Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’
As usual for a February GBBD the Adonis is the most striking flower in our garden. They always begin even when snow may be falling and they shake off the cold days. Good luck finding any because nurseries seldom carry Adonis any more. If you find them scoop them up in a hurry.
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’
Elsewhere there a lot of winter aconite, hellebores, and snowdrops. The snowdrops are showing an increasing ability to propagate into the lawn and are multiplying every year.
Galanthus nivalis ‘Blewbury Tart’
And the winter aconite are everywhere, both where I’ve put them and where they are now spreading.
Winter Aconite happily spreading
There are even a couple of unusual cultivars that are spreading as well.
Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schwefelglanz’
Eranthis hyemalis ‘Orange Glow’
The Hellebores are just getting started but their flowers are always arresting and we usually cut some for display in the house.
Helleborus x nigercors ‘HGC Green Corsican’
Helleborus x hybridus PDN Yellow
Helleborus x hybridus PDN double bicolor
Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘Winter Sunshine’
Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cotton Candy’
And out in the woods the Helleborus foetidus has continued to put out its flowers.
Helleborus foetidus
Of course it’s also worth noting that the early daffodils are just finishing. Many more to come.
Narcissus ‘Rinjveldt’s Early Sensation’
And the first of the Camellia japonicas putting out their wonderful flowers.
Camellia japonica red
Of course in the midst of everything the crocus are doing their usual springtime thing.
Crocus tommasinianus
Sometimes when you walk about the yard you go just to inspect the things that you expect to be blooming. I almost missed the first ot the small Iris sticking up its little flag.
Iris histroides ‘George’
And over in the alpine bed I found this little polygala putting it’s first flowers out.
Polygala chamaebuxus
It’s worth pointing out the greenhouse also has flowers to share with us.
Cyrtanthus breviflorus
Cyrtanthus hybrid
Geissorhiza inaequalis
There’s also a tiny thalictrum that needs to be planted outside
Thalictrum urbanii
We recently returned from California with its flowers galore so I was very pleased to see how many things were in flower here in Maryland. I put together a little SLIDE SHOW to share the general effect of my first walk around the yard last weekend.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day July 2023
Orienpet Lilium ‘Scheherazade’
Well, for mid-summer it’s got to be all about the lilies for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.
Each time the wind begins to chime,
And end begins to near
A whisper of the softest sort
Flows gently to the ear
The scent and sight enough are great
Yet lilies live for more
The lilies whisper poetry
As none have heard before
— The Lilies Whisper Poetry by Deborah Amar
Orienpet Lilium ‘Scheherazade’
Lilies are definitely the most striking flower in the yard right now. They come in all shapes and sizes.
Orienpet Lily ‘Anastasia’
Lilium oriental ‘Muscadet’
Lilium oriental hybrid ‘Casa Blanca’
Lilium ‘Madame Butterfly’
Oriental Lily ‘Stargazer’
Orienpet Lily Conca d’Or
Of course, the lilies also work on the inside of the house.
Showy lilies on the mantle
However, there are other things happening on our hillside. I notice, for example that the Corydalis are doing there usual magic in the front yard where they just gently spread over any vacant space.
Corydalis lutea
Similarly, the echinacea are everywhere in the perennial beds.
Echinacea purpurea
I should also share the Cestrum which is just now flowering for the first time this year and they will go on like this for the next 5 months.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
The Hydrangea are just now flowering for the first time this year as well and they will also have any extended flowering.
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
One of the real delights for us is the Bishop of Llandaff Dahlia which has once again survived a winter in the ground.
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
In the middle of the backyard there are some allium also showing up for the first time this year.
Allium ‘Millenium’
If we go back beside the greenhouse the alpine bed has some Daphne that are flowering once again this year.
Daphne collina x cneorum
Nearby in the troughs there is one with a little potentilla that flowers for a long time.
Potentilla hyparctica ‘Nana’
And in another trough a very tiny thyme that has taken over a good part of the trough.
Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin’
I should also share the vegetable garden which has a number of flowers.
Vegetable Garden
Although flowers are not the main purpose there are many, many flowers every day in the vegetable garden.
Cucumbers
If you think of corn as a grass, it is the tallest grass we’ve ever grown in our garden this year.
Kandy Korn
We’re just hoping the raccoons don’t come exploring for the corn. I won’t go into the peaches, pears, and apples — more about those in the future. But the wildflowers in the pasture are quite striking right now.
Wildflowers in the pasture
We mowed them down once because of the poison ivy, but the flowers seem to be outgrowing the poison ivy at the moment. And finally, it has rained now and then for which I’m quite grateful.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day June 2023
Stewartia malacodendron
Although it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day I am leading off with a flower that finished blooming last month. It came into bloom at the end of May and I was so frightfully impressed that I have purchased yet another of these trees. I promise another posting on the Stewartias because they are well worth sharing.
Currently the Stewartia japonica which we’ve had for years is just now coming into bloom
Stewartia japonica
In the meantime the other striking flowers at the moment are the lilies. Just a few of them are showing right now but they are lovely
Yellow Lily in the Herb bed
Asiatic Lily ‘Forever Susan’
Lililum ‘Istanbul’
Lilium ‘Purple Marble’
There is also a very late and very large Azalea at the front of the house
Xtra Large White Azalea
The rest of flowering is more or less normal roses, penstemon, and annuals. One exception is the Evening Primrose out on the bank to the pasture.
Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)
This wildflower came along on its own and appears anytime we don’t mow to close or too often on the pasture hillside.
We have been busy picking and eating fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries). Mostly it’s what we expect but for many of them they are bit on the small side given the extremely dry weather we’ve had (can we say drought?). The exception is the wild cherry tree at the entrance to our forest.
Wild Cherries in Blossom
This tree is just one of many wild cherry trees in our forest. Most of them seem to have come from bird-planted seedlings from the original orchard that we planted forty years ago. They all have reasonable taste and the birds love them.
WaxWing in the Cherry Tree
This gives some idea of the density.
But the really surprising thing is that one of the smaller trees with branches actually close to the ground has absolutely marvelous cherries and they grow without being sprayed. Just pick them.
Josh picking at the xtrasweet wild cherry
This is one of the bowls he brought in the other night.
Wild Cherries
Of course the other thing we get is as a bonus is all the birds visiting at this time of year.
Waxwings Sharing Mulberry
I’ve even seen the bluebird in the cherry tree, though he spends most of his time harvesting grubs in the grass.
A very blue bluebird
Life is good. Now if we could just get some rain…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day April 2023
Stayman Apple Blossoms
Well of course there are so many flowers for the April Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day that it is difficult to choose what to share. Let me begin with the apple trees. Though some of the varieties are definitely showing the biennial bearing effect we still have other trees that are loaded with beautiful blossoms.
Granny Smith Apples in full bloom
The pears and peaches have mostly finished blooming and the cherries are just finishing. In general flowers are running ahead of the normal flowering cycle as it’s been dry and hot in Maryland.
Other trees in bloom right now are the dogwoods and the redbuds.
Redbud in the front yard
Daffodils are everywhere in bloom. Even though we’ve have had hundreds of daffodils already, some are still in bud. Other bulbs showing up right now are the Fritillaria imperials in the front bed
Fritillaria imperialis and Peony in the front bed
and Tulips that I put in the woods with Erythronium last year.
Tulips and Erythronium in the woods
Also in the woods are Shooting Stars that are actually allowed to flower now that the deer are gone.
Shooting Star in the woods
A long-time component of our woods walk are the Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) that have naturalized in abundance. And some of the bluebells are pink or white.
Pink Bluebell
One strange little bulb that I noticed this year is this little ornithogalum that has taken hold in the back lawn.
Ornithogalum in the back lawn
In terms of strange little plants this little polygala is spreading nicely in the alpine bed.
Polygala chamebuxus
Nearby is one of the Daphnes which contribute to the alpine bed on a regular basis.
Daphne in the Alpine bed
In this same shady Alpine bed there is a small columbine that comes back every year.
Aquilegia flabellata v. nana
And on the sunny side of the alpine bed there is an Asperula doing very well.
Asperula pontica
Along with a delightful Pulsatilla
White Pulsatilla in the Alpine bed
But even more surprising to me is this little Stachys that I planted back in 2017 after seeing it at the Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat Springs. This is the first time it has really poured over the wall in the way I had hoped.
Stachys lavandulifolia
I should also share this double-flowered Quince which provide a particularly striking flower.
Double-flowered Quince
There are many, many other flowers but I think that’s true for everyone at this time of year.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day November 2022
As it turns to Fall (wintertime temperatures are on the way but we have been spared a hard frost so far) this GBBD post has to focus on Camellias. It is always amazing to me what a long season we have with the Camellias. Between the C. japonicas and C. sasanquas (and the various hybrids) we usually have Camellias blooming from October through April. I began growing them with 1 gallon pots that brought on airplane rides from California and then put them in the basement each winter until I realized they were actually hardy here. We had one really cold winter that seemingly killed this red sasanqua to the point where i actually cut it back to the ground. And then the next year it came back vigorously. So this bushy flowering plant is actually the second rebirth of our Fall Camellia.
Fall Camellia
Some of the others in bloom right now are shown below.
Camellia x ‘Survivor’
Camellia sasanqua ‘October Magic Orchid’
Elsewhere in the garden the Cestrum continues it’s flowerful display
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
Pretty special for a plant that dies back to the ground every winter.
Right next to it is the Japanese quince that has no business blooming in November (but it often does).
Red Japanese Quince (Chaenomeles)
We have had a very extended Fall and the roses are still putting out blossoms.
Rose ‘Knockout Red’
And out at the front fence there are a continuing sequence of flowers on the Daphne I planted there several years ago.
Daphne × transatlantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’
In the pasture I still see spots of color from the gaillardia that have volunteered from wildflower plantings.
Gaillardia
In the alpine bed there is still a single Moroccan Poppy remaining from the many that flowered there this year.
Papaver atlanticum ‘Flore Pleno’
In the vegetable garden we not only have flowers of various sorts but fall peas and lettuce still coming in.
Fall Peas and a strawberry
Fall Peas
Calendula and Lettuce
Calendula (Pacific Beauty Mix)
Tithonia
And then lastly let me close with an indoor flower. We see flowers twice a year from the potted Amazon Lily and once again it is doing its thing with a minimum of care.
Amazon Lily flowers
Highly recommended as a wonderful houseplant that can play outside in the summertime.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day August 2022
Gordlinia grandiflora flower closeup
Well, I missed last month’s posting to GBBD (first time in ten years) and I feel somewhat guilty so I have a couple of special items for this posting. Back in April I received as a gift one of the largest plants I’ve ever gotten in a box in the mail (from ForestFarm).
Gordlinia grandiflora arrival
It was a Gordlinia grandiflora, a relatively rare hybrid derived from a cross between Franklinia alatamaha and Gordonia lasianthus in 2003. It’s a relatively small tree with absolutely gorgeous camellia-like flowers.
Gordlinia grandiflora
It’s begun flowering now and should continue through September…
Another special item for us this year is the Princess Flower. I started this from a small 4 inch pot from Putnam Hill Nursery last year and it didn’t flower. So I carried it over in the greenhouse and repotted it at the beginning of the season. It has taken off over the last two months and it’s now 5 foot tall and still growing. In the meantime I found another specimen growing in a pot twice as big as mine and just coming into flower. Nonestop flowering is what it yields.
Princess Flower (Tibouchina Urvilleana)
Princess Flower (Tibouchina Urvilleana)
It will need to go into the greenhouse again but wow, what flowering!
Otherwise it’s pretty normal summer flowering for us.
The Allium are flowering in a couple of places
Allium ‘Millenium’
The Crepe Myrtle is finally in flower for the season
Crepe myrtle white
the Cestrum has recovered from its winter dieback
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
And the Crinum is showing its numerous hanging flowers
Crinum powellii
In the vegetable/cutting garden the Glads have yielded abundantly
Gladiolus
Picking Glads
and the Tithonia and Sunflowers are ten foot tall at least.
Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower)
Sunflower
In the greenhouse there are multiple pots of Cyrtanthus in flower
Cyrtanthus elatus
as well as a particularly nice Sinningia
Sinningia eumorpha
If we weren’t so busy picking fruits and vegetables I might actually finish weeding the greenhouse:)
Crispie Pears (these are very sweet)
Oh, I should mention that my excuse for missing last month’s posting was a trip to California where we relived our youth by driving down the California Coast.
Drake’s Beach Point Reyes
It was a wonderful trip…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2022
Pileated Woodpecker
This bird has been a frequent visitor to our garden this last week so I thought you might want to join him in perusing the flowers at Ball Road for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.
Azalea Exbury Hybrid ‘Gibraltar’
It’s very much the Azalea time of year hereabouts. What is especially nice this year is that we dug four layered offspring from this plant last year and they are now to be found in other parts of the yard.
New Azalea ‘Gibraltar’ from layering
One of our favorite Azaleas is beside the deck. Azalea ‘Visco Sepala’ came from White Flower Farm many years ago, though it’s originally from England. It has a spectacular fragrance.
Azalea ‘Visco sepala’
Naturally at the same time the tree peonies are stepping up to the plate.
Tree Peonies in Bloom
Yellow Tree Peony
Nearby is another very nice perennial.
Glaucidium palmatum
And a very distinctive Japanese Maple that is worth building a garden around
Golden Full Moon Maple (Acer Shirasawanum)
We also have a reliable showing of Lamium by the garage where it outcompetes the weeds.
Lamium orbala
One could easily get lost with trying to account for all the things in bloom right now. If we go back to the Alpine bed there are some special repeat performances.
Dianthus petraeus ssp. petraeus
Aubretia ‘Blue Beauty’
Ornithogalum exscapum
Papaver atlanticum (Moroccan Poppy)
Lewisia cotyledon ‘Rainbow mix’
I want to take a few minutes out to share our meadow-like pasture. Last year son Josh, cut the pasture ultrashort and then seeded the area with crimson clover and wildflowers from Wildseed in Texas. The result has been wonderful. It’s easy to get lost in just the crimson clover.
Wildflower meadow
Crimson Clover Flower
But amidst the clover are wallflowers, peas, flax, sweet william and POPPIES.
Poppy from wildflower mix
Pink Poppy
White Poppy
We also have for the first time Five Spot
Five Spot (Nemophila maculata)
As an ending point for this already long posting let me share the Viburnum on the hillside that overlooks these wildflowers.
Viburnum on the hillside
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day April 2022
One of many, many daffodils
It’s hard not to give credit to the daffodils for giving this spring a wonderful start on this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day
Daffodils everywhere
There are flowers literally everywhere on our property right now. Spring bulbs, flowering trees and wildflowers are making it a joy to walk about the yard. The hellebores, like the daffodils are in full display-mode.
Helleborus ‘Double Flowered White’
The various Erythroniums are displaying their hanging flowers from pink to yellow to white.
Erythrronium revolutum ‘White Beauty’
The standard trout lilies have been fully in flower the past two weeks in the raised bed by the deck.
Erythronium americanum
However, the same plants in the woods have never flowered. I transferred them years ago and they have propagated like mad but do not flower. Apparently I’m not alone in this observation.
The main thing blooming in the woods at this point are the bluebells (Mertensia virginica)
Bluebells in the woods
Another wild flower is the Star of Bethlehem that is popping up in the lawn right now. I should probably plan to move it to the woods where it can spread freely.
Ornithogalum nutans
Among the other things flowering right now are the double-flowered Japanese Quince, much bigger than normal quince flowers.
Double Flowered Japanese Quince
I noticed that the miracle pear tree is covered by flowers this year.
Pear ‘Twentieth Century’
Pear ‘Twentieth Century’ up close
We call it the miracle pear tree because it was completely flattened by a teenager’s car when it was young. I was able to stake it up in place and it miraculously recovered.
A number of the plants flowering now stem from Illahe Nursery in Oregon. Several Freesias, Watsonias, a Babiana, and the Iris shown below have been really strong growing beautiful plants.
Iris ‘Golden Beauty’
The Babiana has an unbelievable number of buds.
Babiana stricta ‘Dark Purple’
Well that’s a sampling from our hill on Ball Road. Enjoy the Spring!