Posts Tagged 'Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day'

Ptilotus 'Platinum Wallaby'

It is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and I had to look hard for worthy flowers that had survived our desert-like summer.  We had another rain today so perhaps I won’t have to look quite so hard next month.  The Ptilotus shown above has a beautiful fuschia color to the flowers, but the actual plant is pretty pathetic.  Whether it’s the dry weather or just the nature of the beast in Maryland is hard to say.  I doubt if it’s going to survive over the winter.  In the same front-yard garden the Gaura have been in constant flower since spring.

White Gaura blossom

The flowers float 2-3 ft above the ground and look like an assembly of butterflies as the flutter in the breeze.  This is the third year for this plant and we’ve come to really appreciate the effect that the Gaura have over such an extended period.  Also worth noting in the front-yard garden is the Mexican Yellow-Eyed Grass from Plant Delights.  I planted it this year from a small 4  inch pot and it has prospered.  It flowered over much of the spring, well into June, and the foliage is lush and very much like a small iris, about 12-15 inches tall.  If this survives over the winter here it is going to be a really winner.

Sisyrinchium tinctorium foliage

While we are on a yellow theme we are still getting a few glads out of the garden.  They are very much smaller and fewer than we should have had based on the early growth.  But hey, we take what we can get.

Gladiolus remnant

And here there is a rose still to be found, in this case Charles Darwin from David Austin.

Charles Darwin Rose

One bright spot in the yard is provided by the Butterfly Weed.

Asclepias tuberosa

There are also quite a few Sunflowers coming into bloom in the garden.  They are all the Mammoth Russian type, but not so mammoth as usual.  The other multi-colored ones didn’t survive the drought.  I find the insides of the Sunflowers to be really interesting.  I need to do further study of their variations…

Sunflower center

One of the few bushes to be prospering despite the heat and lack of water is the Caryopteris.  The flowers are not fully open yet, but you can see what is coming.

Caryopteris in flower

I’m also beginning to appreciate the long season of the sedums.  Beth moved them into a sunnier spot this year and we have nice flower heads in bud.

Sedum (I think it's 'Autuum Joy') Flower head

Let me close with a picture of one of the Apples from my newer trees.  They’ve been slow to fruit because of the deer damage.  This year I used ‘Liquid Fence’ and we at least have a few apples in the second pasture.  They are small but as I said earlier we’ll take what we can get and be gratetful.

Kidd's Orange-Red

What was going to be a bumper crop of apples overall has been drastically reduced by fruit dropping this month and the remainders are smaller than usual.  Lest I sound too discouraged, I am, as I write, eating ice cream with blueberries from the multiple gallons that we froze.  So you win some and you lose some.  I encourage you to visit May Dreams Gardens and see what other gardens are producing this month.

Oriental Lily 'Time Out'

Well it is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day once again where thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens we are called upon to describe what is blooming right now.  For us it is lillies, lillies, and more lillies.  The problem is that because of the drought we have been through all the flowers are much smaller than normal.  More about that later.  First let me share some of the flower pictures.

Oriental Lily 'Salmon Star'

Oriental Lily 'Marco Polo'

Trumpet Lily 'Scheherazade'

Lilies provide the added benefit of striking fragrance on a summer night and their smell permeates the house if you bring them inside.

Even the daylilies are getting into the act.

Red Daylily

Yes, there a lot of other players in the yard right now — the Shasta Daisies, the Black-eyed Susans, Yarrow, Gaura, Heliopsis, and Joe Pye Weed.

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

And our favorite Glad is out in bloom.

Princess Margaret Rose Gladiolius is the first one out again

And let us not forget a cute little annual Celosia.

Celosia 'Flamingo Feather'

But the biggest feature of the garden has been the lack of water.

We went on vacation at the end of June.  June was a very dry month before we left.  But I had watered everything I could before departing.  For the full month of June this is what we got for rainfall.

Weather for June

Note the record heat.  In addition during the two weeks we were gone there was zero rain and the heat got worse. Through the first 8 days of July not a drop fell at our house and the temperature went to a 106 degrees.  I had counted on getting at least one little rainstorm and hadn’t expected desert-like temperatures.

I still haven’t finished toting up the damage.

The dead and dying on the Maple Allee

This is the sight I faced on the evening I returned.  A lot of labor and years of growth on the little Maples — wasted.

The newly planted Coral Bark Maple is toast...

Garden disasters - note shrunken water-starved corn

Potted plants on evening of our return home

The positive on this last picture is that with water our thirty year-old Grapefruit has opened it’s leaves again.

I’m sure there is some lesson here about abandoning your garden while hiking through the wildflowers in Colorado, but I don’t want to hear it.  Maryland is supposed to have better weather than Nevada…

Japanese Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)

Well, it is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day again where we are offered the opportunity to share a snapshot of what’s blooming with other bloggers.  Although there are some splendid displays from the Roses and Lilies right now, it’s hard not to lead with the Japanese Stewartia as shown above.  This is the fourth year of flowering this small tree and there are more flowers than ever.  They come over an extended period and are well worth a close inspection.

I mentioned lilies and it’s hard not to go anywhere in the yard without seeing lilies in bloom.  These white asiatics have a wonderful glow in the evening light.

White Asiatic Lilies

There are also quite a few Yarrow scattered about our various gardens, ranging from white to yellow to red.  This particular example is cream colored and gives an example of why these are such rewarding perennials.

Cream colored Yarrow

A favorite impact color for me is the orange of the Butterfly Weeds.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

And another arresting color is the found on the Perennial Sweetpea (Lathyrus latifolius).

Perennial Sweetpea (Lathyrus latifolius)

We grow these amidst the extremely aggressive Pennsylvania Crownvetch.

Perennial Sweetpea in a bank of Crownvetch

I should also squeeze in a mention of the Clivias that are blooming right now.  They live in the basement during the winter but when the weather permits we give them a dose of outdoor living.  They usually reward us with another bloom cycle as they are doing right now.

Yellow Clivia miniata

Normal Orange Clivia miniata

Himalayan Blue Poppy in bud

This month’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day finds me in Boston enjoying our vicarious northern garden.  Specifically my eldest has planted a Himalayan Blue Poppy which came into full flower this weekend.  The blue is spectacular and scarcely to be believed.  This is a flower which is difficult if not impossible to grow in mid-Maryland but I will nevertheless give it a try after seeing it in person for the first time.

Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia) from the side

Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia) opening

Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia)

This is a flower that insists on cool damp locations and the particular specimen that is flowering up here is growing by a small stream.  I think all that I could offer in Maryland would be daily watering…

I was also struck by a lovely Clematis that opened up yesterday — Clematis ‘Niobe’, a lovely velvet red that seems to be vigorously growing on the kids’ fence up here.  Methinks a similar flower would look equally nice in our garden in Maryland.

Clematis 'Niobe'

Back home we have the usual flowers for this time of year growing in abundance — Iris, Roses, Alliums, Clematis, and Peonies.  The Baptisia are getting quite large and having a real impact in the garden.  I noticed before we left that the wild Dame’s Rocket are making a real statement along the roadsides and in our wildflower patch.

Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) and Blue Flax

But there is no flower that claims the space on May the 15th as much as the Buttercups.  They are everywhere…

Buttercups in abundance

Daydream Tulip

Well, it is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and I hardly know where to start.  This is the time of the year when there are entirely too many flowers for a single post.  The tulips, daffodils, flowering trees, and many little spring ephemerals are dashing through their season right now.  The unfortunate hot weather that we had at the beginning of the month has pushed flowers to almost 2 weeks ahead of last year.  Knowing that there will be other flowers to follow, I’m just enjoying each day’s surprises.

In addition to the Daydream Tulip pictured above another very nice one at this season is Monte Carlo.

Tulip 'Monte Carlo'

We grow it in the full sun with Iris Bucharica.

Iris bucharica

And together they make a great combination.

Iris bucharica and Tulip 'Monte Carlo'

I was pleased to see that the Glaucidium palmatum that we planted last year has indeed flowered.

Glaucidium palmatum

It’s planted next to a host of Celandine Poppies.

Poppies galore

The poppies came from a gift of single plant.  They are now abundant in the gardens and woods.  They pull up easily so it’s hard to call them invasive…

Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)

As long as we’re doing yellow it’s hard not to take note of the Primula veris which just enlarges it’s clump every year.

Primula veris

And one more step down the yellow brick road is the Bonfire Euphorbia which is just starting up.

Euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire'

Among the many little things that I have mentioned as delights in the garden was the Roadrunner Trillium which I found at Garden Vision in Massachusetts last year.  As it turns out this little gem is even nicer than I had imagined.  The flowers persist and have turned from white to a beautiful shade of pink.  What could be nicer…

Trillium pusillum 'Roadrunner' pink phase

Of course the real reason for the visit to Darrell Probst’s Garden Vision Nursery is to see and take home epimediums.  That’s what we did last year.  And here are a couple of the results…

Epimedium grandiflorum var. higoense 'Bandit'

Notice the chocolate banding of the leaves.  A beauty.

Epimedium grandiflorum 'Tama-no-gempei'

And even before we went the kids had gifted Beth with a special variety from the same source.

Epimedium x rubrum 'Sweetheart'

Note the wonderful banding on the heart-shaped leaves.

Epimedium 'Sweetheart' leaf

I could go on and on, but to close out this post I need to mention the first flowering of the lovely little Anemone nemerosa ‘Knightshayes Vestal’.

Anemone nemerosa 'Knightshayes Vestal'

It’s a double that kind of sneaks up on you as it opens.  Very nice indeed.

Dwarf Iris (Iris histroides) 'George'

Well, it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for March.  In the custom established by May Dreams Gardens I surveyed the hilltop today to see what might be in bloom.  Since I went over many of the blooming plants in yesterday’s post I will only describe the additions.  We have had 3 days of incessant rain so there haven’t been that many more plants coming into bloom in the last couple of days.  Walking around our sponge-like grass I did find a few — like the little Dwarf Iris pictured above.  This was one of last December’s plantings.  I was glad to see its startling purple color because two of its neighbors were dug up and then discarded.  I’ve seen that happen even with Daffodils where the animals don’t really want to eat what they find but the dig it up nonetheless.  Just imagine what that flower would look like in the sunshine.

Because we had to replace our water heater I needed to move a couple of the plants out of the basement earlier than usual.  One was this beautiful Star Jasmine.

Star Jasmine (Jasminum multiflorum)

The fragrance is everything that you would expect from a Jasmine.  The overall plant exceeds my ability to lift so that each year becomes a little more trying for moving it in and out of the basement.  I’ll watch the nightly lows and take it back in again if need be but it should be good down to 25 degrees.

Lastly, the fall blooming Camellia Sasanqua is still putting out blooms at every given opportunity.

Camellia sasanqua still blooming

What a wonderful long-blooming plant.

I should mention that the first Daffodil also bloomed on the hillside but my faithful companion picked it before I could get a good picture.  So we are enjoying its fragrance and color on the inside…

Novel Orchid of unknown parentage

Well we find ourselves in Boston for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and the outdoor flowering is definitely limited.  So the focus is once again on orchids.

We did take a walk around the yard today and, although they don’t have the heavy layer of snow that we have in Frederick, the flowering and color is definitely on the side that requires considerable imagination.  I was struck once again by the unusual Hellebore variety ‘Red Silver’

Helleborus foetidus 'Red silver'

and there is an unusual Rhododendron with distinctive red buds in the kids’ garden.

Rhododendron 'Scarlet Wonder'

But in the end the wonderful orchids that they have sprinkled around the sun-lit interior of their house are what captures the mind’s eye.  I took pictures of the five that are in bloom right now and thought that I would share them in this posting.

Fuschia colored moth orchid (Phalaenopsis)

Miniature Cattleya

Miniature Cattleya Orchid detail

Speckled Moth Orchid

Phaelenopsis orchid branch

Lovely Oncidium Orchid

Despite my hopes that winter will begin to pack up its bags I note that another 5 inches of snow are expected in Frederick tonight.  I guess we will be a long time thawing out this year…

Well, here we are starting off a new year with Garden Blogger Bloom Day.  Sad to say there aren’t many flowers to show from a tour around the property.  Certainly the most spectacular on site is a very nice Moth Orchid growing inside the house.

Stripped Phalaenopsis

As is true with most of our orchids they blossom with incredible staying power, 4-6 weeks I would guess, and the flowers will stop you in your tracks.

It’s a good thing we have the orchids going on because outside there is not much to show this month.  I took a pretty good walk around and saw only the same little snowdrop that has been out for nearly a month now.

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) in January

Otherwise it was a lot of promising buds but no cigars (to borrow a phrase).  We’ve had a lot of freezing or below days that have only just ended with 50 degrees yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  One warm spell has trouble making up for a lot of frigid temperatures.  Things like the hellebores and quince are just waiting in the wings and I see lots of daffodils sticking up their little green spikes.  Scary to think that we are not even at the middle point of the winter as far as the ground temperature goes.  That could make one start to plan a trip to Florida for spring training (which I plan to do this year…).

Of course even when the plants are dormant many of the birds are still here to keep us company.  The red Cardinals are always a comfort when we get up in the morning.  But today I was noting how nicely even the House Finches are colored when they are not side by side with the Cardinals.

House Finch in January

Another surprising element to me is just how much color is left on the male Goldfinches even in the dead of winter.  Is it always this way and am I just paying more attention?

Goldfinch in January

Along with the warm weather we have had a couple of amazing sunsets.  I sat outside and watched this one with a cup of tea last night.  Those red adirondack chairs on the pasture hillside are wonderful for contemplation until the sun goes down and it gets cold enough to chase me inside.  May your winter seed catalog dreams match glowing colors of the sunset…

January sunset