June Bloom Day

It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again--where has the time gone??  June is my favorite month, and here we are already halfway through it.  One of the reasons I always enjoy participating in this meme is that it gives me a monthly record of what is blooming throughout the year, and I can compare what is growing in my garden from year to year.  Looking back at last year's June post, I wasn't surprised to find that almost everything is later this year. Spring arrived late after the winter that wouldn't end, and then some hot days in May put a quicker than normal end to spring bulbs, but jump-started everything else.  Still, that jump-start wasn't quite enough to bring everything to its normal blooming time.

Usually by this time in June, I have a plethora of blooms from all the 'Stella d'Oro' lilies, but they are just beginning to open up.  Note my little lady friend on the bud.

Knockout roses are virtually indestructible, but even they were hit hard by this winter.  They, too, got a late start, but worst of all, there was some dieback.  I apologize for the bad photo, but I was trying to get a close-up.  The whole plant is not a pretty sight--I pruned these back hard this spring, but not enough. Time to get out the pruners and cut back all the bare canes sticking above the blooms, one more spring chore to add to the list.

The 'Radsunny' roses look a little better.  I bought two of these when they were fairly new on the market, and I wish I had known then that though the buds are a lovely yellow, they quickly fade to white as they open up.

 'Zephirine Drouhin' also got a hard pruning this spring.  She hasn't climbed up very far on the arbor trellis this year, but at least she's still putting out numerous pink blooms.

While the garden may be behind "schedule," one thing you won't hear me complain about this month is the weather.  We have had frequent rain showers, enough to keep all the plants happy.  Of course, it also means the weeds are happy, too, but I'll take some weeding time over a drought any day.

This is the time of year in the garden that I remember Christopher of Outside Clyde calling "the height of the lull."  It's that time of year between all the lovely spring bloomers and the riotous colors of daylilies and other summer flowers.  A couple of early coneflowers have appeared, but not the masses that I will have in a few weeks.  And I do mean masses--they have taken over my sidewalk bed and re-seeded themselves in a couple other flowerbeds as well!

 In a week or two, the lily show will begin as well. 

Act I begins with the Stellas, of course, and this Asiatic lily.

I bought a few of these bulbs at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show a few years ago, and I could have sworn I picked out Oriental lilies, not Asiatics.  Whatever tricks my mind has played on me, I do know I purchased "Salmon" lilies, but these hot orangey-red lilies are anything but salmon-colored!

Other blooms right now are much quieter:

'Neon Flash' Spirea, another shrub overdue for a good pruning.

'Little Henry' Itea

Lamium is filling in nicely as a groundcover in front of a large evergreen.  Note the little bee on the bloom.

This columbine has been blooming for several weeks.  I don't know its name as it was a tiny freebie in a hosta pot I purchased last year--I love a bargain like this, and I hope it re-seeds.

Other plants still blooming after several weeks--Delphinium, name forgotten.

'May Night' Salvia

Native Penstemons

But new blooms are on their way, such as this first bloom of the Nigella.

And the first red Poppy!  The seedlings are so thick in my garden that the pastel hues of June are surely going to turn into a red-hot July. 

What is blooming in your garden today?  To join in and see what is blooming all over, visit Carol at May Dream Gardens, who hosts GBBD the 15th of every month . . . when she's not busy picking peas:)

Frosty November Bloom Day

I know I'm a day late for the monthly meeting of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but it doesn't matter too much because there's nothing blooming here in November.

That is, unless you count a couple of brave 'October Skies' aster blooms reaching for the November sun.

Or a late goldenrod blooming behind the shelter of the fuel tanks.

Or the last garden mum still hanging on to a few blooms.

The purple kale still standing in the vegetable garden explains the lack of blooms--early mornings for the past week or two have been quite cold with everything covered in frost.  The kale will rebound, as will the pansies in containers, but the frost has brought an end to everything else in the garden for the year.

Instead of rose blooms, now there are rose hips.

The amsonia has already passed its fall golden stage and is beginning to put on its winter whites.

Grasses, too, have turned white, but still glow in the early morning sun.

Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, but some colorful foliage remains,

 like the leaves of Itea 'Little Henry.'

The most colorful foliage of all, though, is this spirea (name forgotten at the moment).  I bought two spirea a few years ago primarily for their spring blooms; the fall color has been a happy surprise.

Little else remains, however; even the beautyberry has lost its leaves, with only some berries left to tempt the birds.  It's clear the time has come for the garden's long winter's sleep.

To see what else may be blooming (or not), be sure to visit our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

GBBD: November Swan Song

This is the time of year when garden bloggers living in zone 5 or farther north are forced to get rather creative, especially on the 15th of each month when we join in the monthly celebration known as Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  With several nights of frost the past few weeks, my garden is pretty well done for the year and ready to hibernate for the winter.

This is what most of my garden looks like--a few spots of green here and there, like the lambs' ears, but mostly dried seedheads and fading foliage like the amsonia, all covered with a thick layer of leaves blown in by the wind.  Even the grasses are losing their fall color.

Still, there are a few jewels to be found.  The beautyberry may have lost all its leaves, but the purple berries remain for a bright accent in an otherwise mostly brown landscape.  In case you're wondering about the strange foliage here, those are pieces of dried cornstalks blown in from the fields that have wrapped themselves around the plant.

The Knockout roses, especially the yellow 'Radsunny,' are still putting out some blooms, but even they look ready to give up for the winter.

 One of the best parts of participating in GBBD is that it makes me hunt for something in bloom, especially during this time of year.  If I hadn't been looking for something, anything at all blooming,  I would have missed the few delicate alyssum plants finally blooming.

Another surprise as I walked around the garden beds was this solitary bloom on the daisy 'Becky.'  Looking back at last year's November post, I realized that I actually have much more in bloom this year than last.

Not a bloom, this little seedling has me mystified.  Does anyone recognize what it might be?  I have several of these seedlings growing in the lily bed, and though I'm pretty sure they're not a weed, I have no idea what they are. 

Most of the hydrangeas have already faded to shades of brown, but 'Let's Dance in the Moonlight' is the belle of the ball and still turning heads with its aging blooms of burgundy.

Nearby, the Itea 'Little Henry' is hanging on to its fall color.

As is the Spirea 'Magic Carpet.'  The two spireas were afterthoughts planted last fall to fill in an empty spot among other shrubs.  I didn't realize until now that they had such pretty fall color, so I'm really glad I chose them.

The last few weeks have been a real rollercoaster in terms of weather.  We've had some days in the 70's and some mornings below freezing.  The plants that remain must be totally confused.  This geranium in the porch planter apparently isn't going to give up until the bitter end. 

A few petunias are also bravely soldiering on.

Not surprisingly, the new Rudbeckia  'Prairie Sun'  is still looking good in a container.  I really need to plant this in the garden soon, though, because I definitely want to keep this one around.

The kale, however, will stay in its container for the winter, along with the pansies.  Neither will survive our winter, but they're just too pretty to toss on the compost pile.

One last potted mum is still blooming away.  Soon it will be time to put these fall decorations into the compost heap and bring out the Christmas decor.

There will be a scarcity of blooms the next few months here on the prairie, but on a positive note, I finally finished planting all my spring bulbs on Sunday.  So, while my garden may be shades of brown and white for awhile, I'll have visions of  colorful tulips and daffodils dancing in my head!

To see what's blooming today in other gardens all across the world be sure to visit the ever-entertaining Carol at May Dreams Gardens.