June GBBD: And the Garden Goes On...

It's not often that I go a whole month without posting, especially in spring when the garden is bursting into life.  But shortly after the last Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, my mother was hospitalized and then sent to rehab for a couple of weeks, so life has been pretty hectic around here.  Gardening has gotten short shrift, needless to say, with only the most important chores getting done--like finally planting all the new annuals and perennials I had purchased in the previous weeks. I also managed to do some weeding in the vegetable garden so that I could find the newly emerging green beans among the pesky grass popping up everywhere.  But other weeding?  Let's just say there won't be any long shots of my garden in this post.

Bloom Day is all about what is blooming in your garden today, but I hope you'll indulge me in a few scenes from previous weeks, since I didn't get a chance to post them earlier.  The peonies are gone now, but were gorgeous this year; my mother appreciated the bouquet of pink peonies I gathered from my garden as much as any florist's bouquet.

There were enough blooms this year to bring some inside for myself, too.

The Amsonia is no longer blooming either, but made a nice backdrop for the peonies.  Amsonia Hubrichtii here and its counterpart Amsonia tabernaemontana had much bluer blooms than this photo shows.

'May Night' Salvia is still blooming, however, and will continue to bloom throughout the summer--if I ever get around to deadheading it, that is.

Other blooms that have since faded include the Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy.'  This plant has been slow to establish here, or maybe I'm just impatient, but it's finally taking off and reaching some height.  In fact, I can see it needs some pruning--one more job to add to the growing to-do list.

The alliums haven't been purple for a couple of weeks, but I still like the accent these tall plants make even as they're fading.  And yes, that is more Salvia--it apparently likes my arbor bed and has re-seeded all over.

And now for what is actually blooming today--Nigella hidden away in the back corners of the Arbor Bed.  These re-seed themselves each year, and when the seedlings first emerge I'm never quite sure whether they're cosmos, larkspur, or nigella.  The mystery is solved.

Spirea 'Neon Flash' is covered in blooms.  These two shrubs have grown so full the past few years, they're due for a serious pruning before they overtake other nearby shrubs.

The Knockout roses are not doing well this year, but 'Radsunny' has some blooms.

I am envious of Southern gardeners whose 'Black and Blue' salvia come back every year.  In my zone 5b garden, it's definitely an annual, but worth purchasing every year.

Not only do I love the electric blue blooms, but they are hummingbird magnets and look good in a pot as well as in the ground.

Lamium adds some petite purple blooms to the various shades of green in the shade garden.

It's almost lily season now, and the first to bloom are always the ever-reliable 'Stella D'Oros.'  They definitely need dividing again--didn't I say that last year?  And the year before?  'Walker's Low' Nepeta to the left has been blooming for some time.

There will be a plethora of red poppies again this year, but I'm most excited about this dark burgundy called 'Laura's Dark Grape.'  I purchased this seed, but I will have to remember to save these seeds and separate them from the reds later in the season to have more of these next year.  The hoverflies love them, too.

I'm also excited to see my first ever 'Annabelle' blooms.  I planted a couple scrawny, half-dead starts last year when we divided an overgrown plant at the nursing home where I volunteer.  They must be pretty tough hydrangeas.

The past couple of weeks have been a time of transition, with spring flowers gone and summer flowers not quite ready to bloom.  But very soon there will be an explosion of color as lily buds begin to open.  The first Asiatic lily to bloom (above) is one I don't remember buying or planting, but I certainly can't ignore these bold orangey-red blooms.

And what would summer be without my favorite, purple coneflowers?  A few early blooms have appeared in the past week, but soon I will have a plethora of coneflowers everywhere.  I can't wait!

What is blooming in your garden today?  Check out Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts this monthly get-together--join in and see what's blooming all over the world!