Pink Peony
Japanese Iris
We had more rain this week, with only a little bit of sun mixed in. A lot of my plants are looking quite leggy at the moment. I might need to get out there and cut some back so that they will be bushier later in the summer (which I am always afraid to do).
The peonies in my front yard (fun hot south sun) have faded but the light pink ones in the back garden are blooming now. They are all pretty droopy but they still look and smell lovely. I’m afraid the hot weather predicted for the next several days will do them in. I know it is Memorial Weekend, but I don’t think I am ready for a heatwave yet!
Some of my Japanese Irises are also blooming, while most of the bearded irises are finished. I bought these as bulbs years ago and unfortunately I have no idea what variety they are, which is unfortunate because I think that they are such a beautiful flower. So striking in their shape and size.
Pink Cranesbill w/ Saliva
Purple Cranesbill Geraniums
My cranesbill geraniums are also blooming in the sun and the shade beds. I have pink ones in full sun the front yard (paired with purple salvia). In back yard I have blue and purple cranesbill paired with several different shade plants including forget-me-knots and coral bells. These plants roots grow are very shallow and grow sideways forming a sort of groundcover. So I grow mine at the front of the bed where I let them fill out and cover the bottoms of some of the other taller plants. I also find that they do best in part-sun although put up with both brighter and darker conditions. I have a couple of newer varieties that I picked up at the plant exchange, including ‘confetti’ which has variegated leaves.
Alliums w/ Seed Heads Starting to Form
Allium w/ Caramel Coral Bells
I promise I will stop talking about my alliums very soon, but I thought I would show you what the seed heads look like on the ‘Purple Sensation’ once they start to form. I think they are such an interesting form. My Allium ‘Karataviense’ are starting to fade and I’m not sure what kind of seed head it will make yet.
Spiderwort 'Sweet Kate'
Penstemon 'Husker Red'
My spiderworts ‘Sweet Kate’ that I planted last year are looking great in the shade bed. These will tend to disappear in the middle of summer, but for the moment the foilage and flowers are little stars in the shade bed.
Also in my sunny beds several of my penstemon ‘Husker Red’ are starting to bloom. I also managed to score a few of these at the Scott Plant Exchange this year, which I was pretty excited about since I had originally bought mine at Home Depot and was looking for more but they weren’t carrying any this year. They offer a nice bit of red leaves and stems to a mostly green planting bed. Once they bloom I will cut them back for a second bloom.
Lipstick Begonia w/ Coleus
I will leave you with a picture of my favorite hanging basket. This week I finally managed to put some annuals in my hanging baskets and window boxes. Last year I fell in love with a lipstick begonia. I stopped by Terrain figuring that they would have it and as it turned out they had LOTS of amazing begonias to choose from. I also added some new burlap for the underside of this pot (I bought some online and have a couple of project in mine for the back with it). Above this I have water absorbing pad (that releases water slowly). As this fills in it should be fantastic.
What is blooming in your yard this week?
