Nikko Blue Hydrangea with tall Butterfly Bush behind

I think we are still about 3 weeks ahead of schedule, here is a link to the garden last year at the end of June. I’m still not quite sure what that means for later in the summer, since by then almost everything will have bloomed by then. I guess we will see!

Red Asiatic Lily (a bulb from Home Depot)

Yellow Reblooming Daylily 'Happy Returns'

Orange Reblooming Daylily variety unknown

When the weather heats up some of the warmer colored flowers appear in my garden(in my case lots of lilies). I really like that the color palette changes though the season. I would love to say that I planned it that way, but I didn’t. I think it is partially mother nature who gives us cooler colored plants in the cooler weather and then lets the brighter blooms appear with the heat. I also have  planted quite a few lilies over the years, mostly because they are readily available, inexpensive and divide well (particularly the daylilies). I now find their foliage kind of boring, but they do provide color at an important time in the garden, that I would have a hard time filling with other plants. I have to say that the “reblooming” feature of some of these lilies is greatly exaggerated. I will get full bloom for next couple of weeks and then it will peter out and I will get very sporadic blooms later in the summer. Has anyone had better luck?

Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Fortunately I do have a few cooler colored plants to counter the hot plants. One of my favorite plants is the hydrangea. Hydrangeas vary in color based on the acidity, but in my yard the soil is all pretty acidic which guarantees blue varieties, with the exception of one lace cap variety that is more purple. My biggest hydrangea is Nikko Blue and I have since added a pair of Endless Summer which now that they are established are also quite blue. I use to have some lilies planted with the Nikko blue, but I think they were overgrown by the hydrangea. I think I might need to move a few of the orange daylilies over to the front, now that it is at its full size (thanks to a trim every fall). This Nikko blue plant is now 11 years old, I am pretty sure this is the first shrub I planted at the house.

The weather looks good for the weekend here, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I picked up a couple of plants at Home Depot on sale yesterday, that I need to plant in the next few days.

What is blooming in your garden  right now?

*My garden is located in SE Pennsylvania and is in Zone 7a/6b.

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?

Purple Bearded Iris

We have had some crazy weather in the last week. Rain, rain, hail followed by hot and humid weather. Today it actually lovely, sunny and warm. Given the conditions my plants have fared pretty well, especially considering the hail. We are reaching the point in the season where not quite as much is blooming, it is too early for the summer bloomers and most of the spring bloomers are done. But the bearded irises and peonies are definitely at their peak (if a little beaten down).

Bearded Iris

Purple Irises with Allium

Pink Peonies

All of my bearded irises have come from the Scott Plant Exchange. I have purple and peach colors. I don’t love them, mostly because the blooms don’t last that long, but they are impressive while they bloom and multiply quite well. I have several other kinds of irises including dutch irises and Japanese irises that I have picked up as bulbs. They also multiply quite well.

My peonies are from Home Depot years ago. Peonies are one of those few perennials that will last for a LONG time. The plant just gets bigger and bigger. Mine have certainly done so, and their color is really impressive.

Big Leaf Magnolia (12" wide flower) Magnolia Ashei

My big leaf magnolia (magnolia ashei) is blooming. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t been so kind to its giant flowers. Most of them burned out in the heat very quickly. There are a few flowers that haven’t bloomed, but of the ones on the tree this is the only one that looks nice. It is pretty stunning though, at about 12″ across.

P.S. I’ve got a sick kiddo so I may not get my post in tomorrow. If I don’t I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys the nice weather!

Allium 'Purple Sensation' w/ Euphorbia

It has rained quite a bit in the last week, so everything is looking quite green (even our sorry looking lawn). But Best of all right now are all of the alliums! There are Purple Sensations starting to bloom all over the yard. They are nice and tall so they POP beautifully out of the planting beds! One of the advantages of these easy to grow bulbs that they fill in the blooming period of the spring bulbs and the summer perennials. My new favorite combination is the Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ with the Euphoria (which is towards the end of its bloom time). I think I will also look at pairing it with my Carolina Phlox, since their bloom times are quite similar as are their heights.

Giant Allium Shubertii

Nectaroscordum (similar to Alliums)

Planting Bed w/ Alliums

Native Honeysuckle Taking Over

Native Honeysuckle reaching out to grab you!

Thanks to all of the rain, the Native Honeysuckle on the Back Deck is going CRAZY! I guess it likes the weather this year. I’ve already trimmed it once but it is in need of another haircut SOON! Mr. S. made a face at it this morning as he was leaving for work (which means cut that thing before I do it!). It does sort of look like it is going to grab you.

What is blooming in your yard right now?

Japanese Painted Ferns

Golden Spiderwort

Cranesbill Geranium

When we came back from vacation I looked around the garden and thought that I hadn’t missed much, but this morning as I took my pictures I realized that quite a lot had happened. Of course the rain over the weekend probably helped the most. With the warm weather some of my plants are still blooming extremely early, while others are more or less on track. You can see that there are a lot of new things to show this week!

Allium 'Purple Sensation'

Allium 'Purple Sensation'

Allium 'Purple Sensation'

When we left a week and a half ago most of my alliums had barely come out of the ground. And yesterday I already saw the first of the flowers. Alliums are definitely in my top ten garden plants and this year I planted a bunch more of the Purple Sensation last fall. I had even forgotten all of the random places I planted the bulbs, so it is nice to see them in all different parts of the yard. They typically call for full sun but I put them in anything from full sun to part shade. The ones in full sun actually have burned leaves but the ones in the part sun to part shade seem just fine. I wonder if they put up with the part shade because the leaves are just filling out now, so they are really in more sun for most of their growing period.

Allium 'Schubertii'

Allium 'Karataviense'

Allium ''Karataviense'

I am also trying Allium Karataviense this year, which is much more petite but has beautiful leaves. Additionally I have a few allium schubertii from a few years ago. They were getting dwarfed by a bush in the front yard but I took that one out in the fall. Now they are partially obscured by the peonies, but at least they survived removing the old shrub and planting the new ones. After they bloom I will move them to in front of the peonies, where I think they will look fabulous. I think I will also add some to my fall bulb list.

Columbine

Columbine

Columbine

The columbines in my yard are in full bloom. I have several colors and flower types. I bought the pinky/red one last year at HD and it is pretty but I think I prefer the more native blueish purple ones. I also really love the leaves, which look great most of the season. Mine have self seeded and I have replanted them in quite a few places in the year. It takes a little patience since they don’t tend to bloom until the second year, but my persistence is starting the pay off. This is another plant that I grow in a number of different locations, from hot sun to damp shade, and it seems to do fine in almost all locations, although the darker flowers tend to bleach out in the sun.

Native Honeysuckle

Lilac Bush

Mountain Laurel

My native honeysuckle (not to be confused with Japanese Honeysuckle) is blooming quite early, at least a month. It grew gangbusters while we were gone even though I had already trimmed it once this season. But alas I do love it so and it should keep blooming all summer. When the weather warms up a little more I expect to see the hummingbirds again.  Also in bloom is my lilac bush (I cut some blooms to bring inside so I could enjoy the lovely scent). The mountain laurel is also budding. I quite like the Mountain Laurel and think it is totally underused in gardens today. It is our state flower, which I why I first thought of using it. I favor its more polite flowers to most of the bright azaleas that I see around. Plus I like that they are a native choice.

Carolina Phlox

False Indigo

Peony Buds

Lastly my Carolina Phlox (or at least that is what I think it is) is blooming away. I picked up a few of these at the Scott Arboretum Plant Exchange a few years ago. It self seeds quite heavily but I just move the babies around. This variety bloom quite a bit earlier than regular garden phlox and is taller and more wild looking. It is fairly tall 2-3′ tall, so I have been moving it to the back sections of several of my planting beds. After they bloom I will cut them back aggressively and then I should get some additional blooms in late summer.

What is blooming in your yard this week?

Bleeding Hearts w/ Brunnera

We are still in the heart of the spring time blue and purple time of my garden thanks to the forget-me-nots, brunnera, Virginia bluebells,  pulmeneria, violets and chionodoxa. Once the weather warms there will be a lot more orange, but for now the cool colors are in control. There are little spots of pink thanks to my bleeding hearts which look lovely against the cool colors surrounding them.

Violets

Columbine

I have a soft spot for violets. Their delicate flowers and a sign of spring to me. All of mine are rescues from the lawn and have since self seeded (they are one of the first things that I planted in my beds). They look lovely now but will most likely be eaten later in the summer by the bunnies. I am okay with this since they are good about reappearing again, and since I prefer the bunnies to eat these over some of my other plants.

Ostrich Fern w/ Hosta

Variegated Solomon seal

The hostas, ferns and Solomon seal are also almost all out as well. The Ostrich ferns have arisen out of no where and are looking very tall and straight. The weather has been extremely dry for this time of year so it feels like some of the growth has slowed and with no rain in the forecast for another week, I am not quite sure what that will mean for the plants. I did water some of the newer plants on Sunday, and it looks like I will need to give everything another drink soon. The plants are use to lost of moisture this time of year, so I am concerned about what this will mean as late spring and summer approach.

Allium Karataviense Sprouting

My Allium ‘Karataviense’  have started sprouting. I was inspired to plant these by this picture from Tovah at Plantswise:

Alium 'Karataviense' with Caramel heuchera (coral bells)

Since I already had a bunch of the heuchera caramel I decided to add the allium. What I am surprised at so far is how beautiful the leaves are on the ‘Karataviense’. Most alliums do not have particularly impressive leaves, in fact the leaves often disappear by the time that they bloom but these leaves have purple edges and striping. I can’t wait to see how they look once they are flowering. Here is the link back to my rendering in the fall of how I hoped that they would look.

What is blooming in your garden right now?

Shade Garden with the Yellow Blooming Kerria Japonica

It has been another exciting week in the garden. The weather has been chilly (okay, seasonally appropriate) so I haven’t spent as much time as I would like outside. Fortunately it is warmer today, so I hope to get some more garden chores done. My Kerria bushes are in full bloom and looking lovely! They will require a good trim after the bloom, but I love that they are near the back and side gate, so they can welcome everyone in.

Virginia Bluebells

Bleeding Heart

My Virginia Bluebells are up and blooming. They are stealth plants, they arrive out of nowhere, pop up quickly, bloom for a bit and then disappear until next spring. I do love them though! The trick is remembering where they are since they are hiding for a good part of the year and I am always trying to fill the space. I think I may try moving a few to a more shady area under the cedar tree. I think that they would be a nice contrast to the bleeding hearts, which I love for their long lasting drooping blooms.

Flaming Purissima Tulip

Autumn Fern

The Flaming Purissima that I planted in the front yard are all done blooming but the ones in the back are still in their prime, looking lovely mixed with the daffodils. I also planted 3 Autumn Ferns this week (from Home Depot). I had admired them at the Philly Flower Show earlier this spring and was excited to see them at HD for a reasonable price. Hopefully they will do well in their new home by our shed.

Variegated Pieris

Blueberry Bush

In the side garden (which needs a LOT of love) I planted a variegated Pieris last fall (on sale from HD). I put it in quite late and without too much thought except that I thought it would be nice to add a little more evergreen texture on the slope. So far it has rewarded me with the splendid magenta-red color (I have to go look up the exact variety). I also planted 2 blueberry bushes in the same area (on either side of the new steps). They now have buds (which will become blueberries). I had been reluctant to plant blueberries because I had heard that they were difficult to grow, but so far they have had lovely red leaves in the fall and some nice white buds. We will see who gets the berries first this year, the birds or the kids. This area is suppose to be our new veggie area, with a raised bed. I just need to get in gear and put it in (which requires cutting down the pre-made kit). I also need to decide if I want to battle the pachysandra  that has taken over here. I hate it, but it is somewhat useful on the hillside that is difficult to access.

What is blooming in your yard right now?

Arbor w/ Forget-Me-Nots in Foreground

It has been another beautiful week in the garden. More and more plants are growing and there are new buds to be seen. A couple of my River Birches are just about to leaf out, which is very exciting! I love their beautiful leaves and it provides a lovely buffer from my neighbors.

Euphorbia (Wood Spurge)

Forget-Me-Nots

My Euphorbia came from the Scott Arboretum Plant Exchange a few years ago. At first I was not to excited by it, but it seems to have settled in now and is producing its lovely flowers. I have heard that it is poisonous (especially the sap), so I need to keep the kids away. The Forget-Me-Nots are also from the Plant Exchange. They are biannuals, so you need enough to produce seeds for the following year. I seem to have finally gotten the right mix, I have even had to pull some out. I do quite enjoy them.

Trillium

Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts

In the full shade area my trillium are up and looking lovely. They only appear for a short time, so I have to make sure to enjoy them while I can. Once the summer heat comes they disappear until the next year. I planted these from bareroot that I bought on ebay. I thought I had killed them since they didn’t sprout the first spring. So needless to say I was very excited when they sprouted the following year. My bleeding hearts only started sprouting last week but I already found the buds of the flower on one of the plants. I love bleeding hearts, and I have divided mine several times to get more. They are such a classic spring time flower.

Paw Paw Tree Flower Buds

Lastly my Paw Paw Tree started budding up this week. The flower will turn a lovely deep purple in a couple of weeks. The only downside is keeping the squirrels away, who definitely think these buds are delicious! This is especially important if I want any Paw Paw fruit this summer. We usually get about 3 fruits off of the tree, but I am hopeful we can increase our yield of these sweet custardy potato shaped fruits.

Even though it seems like everything has sprouted in the garden, I am being surprised daily by more plants popping up. When new plants sprout it is like a little present. : )The surprise of this week are the Tulip Turkestanica. I bought these on a bit of a whim last fall when I placed my big bulb order from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. For some reason (I obviously didn’t pay attention to the label) I expected them to bloom a little later. So while I have been waiting patiently for my Chionodoxa to bloom these popped up and started blooming. They are small and delicate, but I love that they have multiple flowers on each stem. These are also suppose to be reasonably good repeat bloomers.

Unfortunately my Barr’s Purple Crocuses have mostly been eaten by the bunnies. They looks stunning for about 2 days before they were slowly eaten over the next several days. I only have 2 still in bloom. The rest have been gnawed down to a little stump. Fortunately my daffodils are still hanging in there (I was afraid with the heat that they would wilt).

My Lungwort (Pulmonaria) is looking lovely, both varieties are blooming and the ‘Majeste’ variety is putting up an extra lovely dark purple bloom.

My muscari (grape hyacinth) are also in bloom and the ‘flaming purissima’ tulips are just about ready to go. These were a recommendation from Tovah at Plantswise. She recommended these as reliable repeat bloomers. I love tulips, but I get frustrated when they only come back once or twice before they disappear. So far so good!

What is popping up in your garden?