Stewartia malacondendron
It is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and it’s mid-May but some of the strangest weather you could imagine. As you see above our favorite Stewartia is indeed in bloom, but many other things have suffered the drastic hot/cold cycle that we went through in mid-April. We had temperatures at 85-90 degrees and then three days later down to 26 degrees. Although it was hard to imagine at the time the net result over the last month has been an almost total loss of apples and peaches as well as drastic damage to many other trees and bushes. I think we may get a few pears, blueberries and raspberries but it’s going to be a different year.
We still have some flowers to report on but I need to keep this fairly compact as I still have a lot of planting to do outside.
As usual the Azaleas are among the peak performers in May. In addition to the Gibraltar exbury hybrid and the Klondyke we’ve now added a third exbury hybrid
Azalea exbury hybrid ‘Gibraltar’
Azalea exbury hybrid ‘Klondyke’
Azalea exbury hybrid ‘George Reynolds’
Of course regular Azaleas are busy doing their thing as well.
White Azalea in the front yard
I should mention that at the end of last month we got a nice flowering from the Azalea ‘Visco Sepala’ in our raised bed by the porch.
Azalea ‘Visco Sepala’
This is probably the most fragrant Azalea that has ever flowered. We got it from White Flower Farm about 50 years ago and I’m not sure you could fine it anywhere nowadays.
And as you might expect Peonies are performing every day.
Paeonia x ‘Morning Lilac’
It is always astounding to see the flowers of Festiva Maxima show up because we brought this with us from Alexandria, Va over 50 years ago.
Festiva maxima
It’s now against the house, in the lawn and in the pasture. It seems to be vigorous and happy no matter where we put it.
Somewhat more suprising is vigorous growth of the Chines Ground Orchids which seem to be spreading every year as well, both white and pink.
Chinese Ground Orchid (Bletilla stricta)
Bletilla stricta
In addition to all of our carefully planted flowers we have wild flowers contributing to the beauty of our hillside.
Blue Flax and Dame’s Rocket
Many people are very negative about the invasive impact of the Pink Evening Primrose but to me it’s like saying you don’t like California poppies because there are so many of them.
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenethera speciosa)
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenethera speciosa)
One of the major projects for us over the last month has been restoring the Alpine bed next to the greenhouse. And hooray it is now being planted again.
Restoring the Alpine bed
Restored Alpine Bed
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day April 2026
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 that I got from Edelweiss in 2024.
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 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 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 May 2025
Stewartia malacodendron
Well the garden in Maryland has gone from dry to super wet over the last month, making this GBBD as green as I can remember. But what always stand out for me at this time of year is the Stewartia Malacodendron. Also known as the Silky Camellia this is one of the most exotic tree flowers you can grow. It is fundamentally an understory plant and seems to be quite happy where it is situated now beneath our Metasequoia. I would guess there are 30-40 flowers on the tree this year.
Stewartia malacodendron
We have several other Stewartias now including a little Stewartia rostrata down in the pasture which is showing it’s first flower buds this year.
Stewartia rostrata
Another species added to the pasture arboretum this year is a Magnolia.
Magnolia figo ‘Serendipity’
This was from Hazelmor nursery at the Stonecrop annual Alpine sales event.
While mentioning our nice trees I should cite the Frisia Locust which is beginning to show the lovely yellow-green leaves that make it different than other locusts.
‘Frisia’ Black Locust
We first saw this at the entrance to Chanticleer Gardens near Philadelphia.
And while I’m on trees I should note that the Chinese Dogwood in our backyard is fully in flower at the moment.
Chinese Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
You would have to climb on the roof to fully appreciate the hundreds of flowers on this tree. And if you were to do that you would see even more flowers on the 50 foot tall Tulip Poplar which dominates our backyard. I am surprised that everyone doesn’t have a Tulip Poplar to litter their yard with flower petals.
Speaking of flower petals I should note that the Pink Evening Primrose, that accidentally ended up in our pasture, has continued to spread across the hillside with it’s lovely flowers.
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera specioosa) on the hillside
Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera specioosa)
A few other items of note. Last year I added a Mountain Laurel to the forest and it continues to do well.
Kalmia latifolia ‘Minuet’
So I’ve added 2 more…
And back in the forest I also put in a a Carolina Allspice last year.
Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus)
And the flowers are gorgeous.
Carolina Allspice flower
Just a few more things to note…
The True Indigo by the back garden gate is very nice.
True Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria)
And the red Bletilla is quite striking again this year.
Bletilla striata
Two Azaleas are reminders that Rhododendrons can dominate the landscape in May.
Azalea ‘Visco sepala’
Rhododendron ‘Klondyke’
Lastly it is good to remember that one needs to eat something besides flowers. We finally got the vegetable bed plant in time for all the rain we’ve been having.
Laying out the garden
And So We Begin (April 2025)
Adonis amurensis ‘Pleniflora’
“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. ” — The Lord of the Rings
The world is full of flowers right now and I am compelled to share what I see. The Adonis shown above is very tiny and it is one of many exquisite little flowers worthy of our attention right now.
I used to grow the Chilean Blue Crocus many years ago and have been trying regrow it for sometime. Finally it has returned to Ball Rd. courtesy of Telos Rare Bulbs.
Tecophilaea cyanocrocus var. leichtlinii
Nearby we have another unusual visitor, this time from Illahe Rare Plants. I have been trying to grow a yellow Fritillaria for years.
Fritillaria pudica
Nearby are the Jeffersonia which are expanding their clumps every year.
Jeffersonia dubia
Bloodroots are also coming into bloom right now and they are happy in the yard and woods.
Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Tennessee Form’
Nearby is a very rare Podophyllum just starting up.
Podophyllum x inexpectatum
Also in the yard we have an exceptionally nice Erythronium which reminds me of hiking in the Cascades.
Erythronium grandiflorum
Of course for us the really plentiful flowers at the beginning of April are the Erythronium americanum.
Erythronium americanum
They are so thick in the raised bed around our back porch that I couldn’t resist putting them in the woods as well. That was probably 20 years ago and while they have prospered in the woods, spreading like mad, they didn’t flower like they do in the raised bed. One thesis I’ve read about this said that they are happy to spread by runners if there are no constraints so they don’t bother with this flowering nonsense. Nonetheless we did get a flower two years ago and this year we are actually up to 6 flowers in the woods so there may be many more in the future.
Erythronium americanum in the woods
Also in the woods we have a great many Corydalis in flower at the moment, mostly ‘Beth Evans’ and ‘Purple Rain’.
Corydalis ‘Purple Rain’
We also have a large number of Ranunculus ficaria spreading in the woods.
Ranunculus ficaria ‘Randall’s White’
Of course the woods are full of Virginia Bluebells right now.
Mertensia virginica
And yesterday I saw the first Spring Beauty at the bottom of the woods.
Spring Beauty (Claytonia Virginica)
We would be remiss if I didn’t note that Daffodils are everywhere. This is their time of the year.
Daffodils on the hillside
Daffodils on the pasture trail
Narcissus ‘Chromacolor’ (this is one of my favorites)
Narcissus ‘Bridal Crown’
I should mention that the first of the Rhododendrons is now in bloom.
Rhododendron carolinianum
And just to prepare for the future we have the first leaves of a spectacular red-leaved maple coming out…
Acer palmatum ‘Shin Deshojo’
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day September 2024
Colchicum on the hillside
Well for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day the Colchicum are the bright new stars for the month. I’ve added more this year and I can foresee adding more Colchicum every year. They have real visual impact and last even longer than I had remembered.
Colchicum bivonae
Colchicum x byzantium ‘Innocence’
Another bright spot for this time of year is the emergence of the Cyclamen hederifolium.
Cyclamen hederifolium
First the naked flowers appear and then the wonderfully interesting leaves will appear.
Cyclamen hederifolium leaf
A surprise this morning was seeing that a single red flower was emerging from the perrenial garden foliage.
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
Dahlias are not normally hardy over the winter for us but this is the fourth season for the Bishop to return.
Nearby is the Black and Blue Sage which was also said to marginally hardy for us and continues to regrow and spread.
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Of course the Cestrum continues to flower for us.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
But right next to it the Clematis virginiana is now trying overgrow the rose bush.
Crocus Rose surrounded by Clematis virginiana
We also see this Clematis abundantly spreading the woods so we will need to try to trim it back.
Clematis virginiana
And when we turn to the annuals in the vegetable garden they are flowering beautifully.
Annuals in the vegetable garden
Including also the glads in neighboring rows.
Aaralyn Glad
Glad ‘Margaret Rose’
Lastly I should mention that we have had Evening Primrose growing on the hillside through most of this year.
Evening Primrose (Oenethera speciosa)
I was surprised to discover while perusing some my old orders from Park Seeds that I had actually order Oenethera seed back in 2001 and I’m now think this may be why we now have wild primrose growing in the pasture…