Once again our best December flowers for GBBD are the camellias. The one above was purchased at Camellia Forest Nursery which is probably the best source for camellias in the whole country. It took a few years to get to flowering but now has probably a dozen buds on it for this year.
Its older cousin is the red camellia sasanqua which has a record number of flowers this year.
Even the camellia ‘survivor’, which flowered earlier than the others, still has a few flowers left on.
Elsewhere around the yard there are still a few things that have withstood the 25 degree temperatures that we’ve seen so far. In particular the Japanese Quince is loaded with early blossoms.
And the heather has more flowers than I’ve ever seen on it.
One little surprise in alpine bed is a cute little polygala
When you actually go inside the greenhouse there are some very lovely flowers in process.
And some oranges just about ready to harvest
One item from the greenhouse that has made it into the house is very striking Nerine from Far Reaches
I should mention too that when I went out to the woods yesterday I found the dark black berries from the Blackhaw Viburnum hanging in the tree.
A reminder of the flowers that will come in the springtime.
I should also mention that I spent early yesterday morning ordering seeds from the North American Rock Garden Society Seed Exchange. It’s a wonderful opportunity to acquire unusual seed from all over the world.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day October 2023
Well, it’s been a lovely Fall week for catching up with GBBD and many tasks in the garden. Finally the outside ground is somewhat moist and there is a lot of green around garden, woods, and pasture. Nonetheless as my eye explored the garden yesterday it was the Nerines that stood out to me. I think it was two years ago that I first acquired the Amarine tubergenii from Quackin’ Grass Nursery. They have a brilliant pink that stands out from other plants. They stem from a cross between Nerine bowdenii and Amaryllis belladonna and while they are in principle hardy in zone 7 the only time I tried the plant didn’t return so I keep them in the greenhouse for now.
At the same time a much smaller Nerine is blooming in the greenhouse.
This was a hybrid seedling distributed by the Pacific Bulb Society. A lot of flower for a small pot.
Of course I could share the many annuals still in bloom around here. The zinnias are blooming like crazy and the Dahlias are maybe the best they’ve ever been.
Some of the perennial returnees from last year are notable like this Monkshood
And there are many that just continue in flower week after week.
I did add another plant to the garden today, a little Mahonia that came via Issima Nursery in Rhode Island. This is a seedling from Mahonia eurybracteata and we shall see how hardy it is.
It’s worth noting that it’s not only flowers that are showy at this time of year. The berries can be quite splendid.
And as I closed the gate tonight I couldn’t help but notice the Red Jade Crabapple
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day August 2023
Well it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day again and I would like to begin by celebrating the crepe myrtles that provide a summer flower show. As you can see from the above image the red one has been with us for a very long time. It’s well over the garage roof. The bark is wonderful and the individual flowers are lovely one and all.
We also have a white one down in the pasture and it seems to be growing nicely.
Flowers that we see every day are the Princess Flowers on the back porch.
Both we and the hummingbirds look forward to our daily dose.
The Hydrangeas are also prolific and and an everyday summer flower show.
Looking around the yard you have appreciate just how dry it has been here.
We are currently at 75% of the normal rainfall and that has left us with many dead plants from my spring planting. Yes we run hoses but there are many places on 7 acres that are not accessible the hoses. I have a set of watering cans but that only covers the time when I’m actually here.
Despite all that, and with help of hoses, we do have some more flowers to share. As always the Allium millenium are reliable summer color.
And I noticed (after one of the few thunderstorms that we’ve had) the Cyclamen hederifolium are starting to bloom.
As we wander out to the garden it is clear that the annuals provide a spot of color.
And nearby the sunflowers are on display
The vegetable garden is also where we find a steady supply of gladiolias
And despite the drought we have a good supply of vegetable and fruit. I notice that the raspberries are starting their fall crop.
And we been bringing in peaches and pears.
That’s it for now, I’ll go back to doing my rain dance…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2023
Well it’s a late posting for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, but what can I say. This time of year I’m in the garden…
Rhododendron are in flower in multiple places in the yard but this year we have also added them to the woods (courtesy of the new deer fence)
I am fully engaged in adding new and unusual flowers to the woods (leading to lack of care for some of the plants in the yard). But we still have a few things worth sharing. We inherited this lovely ground orchid in a plant exchange last year.
One can’t help but notice the roses at this time of year. And this David Austin rose is having a great showing.
Right nearby is a longtime resident, the Klondyke exbury Azalea
Moving across the yard to the Monument bed there is a lovely herbaceous Peony
and some lovely little allium
One neighboring bed has the last of another allium relative
You have to look a little more closely to see the flowers that appear under may apple relatives
Another shade lover is the Pinellia
I feel like I have to share some things from the greenhouse and the alpine bed
And also the Phyteuma that I first met while hiking in the Alps
Let me close with an image of the planting of the dahlias and glads
Which leads to harvesting the strawberries in the neighboring row
And then finally what we do with the harvest
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day October 2022
Just a few items for this GBBD since I’m a day late (as usual). The blue monkshood shown above is sometimes called the autumn flowering monkshood because it comes to the very end of the season. But wow, what a flower. We’ve never grown it before because it is extremely poisonous but it has a long history of being grown in perennial gardens.
Also in the front yard I found the first of the fall blooming in Camellias.
This was planted last spring and I was surprised to see it in flower before any of the other sasanquas.
The first of the toad lillies are in flower now
Otherwise there are many of the carryovers from previous months still in bloom.
Out in the garden in raised beds the calendula continue with their wonderful flowering.
And with regard to raised beds I should mention that Josh and I installed a third raised bed for next year’s gardens.
And as we head out to the pasture there are late flowering sunflowers
as well as some of their smaller relatives
I do have to take note of the Dahlias still coming into the house
And the beautiful beautyberries by the driveway
Finally let me close with our new approach to harvesting chestnuts.
Just stomp on the spiny balls and wiggle the lovely chestnuts out…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day December 2021
Well another Bloom Day and another year has come to pass. Today’s flowers include some very unusual participants for a December flower show. First and foremost is a Gentiana acaulis which would normally be waiting for spring to share its vivid blue colors. Instead a single flower has challenged the season.
As I went around the yard I saw several other features that illustrate just how warm it’s been this Fall. The Mahonia which is lucky to even be surviving here in Maryland has decided to put up some yellow flowers.
I even see color on the first of the spring cyclamen. And the Adonis and Snowdrops are budding up.
The heather which flowered most of last winter has it’s first blooms showing.
We have two spring flowering Camellia japonicas that are putting out lovely flowers and of course the fall flowering Camellia sasanquas are putting out many flowers.
And in the greenhouse the first of the Narcissus ‘Silver Palace’ are filling the pot.
Of course the flowers are one thing, but one of the items that really sparks the Christmas show is the hollies. Between the very large American Holly and the supporting cast of English Holly and Blue Holly we have more berries than you can possibly imagine.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day November 2021
It is definitely late Fall in Maryland for this GBBD and for awhile I thought there not be much in the way of color hereabouts. But the last few weeks have produced a shower of colorful leaves on many of the trees. Of course for us, it’s mainly about the Maples. The ‘Reznicek’ cultivar is one that I brought back from Michigan a few years ago when the annual meeting for the North American Rock Garden Society was held there. This is the first year I’ve ever noticed the beautiful two-toned effect on the leaves. Even without the coloring it has always been a special diminutive tree with finely laced leaves.
Just the ordinary Japanese Maples have also been having a colorful display lately.
Earlier in the month the Amur Maple was putting on a show of its own.
And right next to this Maple is the Beautyberry which had its own statement to make.
Berries are everywhere in the yard this year but it’s hard not to notice that the Blue Holly is absolutely loaded with berries.
I can only guess that this particular holly is having a good time with the American Holly or the English Holly since our attempts to plant a male Blue Holly have all failed.
But wait! This posting is supposed to be about flowers.
Most of the annuals have been frozen off at this point but there are still a few surprises in the yard. The peas continue to chug along through the first frosts and may even yield a few more edible pieces.
And one of our reliable David Austin roses is ignoring the cold.
But mostly it’s Camellias. It’s really their show for the next several months. Anytime the temperature gets into the forties, the spring camellias will send forth a volunteer.
And then most of the time there are always some of the Fall Camellias in bloom, as we see now.
When you see flowering like this it is hard to accept that winter is coming any day now…
Just like this bluebird who is trying to decide whether to make another nest.
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2021
Well there are so many flowers at this time of the year for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day it is difficult to keep track of them all. I’ll give you just a smattering today and think back to all that I should have shared from the last month. The little ice plant shown above is one of many plants exploding out of our alpine bed. Very happy in our zone 7 landscape.
The species peonies and tree peonies are all done and we now moving on to the Itohs and the herbaceous
Our row of bearded Iris is very happily blooming.
Ever since we stopped weeding them amid the grass they have not had borers which used to be a perennial pain.
The early azaleas are pretty much done but the rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas are still blooming.
I’ve particularly liked the compact and floriferous Calanthe discolor, a reliable favorite from the orchid family.
The best of the Clematis remains Niobe though there are number of others in bloom
It’s also worth noting that you can just eat flowers every night and we are always happy to see the strawberries arriving. We have probably 75 feet of row for strawberries and peas that are just starting up.
And in the orchard there are oh so many peaches, pears, and apples getting started.
Back in the alpine bed we have a number of nice items happening.
Particularly nice is a little rock rose that I got from Wrightman’s Alpines last year after seeing them in the wild in Spain.
I think are just barely hardy in Maryland but they seemed to make through the winter and you see the number of buds on them.
On one of the nights recently i caught the orchard looking particularly spending in the evening light and I’ll close with those images.