Lily ‘Forever Susan’
Well it’s already past the middle of the month and I will try to catch up with a brief post for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.
Life has been very busy with travel to Europe and strange weather in Maryland. As shown above the first lillies are beginning to appear.
Lilium ‘Purple Marble’ is in the Peony garden.
Lilium ‘Pink Perfection’ sits out by the blueberries.
One flower that is particularly striking is the bright red Bishop Dahlia.
Bishop of Llandaff Dahlia
This one comes back every year even though dahlia are nominally not hardy enough to over winter in our are. The bulk of our dahlias are dug and put in the basement to get through the cold part of the year. Perhaps I should try a couple of other varieties in the ground over the winter. Right beside this Dahlia we grow a palm and a banana so it may be an unusually warm spot.
Nearby is a particularly nice green leaved plant with bright yellow flowers.
Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla
Of course it’s important to note that the Stewartia is covered with flowers in a 20 foot tall tree at this point.
Stewartia pseudocamellia
And I’ve been meaning to mention one of the loveliest ‘weeds’ you could possible plant.
Corydalis lutea
These guys are zero care, widely spreading, and easily pulled if you think they are taking up too much space. And they flower from now until winter.
In the newly rebuilt Alpine bed the first Lewisia flowers are delightfully showing themselves.
Lewisia ‘Little Snowberry’
Besides the Alpine bed we have reconstructed the vegetable garden including two raised beds which were added today thanks to visiting family from Massachusetts.
2 raised beds
This should provide some more good growing space for beans, lettuce, and garlic.
And in lieu of a more complete posting I should mention that we did spend two weeks in England at the end of May. Once again we were at the Chelsea Flower Show. This time with a tour group led by our good friend Marianne Wilburn. (Hortcultural Exceptional Garden Tours)
Just a few shots from Chelsea, with more images to follow.
Chelsea Chrysanthemum
Tacca Chantrieri
Inspirational Ferns
Fern heaven
South Africa at Chelsea
Once again Chelsea is just loaded with inspirations for the future. Ironically one of things I discovered was Cornus Venus, a delightully large flowered hybrid Cornus that I had planted this Spring with knowing that the flowers are gigantic compared to the normal Chinese Dogwoods.
Cornus ‘Venus’
The world is full of discoveries…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day August 2025
Gladiolus ‘Pink Lady’
Well at this time of year for GBBD with a lot of hot humid weather the Glads are one of the flowers doing really well. They last a week in the house as the flowers open one by one.
Glads on the inside with one of the early Dahlias beside the glads
Gladious inside
Just a few days before it was time for the Surprise Lillies
Surprise Lily (Lycoris squamigera)
In the house we have the similar-flowered Rain lily relative which comes out of the greenhouse.
Habranthus robustus
The front garden bed has some very nice Butterfly Milkweed
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
And in the back garden there is a small Crocosmia starting up.
Lucifer Crocosmia
In the back we also have a spreading installation of Mirabilis that needs to be seen at just the right time of day to appreciate the open flowers.
Four o’clock Flowers (Mirabilis jalapa)
Nearby is the Cestrum which flowers all summer long.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel)
In the vegetable garden we have an abundant supply of annuals
Annuals galore
And on the hillside we have on of several Crepe Myrtles in flower.
Crepe Myrtle
I should also point out that for us it’s not just the flowers.
Harvesting – Veggies and Peaches
Harvesting – Peaches and Raspberries
The Contender Peach has yielded some of the best tasting peaches we’ve ever had and a good many of them are completely free of brown rot.
Lastly let me close with one shot of the berries getting ready for Fall.
Viburnum wrightii
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2025
Stewartia malacodendron
Well the garden in Maryland has gone from dry to super wet over the last month, making this GBBD as green as I can remember. But what always stand out for me at this time of year is the Stewartia Malacodendron. Also known as the Silky Camellia this is one of the most exotic tree flowers you can grow. It is fundamentally an understory plant and seems to be quite happy where it is situated now beneath our Metasequoia. I would guess there are 30-40 flowers on the tree this year.
Stewartia malacodendron
We have several other Stewartias now including a little Stewartia rostrata down in the pasture which is showing it’s first flower buds this year.
Stewartia rostrata
Another species added to the pasture arboretum this year is a Magnolia.
Magnolia figo ‘Serendipity’
This was from Hazelmor nursery at the Stonecrop annual Alpine sales event.
While mentioning our nice trees I should cite the Frisia Locust which is beginning to show the lovely yellow-green leaves that make it different than other locusts.
‘Frisia’ Black Locust
We first saw this at the entrance to Chanticleer Gardens near Philadelphia.
And while I’m on trees I should note that the Chinese Dogwood in our backyard is fully in flower at the moment.
Chinese Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
You would have to climb on the roof to fully appreciate the hundreds of flowers on this tree. And if you were to do that you would see even more flowers on the 50 foot tall Tulip Poplar which dominates our backyard. I am surprised that everyone doesn’t have a Tulip Poplar to litter their yard with flower petals.
Speaking of flower petals I should note that the Pink Evening Primrose, that accidentally ended up in our pasture, has continued to spread across the hillside with it’s lovely flowers.
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera specioosa) on the hillside
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera specioosa)
A few other items of note. Last year I added a Mountain Laurel to the forest and it continues to do well.
Kalmia latifolia ‘Minuet’
So I’ve added 2 more…
And back in the forest I also put in a a Carolina Allspice last year.
Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus)
And the flowers are gorgeous.
Carolina Allspice flower
Just a few more things to note…
The True Indigo by the back garden gate is very nice.
True Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria)
And the red Bletilla is quite striking again this year.
Bletilla striata
Two Azaleas are reminders that Rhododendrons can dominate the landscape in May.
Azalea ‘Visco sepala’
Rhododendron ‘Klondyke’
Lastly it is good to remember that one needs to eat something besides flowers. We finally got the vegetable bed plant in time for all the rain we’ve been having.
Laying out the garden
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 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 October 2021
Amarine tubergenii ‘Zwanenburg’
It’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day as we move securely into the Fall. The leaves are changing but we see no signs of lower temperatures in Maryland as yet.
The Amarine above is a first time bloomer for me, but comes with a little background. I bought it just this Fall from Quackin’ Grass Nursery and then as it was coming into bloom I discovered that I had another one that I had bought from the same place this Spring. No sooner did I put those two in the ground but I then found that I had bought a smaller bulb of that plant from Rare Plants back in 2017 and it too was now coming into bloom (for the first time). So apparently this plant is consistently appealing to me. It is a hybrid between Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine bowdenii. It’s somewhat questionable whether it will be hardy for me here in zone 7 (Nerines would not normally be hardy here), but I have planted two of them and we shall see.
Since it’s related I should mention that Nerine sarniensis (from the Greenhouse) is also flowering now bearing out my continuing interest in Nerines.
Nerine sarniensis
The above picture is from the kitchen and right nearby is a bowl full of vegetables showing the wonderful bounty from this year.
Vegetable yield in October
We’ve also had a lot of pears that we are still enjoying for dinners and desserts. And the raspberries are still making their appearance.
Raspberries still coming in
The flowers outside still have a lot of the same participants that we’ve had for the past few months.
Double Decorative Dahlia Purple
Dahlia ‘Bodacious’ still yielding
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
Cosmos in the wildflower patch
In addition there are a few new faces on the Fall horizon
New England Aster
Japanese Anemone ‘Whirlwind’
Colchicum ‘Giant’
Colchicum ‘Dick Trotter’
Toadlilly (Trycyrtis ‘Sinonome’
In addition I thought it was interesting to note that I completely missed the start of flowering for the fall camellias.
Camellia sasanqua ‘Double Rainbow’
Camellia x ‘Survivor’
There are lots of buds on these and other Camellias so I need to pay more attention. And similarly I’ll end by paying attention to the many oxalis showing up in the greenhouse now.
Oxalis hirta ‘Gothenburg’
Finally all summer long we’ve a beautiful showing of flowers from the potted plectranthus.
Plectranthus ‘Mona Lavender’
I’ll need to find a place in the greenhouse for a part of this plant over the winter.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day August 2021
Naked Ladies in the Garden
It’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for the middle of the summer. Our garden is like many at this time of year. Mostly annuals, crepe myrtles, and the last of the lilies dominate.
There are a few flowers worth noting. The Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’ has returned from it’s winter dormancy and will bloom until late fall.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
We have a lot of annuals in the picking garden as well as the glads and dahlias.
Annuals in the cutting garden especially Tithonia
Dahilia’s still abundant in the cutting garden
The annuals and shrub flowers are great for attracting insects and birds, many of them very photogenic. I was struck by this little bluebird overlooking the garden.
Bluebird baby with attitude
The butterflies and other insects are striking.
Monarch on Tithonia
Bee on Tithonia
Swallowtail on Buddleia
Clearwing moth on Buddleia
August is also prime time for harvesting
Music Garlic
Contender Peach