Pink Rhododendron by the back fence
Well, I’m late for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day again, but my excuse is that I returned from California late in the day and I was lucky just to get some pictures much less get them posted. The next day saw mammoth rain storms that have closed roads and bridges all over Frederick County. At the moment we’ll just feel lucky that we live on the top of a hill. Actually it’s not just luck. We lived on a part of George Washington’s River Farm in our previous house complete with flooded basements so we compensated for that. I think you are allowed to learn only one thing each time you move. Anyway there were a few charmers in bloom when I got back, although a few hot days had accelerated through a few blooms. As noted above the Pink Rhododendron above is one of our favorites.
Our best Rhododendron
It’s cousins, the Azaleas, are also showing magnificently. Two particular examples are Exbury Hybrids.
Exbury Azalea ‘Gibraltar’
Exbury Azalea ‘Klondyke’
The first of the herbaceous Peonies is in bloom as well.
Peony ‘Sweet Shelly’
Two of the many Columbines are worth noting as well.
Aquilegia buergeriana var. oxysepala
Pink Columbine
Right nearby to the Pink Columbine is the first sighting of the Clematis ‘Niobe’ for the year.
Clematis ‘Niobe’
At the side of the garage is a very reliable Korean Lilac.
Persistent Korean Lilac
We forgot about planting this one twice and assumed it was dead in dried out pot. Each time it returned to life so I finally gave it a good home and it is happily blooming now. Right next to it is a quite cute little Enkianthus that is blooming now.
Enkianthus alatus
One of my favorite rock garden plants is Edraianthus. One is blooming in a little trough right now.
Edraianthus serpyllifolius
Edraianthus serpyllifolius in trough
Another Edraianthus just coming into bloom is one of the best cushion plants we have.
Edraianthus pumilio
Another trough specimen is the Silver Sax at the back door.
Sliver Sax in bloom (Saxifraga x ‘Southside Seedling’)
In the greenhouse a white-pink Bougainvillea is fully in bloom.
White-Pink Bougainvillea
Time to move this one outside.
Also there is a Zephyranthus with pretty notable color.
Zephyranthes katheriniae ‘Rubra’
And the Pomegranate in the greenhouse is well into bloom.
Pomegranate in flower
Finally Beth has been picking Iris for use in the house.
Bearded Iris in the house
And let me close with a picture I took in California of one of the plants from the Univ of Calif Botanic Garden (deserving of a blog post all on it’s own)
Hedgehog Cactus (Echinocereus cinerascens v. Ehrenbergii )
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 )