my favorite...very floriferous, but delicate...and with an intoxicating fragrance, to boot!

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Another legacy Iris from the previous owner, I really love the delicate creamy-yellow blooms.

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And yet another Iris we got with the house...which bloomed for the first time a few years ago, to my surprise...a delicious, deep, velvety purple!

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I also have quite a few Iris I've purchased from Schreiner's over the years...but, admittedly, I've quite forgotten what most of them are...so, let's just enjoy the show...here, a really nice bicolor in the parking strip.

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This one, I believe is 'Dracula's Kiss'.

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An Iris that Norm piked out (even though he swears he doesn't remember, 'Sultan's Pride'.

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And the last of the currently-blooming Iris (the late bloomers are yet to come), another wonderful bi-color...just ending it's bloom period.

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Most of the Columbine in my garden have crossed and ended up in various shades of yellow...when I saw this yellow/purple (pinkish) Columbine at a recent plant swap, I snapped it up!

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The other flower that really dominates the garden right now is the Allium...I have quite a few and just keep adding more...like this tall, white variety (maybe 'Mt. Everest').

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Allium 'Globemaster' is my go-to Allium for most spots...great color and stature...and high enough that you can really see it over plants as they grow taller.

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My favorite, however, is the shorter (I do wish it were taller) Allium cristophii...just love those amazing exploding fireworks of metallic-lavender blooms...and they dry beautifully, lasting all winter if you're lucky.

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One of the newer Allium varieties I planted a few years ago, 'Graceful' is anything but graceful when it first emerges, looking like nothing so much as weedy grass, however, when it blooms, it's pretty spectacular.

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Thanks to their overlapping bloom time, you can enjoy Allium and Iris together...and they make quite a pair.

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And while it's nothing like the spectacle at Joy Creek, I'm pretty happy with how the Allium in the front parking strip are starting to multiply and create quite a show.

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Of course, there are also the not-quite-alliums, the Nectaroscordum...which I adore...with their romantically dangling, duskily-colored petals.

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Randomly, I also have purple culinary sage blooming (I know, you aren't supposed to let it bloom, but oh, well).

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Persicaria 'Purple Fantasy' has tiny little off-white (nearly pink) blooms that are barely noticeable...but are a nice little pointillist features.

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The oldest of my Amsonias is reaching massive proportions...love it!

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I've finally managed to secure a volunteer Queen Anne's Lace in the garden (Daucus carota)...here's to hoping it re-seeds and becomes a perennial member of the garden...but not a pest!

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The blooms of Lamium orvale aren't the showiest in the world...but they're nothing to sneeze at, either.

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Geranium season is also upon us...with 'Anne Folkard' leading the way...

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...and good ol' 'Rozanne' joining the fray.

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If you don't have a Baptisia, you need one...this is my favorite, 'Purple Smoke'.

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I actually removed most of the Knautia from the parking strips last summer after they fell apart and looked dreadful. Of course, they will always be with me in the form of self-seeded volunteers...and I can't complains...there are worse weeds out there ;-)

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Another plant I often toy with the idea of removing, Sildacea oregana...which, while lovely, is a bit on the sprawly, lanky side. However, it's one of the few natives I grow in my garden...and I need at least a tiny bit of "native cred", right?

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A plant I thought had croaked over the winter, Monarda bradburiana, was just VERY slow to emerge (like 2 months later than usual). Of course, I had already purchased replacements...which are now blooming, several weeks earlier than the returning plants. There is quite a bit of variation in the blooms. This one, with hasn't actually pushed out petals yet, has really colorful bracts.

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This one, just opening, is a darker pink than usual.

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While those fully-opened blooms on another plant are the soft, clear pink I remember...time will tell if these are all just variations...or stages of opening.

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Like the Monarda, the Astrantias have been slow to wake up this year...and don't seem quite as vigorous as I remember them in years past...still, some are starting to bloom, like this 'Roma'.

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I loved my blue Camassia so much this spring that I decided to plant more this fall...but I got impatient and bought some already-growing a few weeks ago at Portland Nursery. They were labeled as 'Danube Blue'...but, upon opening, are obviously not that! Still, I actually really like these, so it's a happy accident.

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While I'm sure I forgot a few things, that's most of what's blooming...so it's time for some wide shots...this is the front border looking north.

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The same looking south.

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The side border looking west.

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And the side border looking east.

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The Side border walkway...finally completed after removing the privet last fall.

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And a wide view of our whole corner property (new paint job and all)!

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I hope you're haivng a great spring so far...especially as summer is practically breathing down our necks...although, if we're lucky, the rest of our spring will be cool and pleasant before the heat arrives. Happy Bloom Day...and for more posts, visit our host, Carol, at May Dreams Garden.

25 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the little bits of the house that creeped into the flower photos, what a great backdrop for your garden! Also I adore 'Sultan's Pride', I think you've shared it before and I've swooned. Norm's got great taste, even if he doesn't remember.

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  2. I love the new paint on your house: it looks really beautiful, great color choice.
    We share a love for Iris, though I think you have quite a few more varieties. They way you photograph them against the light makes me drool. Do your alliums blooms stay as big as when you first planed them? My keeps shrinking. What's the secret?

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  3. I am hoping for more cool and pleasant weather, with rain only at night while I'm sleeping. I love Norm's taste in Iris too, that is a great and unusual color. I HAVE to plant some Nectaroscorum, either this year or next. What a bummer that your Astrantias seem to be weakening. Although they call plants that return every year perennials, it seems they do have a limited life span. Happy GBBD! So pleased to see a post from you.

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  4. Gorgeous Iris presentation and everything else is beautiful too. We have summer here, already.

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  5. Beautiful May flowers! The iris are stunning. You have so many things I am unfamiliar with, it is very interesting. I am thinking about Baptisia, but wonder how it would do in our heat. It is 80 degrees here on some days and 60 on others.

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  6. The new paint job sets everything off beautifully. I wish I could make Alliums happy enough to increase. I have planted christophii several times but it always disappears after a few years.

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  7. Your little cottage is lovely with its new coat of paint! I think your cottage garden is one of the best i have ever seen. The mix of ethereal flower with lusty iris and all the various shades of green is magical! Thank you for the update : ) Happy gardening!

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  8. so nice to tour RSG again! House and garden look fantastic. So envious of the camassias in bloom.

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  9. I can't wait till my 'Purple fantasy' grows up ! Your house looks wonderful , great color !

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  10. Glad to see you posting again, Scott; I've missed seeing your garden. You have such a lovely collection of Alliums. Thanks for showing the Allium christophii--I have wanted to plant some of this but always forget when I order bulbs. Maybe I should go write it down immediately before I forget:) I did plant some camassia for the first time last fall, and I agree it has such lovely blooms; I need to make room for some more. A beautiful collection of irises!

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  11. My how your flower beds have filled out Scott. That Amsonias is gorgeous. I love Irises and you have some pretty ones. That Sultans Pride is such a fantastic color. You can see all the work you have done to your gardens b how lush it has gotten. Beautiful!

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  12. You (or previous owners) opened my eyes to dark purple in an iris. The SUltans Pride is nice too. I will have to remember to plant it so the light shines through it like you photographed it.

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  13. Wonderful! I too love the cream yellow iris but 'Dracula's Kiss' gets the prize for best name. Your selection of Alliums is great, I also grow 'Globemaster'. It makes a slowly spreading clump though I notice the blooms gradually get smaller.

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  14. So many beautiful flowers and foliage plants in your garden and in the garden beds surrounding your footpath. The white Camassia flowers look delightful with the other coloured blooms, the creamy yellow Iris and "Sultan's Pride" are spectacular and Allium "Graceful"is so lovely with the pinkish blooms.
    Just a few of my favourites, your cat is lovely too.
    xoxoxo ♡

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  15. So beautiful flowers and wonderful shots. I admit i haven't been here for quite a while, and now i realized i miss a lot because your shots are always inspiring to emulate. I remember long ago i even asked what lens you have been using, now i forgot. And i admire the way you play with your lights, amazing! thanks. www.pureoxygengenerators.blogspot.com

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  16. I really enjoyed your beautiful May flowers Scott. I never realised that irises could be scented so must find out more. A great paint job too! :)

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  17. I love seeing plants from my own yard in other people's gardens. I've just recently started to "collect" allium, and have become obsessed. I don't know what sort of disability I have when it comes to iris, but I shall admire yours from afar.

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  18. Your garden always looks wonderful and the new paint color is terrific. Love the iris. (and everything else!)

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  19. Alliums, columbines and iris...the highlight of the mid spring garden...mine are just beginning and I am in heaven seeing yours...just beautiful Scott!

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  20. I love it all--the house, the flowers. You really have a spectacular place!

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  21. Lovely selection of blooms Scott! And your planting is spot on to the current trends in flower shows here :)

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  22. I somehow missed your Bloom Day post until now. Your garden is full of beautiful blooms. I envy the Iris (mine have virtually refused to bloom for 2 years now) and the Astantias.

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  23. That is a stunning group of colorful iris. I am amazed at your amsonia. In PA I have seen large drifts, but up here, mine linger in small patches. Maybe in a few more years I will have a larger clump, hopefully.

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  24. Mobile App DevelopersJune 11, 2015 at 1:03 AM

    What you're saying is completely true. I know that everybody must say the same thing, but I just think that you put it in a way that everyone can understand. I'm sure you'll reach so many people with what you've got to say.

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  25. It's been a while since I've visited_ now soaking in what I missed. Scott, beautiful photos, all. Bearded iris_ my favorite iris_ except for the Japanese which are now blooming. :)

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