Peony japonica Seedling
Well there are many things to celebrate for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. Not the least of which is celebrating the beautiful Peony blossom posted above. Last year I was traveling when this peony bloomed. I am particularly fond of this one because I’ve never seen it elsewhere. In addition to the pink tinging of the blossoms the filaments of the stamens are also pink — quite unusual.
Of course there are other peonies in bloom because we seem to be well ahead of the normal progress for this time of year.
Tree Peony light pink
Paonia mairei
The daffodils are still continuing though they are reaching the latter part of their season.
Daffodils still coming in
one of many white daffodils
Narcissus ‘A Million Kisses’
‘A Million Kisses’ came from QDaffs several years ago but seems to have vanished from their catalog.
Of course it’s not surprising to see Azaleas flowering their hearts out in April but our version of ‘Coral Bells’ that we brought up from Alexandria many years ago seems to be particularly happy this Spring.
Azalea ‘Coral Bells’
Azalea ‘Coral Bells’ flowers
And beside the greenhouse is a particularly striking Gentiana.
Gentiana acaulis hybrid ‘Renate’
Gentiana acaulis hybrid ‘Renate’
And nearby in another trough is a little Delosperma that I got from Wrightman’s nursery in Canada four years ago.
Delosperma basuticum
Also in the yard are a couple of Ariseama that are popping up.
Arisaema ringens
Arisaema sikokianum
And I should not neglect the Ipheion that are sprinkled around the backyard.
Ipheion uniflorum ‘Alberto Castillo’
But I also wanted to share what is happening the forest where I take my daily walk. The first of the Arisaema are popping up there as well.
Arisaema urashima ‘ShiroKasuri’
And also the completely wild native Arisaema.
Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
Nearby is a little Azalea that I moved to woods several years ago.
A Spider Azalea in the woods
And there are several patches of Trillium that I’ve moved to the woods as well.
Trillium grandiflorum
The Primula that I moved to the bottom of the hill last year seems to be quite happy.
Primula kisoana
A marvelous discovery that I made several years ago is that we have a native Viburnum growing in the woods and even more recently I’ve begun to appreciate that the flowers are absolutely wonderful if you look up at them…
Viburnum prunifolium (Black Haw) blossoms
Viburnum prunifolium (Black Haw) blossom
An addition that I made to the pasture last month is a Metasequoia that has a lovely gold coloring. Picture it 30 ft high…
Metasequoia ‘Soul Fire’
I also had a question from longtime correspondent Chavli as to whether we kept bees given that we have so many flowers on our fruit trees. And the answer is that we have several approaches to bee hives. The easy way is the Mason bee houses that we have in several locations.
Mason Bee house
They are very easy to take care of and get lots of use (see the filled holes already this year).
We had started with Bee hives 50 years ago (picture my wife getting a bee hive to construct for Christmas). But neither of us were particularly good at caring for the honey bees. More recently we made arrangements with John Gardner and he has established five hives on the property.
Bee Hives at work
You might enjoy reading John’s description of Peaceful Beekeeping.
April Discoveries
Kwanzan coming into bloom
Well it is April now and I thought it would be good to catch up with some of flowering progress that has been happening on our hillside. In addition the Kwanzan Cherry that is just days away from full bloom there are flowers everywhere on the hillside.
There are many flowers now on the actual fruit trees — cherries, pears, apricots, apples (a few), and peaches (many).
Fruit trees in bloom
I was really struck by the beauty of the individual Kiefer Pear blossoms.
Kiefer Pear
I had never noticed those pink centers before.
I also wanted to note that the trout lilies are in full display.
Erythronium americanum in the raised bed
When they are captured in the raised bed they all want to flower. For the thousands that I’ve started in our woods they are much more reluctant to flower. They would rather run wild, but this year they are starting to really flower in the woods.
Erythronium in the woods
I think I counted 22 flowering in the woods this year.
Of course there are all the other Erythroniums that just flower every year come what may.
Erythronium ‘White Beauty’
I also wanted to note that the wildflowers are happening right along with all the wonderful daffodils and tulips.
Bluebells in the woods (Mertensia virginica)
Including our first Spring Beauty of the year.
First Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
Let me close with our last Adonis of the year.
Adonis amurensis ‘Vernalis’
This one always flowers last but it’s a reminder of how much we enjoy Adonis.
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day February 2026
Backyard on return home
Well we arrived home from California vacation on February 13th and found the remains of three weeks of icy weather in Maryland. So this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day has only limited flowers to share. I suppose I should be grateful that the snow provided insulation for the plants during some of the coldest weather Maryland has had in years. The snowdrops were visible in the grass.
Galanthus nivalis in the grass
There were just a few bare patches of soil showing up. And in one of them the Adonis were demonstrating why you should plant Adonis.
Adonis in the early morning
And then when the sun came fully out
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’
The Adonis have long been one of my favorite flowers and over the next few weeks some of the other varieties will showing up after the snow melts.
I can also see some color on the Witch Hazels but they are behind their normal performance at this time of year.
Witch Hazel ‘Diane’
Witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis)
Otherwise we need to go into the greenhouse to enjoy the flowers. The greenhouse survived the cold temperatures quite well and several of the flowers will come into the house.
Geum ‘Pink Frills’
Lewisia ‘Little Raspberry’
Nerine ‘Masonorium’
Cyrtanthus breviflorus
Cyrthanus hybrid
Veltheimia
Veltheimia flower
I think a lot of flowering will be evident in the next few weeks as the snow melts. In particular the daffodils should be ready to go from the buds showing now to full open flowers…
I should mention in closing that we had a great time with flowers on the west coast with visits to Huntington and the UCR Botanical Garden. In particular I will share a short video of our visit to the Ventura Botanical Garden
Short walk in Ventura Botanical Garden
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 2026
Camellia japonica
Well, for this GBBD it’s going down to 18 degrees tonight but this Camellia japonica doesn’t seem to mind. We have a fair number of Camellias but this particular Camellia has two parts, one which blooms early and the other half comes in the normal Spring blooming for Camellia japonicas. Here’s another view of the same plant.
Camellia japonica blooming early
Most of the other japonicas have lots of buds but no blooms as in this example.
Camellia japonica
It’s hard not to want to plant more Camellias since they have such an extensive blooming season and look good even when they are not in bloom. Here’s the last flower on the fall blooming Camellia sansanqua.
Camellia sasanqua
And then there is the very lovely little hybrid Camellia ‘Yume’ which manages to flower extensively across the late Fall to early Spring.
Camellia ‘Yume’
Other than the Camellias, flowering is still pretty limited. We are seeing the first snowdrops appearing in multiple places including the lawn.
Galanthus elwesii in the lawn
And I can now see the first flower buds on the Cyclamen Coum.
Cyclamen coum first bud
Otherwise my morning garden walk is more focused on the various ways that green contributes to the garden. Here’s the Cyclamen hederifolium for example.
Cyclamen hederifolium
I find the winter is much more tolerable when there is lots interesting greenery. Here are some other green points.
Japanese Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum)
Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’
Mahonia japonica
One of many Hellebores in the woods
One of many Epimediums in the woods
I also have been tracking the Pussy Willow on the hillside as this is the first year we’ve had buds.
Pussy Willow
Of course for every winter’s day my real focus is on the Adonis and wondering when they will first show up. Here is their status.
Adonis ‘Chichibu Beni’
Adonis ‘Fukujukai’
Lastly let me note that the greenhouse has been a constant joy. Here is one of the current flowerings.
Freesia fucata
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day September 2025
Colchicum bivonae
Well a relatively brief statement this month just to catch up for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. We are just returned from almost three weeks in South Africa and I can assure you that of the many flowers we saw there, Colchicum are non-existent. It’s their Springtime, not their Fall. We got home to find that Colchicum are happily flowering away (which is what to expect in mid-September).
Colchicum (of unknown variety)
Colchicum x byzantium ‘Innocence’
At the same time the usual winners for September were happily flowering despite the terrible dryness Maryland has been experiencing.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
I was happy to see that the Dahlias were spreading their usual joy. Not only the Bishop in the perennial bed but also several other varieties in the vegetable garden courtesy of Swan Island Dahlias.
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
Dahlia from Swan Island
Dahlia from Swan Island
I’ll have to research the names when I get time. And we have a lot sunflowers and other annuals in the vegetable garden.
Annual Flowers in the Veg garden
But I do want to share that our exposure to South African Flowers was wonderful. This was all via a trip arranged by the American Horticultural Society. We’ve been a member since forever but this was our first travel experience with AHS and it was memorable. The arrangements were excellent and breadth of exposure to South African culture and plant life will stay with us for a long time. I’ll try to see if I can put together a more detailed summary at some point but here is just a glimpse of what we saw.
Candelabra aloe atop Table Mountain in Cape Town
An absolute must for Cape Town visitors is Kirstenbosch, one of the world’s outstanding Botanic Gardens.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Looking at the mountains that are part of Kirstenbosch
We happened to be there for the first annual flowering of the Crimson King Protea which was a celebration for even the curators.
Protea cyanoides (King Protea)
Driving through the countryside there were lovely vistas of wildflowers and wonderful opportunities to explore.
Dimorphotheca sinuata (African Daisy)
And although horticulture was a major interest it turned out that I spent a lot of time photographing birds which are every bit as beautiful as the plants.
Orange-breasted Sunbird on Table Mountain
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 July 2025
Lilium ‘Scheherezade’
Well it’s long past the date for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, but I’ll explain at the end some of why I’m so late. Lillies as usual mark our summer highlights and I always wonder why I haven’t planted more. Scheherezade is really the last big one for us and it has long been a memorable part of our flower collection. It is an oriental/trumpet hybrid from the Lily Garden that can easily get up to eight feet tall. We usually bring a stalk or two into the house.
Lilium ‘Scheherezade’ on display
The other standout flower right now is the hydrangea at the back porch. This one is getting larger every year with more and more flowers.
Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ in full flower
Otherwise we have the normal abundance of flowers that show up in July.
Crocus Rose
Rudbeckia dominating front bed
Liatris in the Front Garden
Lovely pink phox gone wild
Tithonia in the annuals bed
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’ on display now
Sunflowers inside
Sunflowers welcome to the inside
I should mention that we received a particularly nice Canna from a friend and I think it will be a constant addition to our yard.
Canna ‘Cleopatra’
We also received some particularly nice new tomato cages from our son in the north
Josh holds new tomato cages
This is a marvelous product from Texas Tomato Cages that easily assembles and should last a long time.
Lastly I will share that on the normal day for posting Garden Blogger Bloom Day we found ourselves replacing part of our 60 year-old septic system. It was an adventure that hopefully we won’t have to repeat…
Septic solution
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day June 2025
Bishop of Llandaff
Well it is a very late GBBD for me this month. My excuse is that I was off to Wyoming and Colorado enjoying their wildflowers. More on that if I can get myself organized. In the meantime things have been growing abundantly here in Maryland as illustrated by the Dahlia shown above. This plant has overwintered for the last six years even though it’s not really supposed to be hardy here.
Speaking of hardiness I’ve been reading that the Ismene that I grow in the greenhouse may actually survive outside here so I may split off some of the bulbs to see if that is the case. The flowers are always very striking.
Ismene x festalis
Another product of the greenhouse is the Habranthus robustus, sort of a giant rain lily.
Habranthus robustus
Meanwhile the yard is full of flowering plants right now. I can’t help but compliment the Corydalis lutea that simply blooms from Spring till Fall with lovely clover-like foliage.
Corydalis lutea
It is of course lily time. And I can share a few of those.
Lilium ‘Istanbul’
Lilium ‘Purple Marble’
Lilium ‘Pink Perfection’
The blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are just about done for local dining, but I can see we may well get some good apples this year.
Apple ‘Esopus Spitzengurg’
I can also share at least one image from the West as my excuse for being so late with this posting.
On the trail to Emerald Lake