Lilium ‘Anastastia’
Over the years July has consistently meant lily time on our hillside. Some like the Anastastia pictured above are rampant growers and others are singular specimens. Almost have wonderful fragrance that makes you turn your head as you walk by. This year I failed to do a good job of tying up the Anastasia, which want to be 8-10 feet tall, and so they are flopping over the fence. But large segments come into the house for closer appreciation.
Lily Oriental-Trumpet ‘Anastasia’
Oriental lily ‘Stargazer’
Orienpet Lily ‘Pretty Woman’
Lilium Oriental ‘Josephine’ (this is supposed to be much darker pink according to the pictures online)
Orienpet Hybrid Lily ‘Scheherazade’
Oriental lily ‘Marco Polo’
Oriental Lily ‘Time Out’
Of course a gardener cannot live on lilies alone. Other flowers abound.
Blackberry lily (Iris domestica)
Golden Daylily
Red Daylily
Pink Phlox
Zinnia in the pasture
Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) in the orchard
Echinaceas in the front bed
In the alpine bed, the same gentians that were just starting last month continue to be in flower.
Gentiana dahurica
Gentiana dahurica from above
In the greenhouse the Haemanthus that appeared in bloom for the first time last year are once again flowering.
Haemanthus humilis ssp. humilis
Having had a wonderful time making Apricot jam over past few weeks
Apricots simmering in the pot
Apricot jam in the jar
We are now looking forward to a nice looking crop of peaches.
Redhaven Peach
Well, that’s a summary of where we are on this very dry Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. No rain for several weeks now, and hoping for a thunderstorm tomorrow….
Paeonia time
Paeonia rockii
Well this year the beginning of May is hello time for the first of the Peonies. My favorite is probably the species Paeonia rockii shown above. It’s named for Joseph Rock, an early 20th century plant explorer. There are many hybrids derived from this tree peony.
Actually the first Peony to bloom for us is Molly the Witch. Although it doesn’t have the yellow color that the Mollys are famous for, it’s still a very pleasing flower.
Molly the Witch (Paeonia mlokosewitschii)
The next one in line is another species Peony, Paeonia osti.
Paeonia osti
And then we have two herbaceous species. One is Paeonia obovata.
Paeonia obovata
And then a larger flowered, stronger growing version, Paeonia obovata var. willmottiae.
Paeonia obovata var. ‘Willmottiae’
Both of these are characterized by lovely foliage and large, exotic-looking seeds on into the Fall.
And then we have the larger, well-established tree peonies.
Pink Tree Peony
Pink Tree Peony
Other highlights right now are the Moroccan Poppies that overwintered in the Alpine Bed.
Morrocan Poppy (Papaver atlanticum)
I had no reason to expect that these would be evergreen all winter and then come on like gangbusters as the season progresses.
Morrocan Poppy (Papaver atlanticum)
Next to them are several Lewisias.
Lewisia cotyledon hybrid
Lewisia longipetala ‘Little Peach’
Also in the same bed is the Pink Betony that I am absolutely loving this year. It is feathery to touch and abundant in it’s flowering.
Stachys lavandulifolia
In one of the troughs at the front of the greenhouse the Gentians are doing what Gentians are supposed to do.
Gentiana acaulis
In another trough a campanula (whose name I have forgotten) is having pronounced bloom out of the tufa rock with Viola pedata nearby.
Campanula? out of tufa
It’s worth noting that this is also the time of year to be grabbing seeds to share with other gardeners in the seed exchanges.
Harvesting Adonis seeds
Eranthis seeds
I was also very pleased to see that the Jack in a Pulpits had moved further up the slope of our backwoods toward the house. Two more clumps were found at least 70 feet further up the hill than ever before. I’m amazed that they spread so fast.
Jack in a Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum )
Hesperantha falcata and more…
Hesperantha falcata 4pm
At this time of year a number of the South African bulbs come to help us anticipate spring.  One of the lovely surprises each spring is Hesperantha falcata.  This little member of the Iris family has a common name of bontrokkie (little colourful dress) in Afrikaans.  It has the very peculiar ritual of closing up in the daytime and then slowly opening in evening to be fully open at night.  For a couple of years I only saw it in bud until I happened to be in the greenhouse one evening.  When it is fully open it has a marvelous strong and pleasing scent.  The bud has a very distinctive red striping as shown above.  When it opens the flowers are a brilliant white (I’ve also seen references to it as the Evening Star Flower which is a good name).
Hesperantha falcata 6pm
But it’s not until the fully open phase that you get the scent designed to attract moths (and humans as it turns out).
Hesperantha falcata 11pm
Another South African that is blooming in the greenhouse right now is Tulbaghia simmleri
Tulbaghia simmleri
This sometimes called sweet garlic or pink agapanthus and it’s also quite fragrant. Â Both of the South Africans came from the Pacific Bulb Society’s exchange program.
Meanwhile in the outside play areas we have the first daffodil – Ta Da! Â Clearly a sign of spring.
First daffodil
Can’t be certain of which variety but it is most likely ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’
And the Eranthis are flowering up a storm in the front bed
Winter Aconite galore
They are making a serious attempt to move into the grass this year.
There are number of Hellebores making their presence known. Â More and more they remind me of small azaleas with a much longer season of bloom. Â One that I like for early bloom is Winter’s Song.
Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘Winter’s Song’
It has the nice attribute of looking sideways and upward as opposed to the hanging bells of many hellebores.
Also in the backyard are quite a number of these dwarf Iris.
Iris histroides ‘Major’
Over in the Alpine bed the Draba hispanica that is comfortably nested in tufa is making steady progress to opening its flowers.
Draba hispanica in tufa
This came from the North American Rock Garden Society Seed Exchange Program in 2016.
And nearby to it is a rather special fritillaria coming into bloom
Fritillaria stenathera ‘Cambridge’
And as my grandson would say ‘Very special’, just because you have read to the end of this posting, here is a lovely Hepatica, well ahead of it’s relatives.
Hepatica japonica pink
It’s Adonis Springtime
Adonis ‘Chichibu Beni’
All it took was a lovely 50 degree day to bring lots of flowers into bloom. Â Especially lovely is this spectacular Adonis from the Chichibu mountain region of Japan. Â The entire six year-old plant keeps slowly expanding and it is worth the wait.
Adonis ‘Chichibu Beni’ in the late afternoon light
And I discovered this year that the seed that I planted from this flower in 2013 has finally yielded a flower as well.
Adonis ‘Chichibu Beni’ Seedling
Of course the yellow flowered Adonis cannot be ignored on a sunny day either
Adonis ‘fukujukai’
These intrepid early flowers had company today. Â Even the Jeffersonia, which is way out of correct timing, has flowers appearing.
Jeffersonia dubia
And I discovered as I scraped leaves away that the Helleborus thibetanus was also in flower under the leaves.
Helleborus thibetanus
It was not surprising to see that more of the Eranthis are also in bloom.
Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schwelglanz’
And the alpine bed had the first flowers on the very nice Draba hispanica.
Draba hispanica
Of course, I shouldn’t ignore two little Moraeas that are blooming in the greenhouse.
Moraea macronyx
Moraea ciliata
Altogether it was really nice to follow up the snowfall of yesterday with work in the yard pulling off the leaves and revealing treasures.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day September 2017
Anemone x hybrida ‘Whirlwind’
Well, it’s fall here in Maryland and some of the usual suspects are providing our flowers for Bloom Day. Â Japanese anemone are robust and reliable, as well as incredibly beautiful.
Anemone x hybrida ‘Whirlwind’
Some of the other regulars are in the following pictures.
Trycyrtis ‘Autumn Glow’
Alstroemeria ‘Sweet Laura’
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
St. John’s Wort ‘Hidcote’
In the wildflower patch, the wild asters are currently the star of the show, attracting insects of all sorts.
Wild Aster
In the cutting garden the standouts are the Tithonia.
Tithonia
Beth has shown they look really nice next to the Salvia ‘Black and Blue’. Â They are also quite tall so it’s easy to see them from underneath as well.
Tithonia from underside
A similar color comes with the Atlantic Poppy which took forever to start blooming but now has a new flower every day.
Papaver atlanticum ‘Flore Pleno’
Inside the greenhouse we have blooming for the first time the Scilla maderensis. Â It seems to open just a few of the flower elements per day so that it’s never completely in flower for us.
Scilla maderensis
It is nevertheless interesting and exotic which goes a long way to getting space in the greenhouse.
Looking down on Scilla Maderensis
The first of the Oxalis are coming into bloom now.
Oxalis melanostica ‘Ken Aslet’
There are three species blooming now, but the rest will extend the blooming season into January at least.
It’s worth noting that one does not live by flowers alone. Â The garden fruits and vegetables have been abundant this year, pushing us to new recipes and uses for the crops…
Vegetable garden production
Kieffer Pears
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day July 2017
Haemanthus humilis ssp. humilis
Let me lead off with this lovely South African native that I featured in my last post. Â It is still fully flowering following our recent travels and you can see how lovely it is. Â Like many of the South African bulbs it is growing in our greenhouse (probably would go to zone 8, but that’s not us). Â It’s well worth the wait to finally see this in flower.
Haemanthus humilis ssp. humilis
Outside we have many flowers in bloom right now, as do most gardens I suspect. Â The staggering fragrance of lilies calls for first attention.
Lilium ‘Anastastia’
Every year the lilies seem to come back and dominate the summer. Â Anastastia is a particularly tall and strong Oriental/Trumpet hybrid.
Lily Oriental-Trumpet ‘Anastasia’
Another reliable Orienpet is ‘Scherezade’.
Lilium Oriental/Trumpet Scheherazade
It makes for a spectacular display in the house.
Lilium ‘Scheherezade’ arrangment
Other lilies of note follow
Orienpet Lily ‘Pretty Woman’
Lilium ‘Casablanca’
And then there are the daylilies, a different genus but similar in many ways.
Red Daylily
Outrageously golden daylily
And let us not forget the iris family. Â Several types of Crocosmia are in bloom right now too.
Crocosmia – x crocosmiiflora ‘George Davison’
And our winter was gentle enough that the gladiolas that I failed to dig last year all came back in abundance. Â It’s the best crop of glads we have ever had. Â They’ve been blooming for a month now.
Glads in abundance, including ‘Margaret Rose’ and ‘Jester’
The Echinacea in the front bed are putting on a fine show right now.
Echinacea in the front bed
And the sunflowers are abundantly flowering in the vegetable garden in many sizes and colors.
Sunflower
Burnt-colored Sunflower
In the alpine bed the first flowers are showing on the Gentian paradoxa, and this earlier than I ever remember seeing them in bloom.
Gentian paradoxa
Altogether it’s a fine showing for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, as evident by Beth’s flower vase arrangement.
Some of Beth’s flower pickings for today in the late afternoon sunlight
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2017
Horned Poppy (Glaucium flavum)
Wow, a very busy day yesterday in gardenland.  I discovered the horned poppy shown above had returned after a year’s absence in flowering as I was catching up with the vegetable garden on an absolutely gorgeous spring day here in Maryland.  My cup runneth over with chores at this time of year, but the weather has been most cooperative (at last!).  I tilled the garden, finished weeding the strawberries, planted out the veggies started in the basement, seeded much of the rest of the garden, put in more glads and dahlias, and meanwhile Beth and Josh were weeding and pruning like mad.
Getting the garden planted
As usual on Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day I will share some of the flowers of interest blooming around the yard. Â It’s worthwhile to step back from my close-up images to see the wide array of flowering plants right now.
Front Garden Circle
I’ve noticed that some folks tend to think of ‘garden’ as the larger scale perspective, whereas I often get caught up with the specific flowers. Â This little blossom on the Kalmiopsis leachiana, for example, is almost hidden amidst the surrounding Daphne.
Kalmiopsis leachiana amid daphne spent flowers
Another small distinctive flower that first bloomed last fall and is repeating already is this little Delphinium.
Delphinium cashmerianum
A constant volunteer for us is this little pink columbine that we inherited from Beth’s mother.
Aquilegia light pink
In the garden leading to the greenhouse gateway, there is a floriferous Callirhoe variant.
Callirhoe involucrata var. lineariloba ‘Logan Calhoun’
A quite distinctive plant is this allium which is just finished blooming and looks like it has little onions for seed pods.
Allium (nectaroscordum) tripedale
The very fragrant Rhododendron ‘Viscosepala’ is also just at the end of its blooming.
Rhododendron ‘Viscosepala’
By the back porch there is a lovely Bougainvillea that has overwintered in the greenhouse.
Bougainvillea pink and white
Of course, it’s hard not to miss the peonies in May.
Paonia ‘Sweet Shelly’
We also have yellow flowered peony that has been with us for thirty years.
Yellow Shrub Peony
The name has long since disappeared.
And the old stalwart, Festiva Maxima.
Paonia ‘Festiva Maxima’
We brought this one with us from Alexandria in 1975 and have planted it in many places around the property. Â It thrives everywhere, even in the pasture with no real care. Â The fragrance is wonderful and they make great cut flowers.
Paonia ‘Festiva Maxima’
Another plant that thrives on neglect is Baptisia.
Baptisia x variicolor ‘Twilite Prairieblues’
These grow right by the pasture with no assistance whatsoever.
The various iris species also have a celebration time in May.
Bearded Iris pink cultivar
Iris tectorum
At the back of the garage we have very large Black Lace Elderberry that is fully in flower right now.
Black Lace Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)
One of my favorite alpine plants is the Edrianthus pumilo which grows in a nicely formed cushion in the Large Trough by the greenhouse.
Edrianthus pumilo
Let me leave you with a couple of the birds which have shown up recently in the yard. Â First a bluebird which is probably nested nearby.
Bluebird salute
And a Yellow-rumped warbler which is more likely just passing through but is the first instance I’ve seen on our hillside.
Yellow -rumped Warbler
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day March 2017
Pulsatilla grandis
We’ve just had messy snowfall that has undone a lot of the progress that we had made toward Springtime. Â However, I will share a some of the flowers as they were before the snow, including the above lovely Pasque Flower which is about to show its purple flower in the new alpine bed.
Next to the Pulsatilla is this cute little Ornithogalum that flowers completely flat to the surface of the ground.
Ornithogalum fimbriatum
Ornithogalum fimbriatum
Also in the alpine bed is a new Corydalis
Corydalis shanginii ssp, ainae compact form
The hepaticas have continued to appear. Â Small little jewels.
Hepatica nobilis v. pyrenaica
Hepatica nobilis pink
Hepatica americana
Hepatica japonica red/white
Meanwhile the Adonis is still providing interest.
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’ backside
And we planted the wonderful Primula vulgaris after visiting England in 2008. Â They are prospering in various parts of the yard.
Primula vulgaris under the apple tree
Meanwhile the first of the Glory of the Snow is starting to flower.
Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa)
These are happily growing in the yard and the pasture.
Finally in the yard and the woods the scilla are growing now.
Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’
The stamens are a wonderful shade of blue.
It’s hard to ignore some of the lovely things happening in the greenhouse as well. Â In particular the ferrarias are now starting to flower.
Ferraria crispa
And some of the other south africans
Babiana rubrocyanea
Freesia ‘Red River’
Gladiolus sp.?
Sparaxis in a basket
Sparaxis hadeco hybrid pink
Spring is happening both outside and in the greenhouse. Â What can you contribute to Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.