Blooming Friday

Katarine at roses and stuff asked what we are enjoying most in our gardens. Hard to say -- at this time of year there's a lot to enjoy.

I didn't get nearly as many Shirley poppies as I wanted -- I sowed 'Cedric Morris' and 'Choir of Angels' and didn't get very many plants -- but this one has formed a huge bouquet that's been blooming for weeks.

The last of the Louisana iris

'Foxi Pavement' -- love the fragrance. It's a wafter.

Foxglove

Eastern gray beardtongue

'Devoniensis'

Iris virginica

Oakleaf hydrangea with 'Devoniensis' and foxglove

I love the long spurs on this yellow columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha)

Doesn't he look rotten?

Verbena bonariensis

'Veilchenblau'

For more Blooming Friday posts, visit Katarina at roses and stuff .

Blooming Friday May 21, 2009

It's a celebration of late spring flowers here: the last of the iris, larkspur, roses and foxgloves..

Border of vegetable garden, with big perennial bed in background.

This is a partial view of the plantings between the house and the driveway, looking down over the vegetable garden and down to the big perennial bed. That's the well cover off to the left, and the makings of a new bed behind that.

Part of the garden between the house and drive.

Looking the opposite direction, toward the neighbor's pasture.

Lots of foxglove in the garden this year, although I always think I'd like twice as much as I have.

'Festiva Maxima'

Siberian Iris

Louisiana Iris 'Sinfonietta'

A noid Louisiana iris

No, it's not Delphinium, but heck I'll take it.

Carolina Bush Pea

'Veilchenblau'

Perennial sweet pea

Rosa palustris scandens

'Hansa'

'Dusky Challenger'

Rosa carolina

Thank you to Katarina at roses and stuff for hosting Blooming Friday.

May Roses

May and September are the chief months for roses here; in the summer months Japanese beetles eat them up.

This is a China/ Gallica cross that I got from a trade. The shrub is arching and fountain-like, mostly thornless, with one big flush of bloom in spring. The flowers are wine-red/ purple and fragrant.

'Pink Pillar' is a rose that I'm not sure I would have picked if I hadn't seen it in person. The red buds open to these delightful sunset pink fragrant flowers. I saw this rose blooming in combination with the climbing miniature 'Work of Art'. Normally I hate pink and orange together and dislike miniatures, but the combination was a wonderful one.

'Mutabilis' is truly well-named. I'm always amazed to see these tangerine buds

open to these pale cool pink flowers

that then darken to raspberry pink.

'Belinda's Dream'

'Sombrueil'

'Veilchenblau' looks its most lavender/ purple to me in the midday sun, which has surprised me. In the morning sun it has more of a wine-red color. Its fragrance, which is not at all rose-like, is sweet and wafting. I think some people can detect it and others cannot.

These 'Veilchenblau' are growing as free-standing mounds at the border of the vegetable garden, where they may eventually become monsters. lol At least it hardly has any thorns. I'm layering it so that I can also grow it on the fence between the pasture and the old front yard.