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?