May | 2014 |

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for May 2014

Author: jw

Grand-flowered Horned Poppy (Glaucium grandiflorum)

I’m late in sharing my Bloom Day post for this month, but it’s because I’ve barely been home in the last ten days, and even now write this from California. But I can share some of the recent flowerings in the garden. At Plant Delights this year I brought back this stunning large orange horned poppy. The plant is distinctive — once you’ve seen the large horns you won’t forget it — and the flower color is wonderful.

Grand-flowered Horned Poppy (Glaucium grandiflorum)

Although we almost take the azaleas for granted, they are everywhere in flower at the moment. And along with them the Peonies are the dominant flower in the yard. Unfortunately we were in Boston while several of the species peonies bloomed. We only got back for the very end of those flowers coming forth on 85 degree days.

Paeonia obovata alba

The magnificent Tree Peonies are fully in bloom at the moment.

Pink Tree Peony

Tree peony as Bee Magnet

Pink Tree Peony detail

We have several groups of Primrose sieboldii that are at peak flowering right now as well.

Primula sieboldii ‘Rock Candy’

These primulas are wonderfully hardy and expand in a very controlled fashion.

We added an Enkianthus at the back of the monolith garden and those little bells are just coming out.

Enkianthus campanulatus

And I couldn’t help noticing the crimson clover coming up in last years vegetable garden.

Crimson Clover

We haven’t put in a cover crop for several years but they still manage to reproduce.

Back in the alpine bed, where I spend a lot of time nowadays, the detailed flowerings are wonderful to watch.

Penstemon rupicola

Lewisia columbiana

Kalmiopsis leachiana

Lewisia ‘Little Plum’ (Lewisia longipetala x cotyledon)

In closing let me note that it is a very opportune time to grab seeds of some of the spring flowers. I was surprised to see that for the Anemonella thalictroides the flowers and seeds are present at the same time.

Harvesting Anemonella thalictroides seeds

Lewisias Overwintered

Author: jw

Lewisia ‘Little Mango’ (Lewisia longipetala x cotyledon)

One of the challenges for the new Alpine bed that I built last year was to carry over some of the plants that have resisted survival in our mid-Atlantic conditions. In particular I was hoping to overwinter the Lewisias that I saw growing with such abundance in Scotland last year. The notion was that the two-foot deep granular soil in the alpine bed would simulate the rapid drainage that many alpines find in their natural settings. After one of the most strenuous winters in recent history (which featured spectacular variations in temperature) I’ve been gratified that all the Lewisia species that I planted came through fine and, with one exception, they are flowering wonderfully. Bearing in mind that our summers are also a test for Lewisias, it is certainly a step in the right direction to see them flowering now. I have never overwintered a Lewisia in the past so I am more than pleased with this result.

Lewisia ‘Little Mango’ (Lewisia longipetala x cotyledon)

Lewisia ‘Little Plum’ (Lewisia longipetala x cotyledon)

Lewisia columbiana

Pygmy bitterroot (Lewisia pymaea)

The Pygmy Bitterroot seemed like it was goner after I planted it, but I didn’t realize that it actually intentionally disappears over the winter. It’s come up nicely now and it’s spreading.

Pygmy bitterroot (Lewisia pymaea) flower detail

Of course the real treat was seeing the flowers on one of the two Lewisia tweedyii that I planted.

Lewisia tweedyii

The flowers on the L. tweedyii are much larger than the other Lewisias. The one in the alpine bed has several flowers whereas the one in the trough overwintered but did not flower.

There are a lot of other highlights in the garden right now, but between gardening and travel I’ve not had much chance to write about them. Let me share just a few other images before retiring tonight.