Saturday, June 15, 2013

June Bloom Day

It's time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again, my favorite day of the month when I get the chance to show off what's blooming in my garden and get to see what it's blooming in gardens across the world.  Since I haven't had much time for posting lately, let's start off with some photos from last week of blooms that are now fading, but were at their peak a week or two ago.


This year the Knockout roses looked the best they ever have.  Red Knockouts, in particular, have become a  ubiquitous planting in both residential and commercial landscaping the last few years, and I noticed they were spectacular all over town.  I was hoping that my blooms were the result of my increasingly green thumb, but seeing the same results everywhere, I'm sure the cause was all the rain we had this spring instead.


Not as common, the yellow 'Radsunny' Knockout was filled with blossoms, too.


I'm not really a rose person--I love them, but prefer plants in my garden that can survive without too much attention from me--but I did take the time to really prune 'Zephirine Douhrin' this spring and tie up the canes so she didn't sprawl as much as last year.  The effort was worth it, as she responded with dozens of lightly fragrant blooms climbing up the arbor bench.


Alliums, on the other hand, are definitely a low-maintenance plant.  In my last post I featured Allium 'Roseum'; this one, I think is Allium 'Graceful.'


Blooms still looking good today include the spirea, name forgotten for the moment.


And Itea 'Little Henry'


Behind the butterfly garden, the rough-eared dogwood Cornus drummondii has just opened its blooms. This native tree/shrub is not particularly pretty except when in bloom, but it certainly is a bee and insect magnet.


It's penstemon time in the butterfly garden, including this passalong from Gail.  Its purple-pink blooms coordinate nicely with the nearby Phlox pilosa, which to my surprise are also still blooming.


An old standby, yarrow has spread throughout several garden areas.


Speaking of spreading, the lamium is overtaking more and more territory in front of the tall spruce tree next to the shade garden. This is one time I'm happy to see something spread.


A surprising spreader has been the 'May Night' Salvia in the arbor bed.  I brought home a small division two years ago from one of the gardens where I volunteer, and I now have at least 5 different clumps!  This photo doesn't really show the true picture, but I'm beginning to have my own little Lurie "River of Salvia":)  I wouldn't mind, but it's taking over more than I would like--note the poor little delphinium at the center bottom of the photo that barely has room to stretch.


Interrupting the presenting of blooms for a moment, my first pickings from the vegetable garden.  We had such a rainy spring through mid-May that everything has really gotten away from me. These radishes should definitely have been pulled a week or two before!


Taking the time to take a closer look every so often always reveals some surprises.  Sedum 'Angelina,' used as a groundcover in a few areas, surprises me every spring with these tiny yellow blossoms.


Another surprise--I had been watching what I thought were volunteer nigella or cosmos, but the true identity of these plants was revealed when the buds opened--Larkspur!


I was disappointed the past two years when the lily bulbs I had purchased at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show failed to do much of anything.  I guess I should have been more patient.  However, I swear I thought I had bought oriental lilies, not Asiatic, and I know for sure they were labeled a salmon color.  This hot red looks anything but subtle salmon!


The last two weeks of primarily sunny days have been busy, busy ones, mainly getting all the new plants into the ground or into containers.  I'm beginning to think I have far too many containers and need to cut down, but I have a hard time resisting some annuals like these double impatiens.


Other annuals, though, are must-haves for the butterflies and the hummingbirds.  One of the few hummingbird sightings this spring was at this 'Black and Blue' Salvia.


Another sighting was at the Agastache.  The perennial Agastache that did so well for me two years ago was a big disappointment last year, so this year I found a couple of annual Agastache instead (somewhere there's a tag for this...). The hummingbirds don't seem to mind a bit. I'm happy to report that I finally have everything planted--hooray!  But this photo is an embarrassing reminder that there is much more to do--weeding, thinning, and mulching are at the top of my to-do list before things get totally out of hand!


In spite of the fact I feel rather overwhelmed at all that still needs to be done, it's a great time to be in the garden.  As proof of more delights to come, my favorite flower of all is just starting--the first coneflower bloom!

To see what else is blooming around the country and the world and to join in the monthly celebration of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, check in with our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

25 comments:

  1. Really like the lamium, red lilies and that delicate white allium.

    So pretty in your garden right now.

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  2. Your roses are looking gorgeous --I especially love yellow roses. I had a Chihuly for the last couple of years, but it didn't survive the drought. However, a climbing rose I've had for 11 years is blooming for the second year in a row --last year was the first time, and I thought it might have been because of our overly warm spring, but apparently it was just finally ready. This rainy spring has been great for the garden!

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  3. So many beautiful flowers in your garden. I love the blue of the salvia. In our winters it's very hard to get her trough the winter. Your roses are doing so well. And you are right there are so many other beautiful plants for the garden that don't need so much attention as a rose does.
    Have a wonderful sunday Ros.

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  4. I am with you on the roses, often too much trouble, but when they provide scent near a seating area well worth a little prune and tie-in! Glorious salvia, I love the effect of that mass of blue. Is your agastache "Agastache rupestris? It looks like the one I am growing from seed. Happy GBBD!

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  5. There are some lovely blooms there but the roses and larkspur have definitely caught my eye.
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

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  6. I am always amazed at the similarities we have -- every picture you show is of a plant I have too. Like you, I am having concerns about the spreading May NIght salvia here. And I grow 'Graceful' alliums, and itea, and the same bright spirea, and Angelina sedum with its funny yellow flower spikes, etc. etc. So fun to see how two gardens with the same plant choices do!

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  7. All your flowers are so pretty, including those beautiful lilies, no matter what the name!
    Always good to get a few veggies, too. My radishes were a big dissapointment this year, but the onions have done wonderfully well.
    Have a great day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  8. 'Zephirine Drouhin' is one of my favorite roses. Yours looks great. And 'Black and Blue' salvia is also one of my favorite salvias. I couldn't call myself a gardener for wildlife without it! Things are looking good there Rose!

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  9. Your garden is blooming up a storm Rose. I will have to get out to see what is happening in my garden. Things are a little slow here. Love the lily no matter what it is supposed to be. Happy GBBD.

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  10. "Not really a Rose person" and you can grow Roses like that! Wow! I love the ones on the trellis. The Lilies, Larkspur, and Spirea (and everything else) are fantastic, too. Happy GBBD!

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  11. Everything looks beautiful Rose. The rain this year sure has made gardens explode with color. It's so green this year sometimes I think I'm in Ireland.

    How gorgeous that volunteer larkspur is. I love the color of your penstemon.

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  12. Uh-oh! Looks like you're going to have to turn on your comment moderation feature. I'm not here to sell you any watches, I promise! Your garden is bursting with color. I especially like that Zephy rose. She's a beauty. I know what you mean about keeping up with the weeding and other chores. I've been traveling and volunteering a lot lately and neglecting my own chores at home. They seem to multiply like rabbits.

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  13. Rose, I love the Knock rose, especially the red one. Your garden is full of flowers and the radish is enough large. I didn't sow this because of the fly that eats radish. Will do later.
    Have a nice week!

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  14. I've been tempted to grow 'Zepherine Drouhin' but the catalogs said it wasn't hardy in zone 5. I guess Zepherine didn't read the catalog! Your blooms are gorgeous and the quality of the photography outstanding.

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  15. So many blooms and your roses look great!

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  16. Gorgeous blooms as always Rose. Seeing your 'Zephirine' made me think of my poor specimen. Once lovely, she has been sad for a long time. I think her roots are compressed by the gravel paths. Once the rains stop, I'm going to pull away that gravel and set up some bricks to stop the gravel. I'll feed her and see if that helps. Thanks for the reminder.

    Happy bloom day to you. Did I ever tell you my mom's name is Rose?~~Dee

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  17. Thanks, W2W, for not trying to sell me watches! I can't seem to delete this comment because it's so long--the pop-up window won't show me the end of the comment so I can hit the "delete forever" button. Can anyone help with some advice?? I've changed the settings to not allow anonymous comments here, but I may have to go to comment moderation or word verification if that doesn't work. Sheesh, do these people think these annoying comments will bring them more traffic??

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  18. Oh, the larkspur is lovely! I need some! And some of the 'Graceful' allium. And a yellow Knockout rose! And definitely must get lamium to put around the trees by the kids' tree house. And. . .

    My husband shudders and clutches the checkbook a little more tightly every time I go on a blog-reading spree! LOL!

    Your roses are particularly lovely, Rose! Happy June!

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  19. Zephirine Droughn is so beautiful!

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  20. I thought you must have a coneflower in there somewhere!

    I do love roses, mostly for their perfume. WE have quite a few yellow ones out but not many pink. Your garden generally seems to be more ahead than ours though. And looking very beautiful as always.

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  21. Hello Rose,
    Your blooms for June bloom day were magnificent. And I bet those radishes were a treat.
    Hope your summer is going great. Thanks for commenting over at Dung Hoe.
    Camille AKA Rosey

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  22. Thanks to all for stopping by and your lovely comments. As usual, I seem to be behind in everything, so as much as I'd like to respond to everyone, I'll try to return the visit instead.

    Jason, I will add that we have 'Zephirine' in our MG display garden as well, and it's doing wonderfully, so I think it will definitely hold up in zone 5, at least 5b.

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  23. WOOW! I love the blooming roses. They're perfect.. Well, you do have a great garden because of that lovely blooms.

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  24. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. And thank you for the reminder that I have some radish seeds to plant.

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  25. Lovely blooms! My black and blue salvia and a similar agastache to yours are next to each other, and are not blooming yet. A couple of hummingbirds have been feeding from them the last couple of years, and I look forward to seeing them again later in the season.

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