Tuesday, May 15, 2007

In the Merry, Merry Month of May


It's my first Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and I've got lots of blooms to show off! It seems like the garden has been popping at warp speed the last couple of weeks. Of course, it helps when you get a little rain and warm weather. We tied the record high for today - 91°. It didn't feel that warm though, because we had 15-20 mph winds with it. I can't tell if I got sunburned or windburned!

Just a few of what I've got blooming at the moment...


I had to replace my 'Diana, Princess of Wales' Rose this spring. I just planted it last year and I loved it so much, I was sad that it didn't make it through the winter. But the new one is in place and growing well. This was the first bloom on it and there are two more coming.



It was hard to get a good picture of the Geum, because it's such a unique shade of orange and we've had such windy weather and they are tall and wave in the wind. This plant surprised me. I just planted it last year, and it came back like gangbusters. It will flower all summer if I'm faithful about keeping it deadheaded. I have a red variety, too, planted with the orange. It blooms later, though. There is a yellow one that I'd like to mix in with the red and orange, so I'm keeping my eyes open for it.




I have three different Foam Flowers (Tiarella sp.), but the one that I like the best is 'Spring Symphony'. This is a great shade plant and has beautiful mounded foliage when it's not in bloom. I have found that by deadheading right after the intial bloom, I'll get a second flush.




Star of Nature (Ornithogalum nutans) is one of the very first spring bulbs I ever planted. It has multiplied to the point now where I need to dig some up and move it. The flower buds are nearly as lovely as the flowers themselves, reminding me of lupine buds a bit. I like greenish flowers so this one is one of my favorites in the spring. Sources say it's only hardy to zone 6 and I'm in zone 5, but it has no problems here for me!




I have many, many types of Columbine (Aquilegia sp.) as it's one of my favorites, and Romie's too. I planted some McKana's Giants last spring and unfortunately, they didn't come back this year. But I'm on the lookout for more, because those are so exceptionally lovely, I have to have them. I think it was just a fluke that they didn't return, because in my experience, Columbine is about as reliable as they come. They self-seed all over the place, which is just fine with me.

Since most Columbine don't flower in their first year, I just let the seed heads form after they're done blooming and I either let the seed fall where it may, or I collect it and sprinkle it where I want it. This way, little seedlings get a great start before winter, and they will flower the following year.




The Drumstick Allium looks more like a huge lollipop than a drumstick. I love the bizarre random balls of purple when they pop up amongst the other plants.




All the white Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majuscula) that I have is offspring of my Aunt Kay's. She gave me a small start about five years ago and it has spread quite nicely (and not nicely in some areas). I love the smell of it and I bury my nose in it quite regularly at this time of the year.




This is my first year for Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) blooms. I planted it last summer, after its bloom period, and while it was supposed to be red, one of the three plants turned out to be purple like this one. I love both colors and they actually look nice together.




My 'Deidre' tulips performed poorly this spring. Last year, they did so much better, but several of my tulips didn't do well this year. I'm thinking it's because of the crazy winter and spring we had. They all came up, but some of them had deformed blooms. I take that back - the species tulips that I planted new last fall didn't come up at all, and I planted three varieties. I thought those, of all kinds, would have done okay.



Always reliable, my Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) is lovely as ever, making a lavender and white carpet at the foot of several trees. When it's done blooming, I'll shear it off by half and it will become even more lush for the rest of the season.




Oh, the Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)! This is becoming one of my favorites! It's thick and healthy and floriferous and I want more of it. Yes ... Candy! More Candy!




My Ajuga was a gift from my mom, as were several of my garden plants. It's never been a favorite of mine, but it's definitely a favorite of the bumblebees! I have it planted under a couple of trees and it does make a nice underplanting, forming a carpet of dark foliage and purple flowers. It can be invasive, so when it reaches the limits I've got set for it, I'll be sharing this one.




The Variegated Weigela (Weigela florida) is just starting to flower. I bought this because my mother-in-law has an absolutely gorgeous one in her yard. It's quite large and when it's in bloom, it takes your breath away. Mine wants to be like hers when it grows up.




This Viburnum was a passalong shrub from my Grandma several years ago. She gave us three of them, but only one lived. After many years of no blooms, it flowered for the first time last year. This year, it's full of them. I love the lacecap hydrangea look to its blooms. And in the fall, the foliage turns a fabulous shade of red.




9 comments:

Bev said...

Beautiful photos Kylee! I lost a Princess Grace de Monico rose that I planted in honor of my Mom last year. I'm going to contact Jackson Perkins and see if they will replace it.

Carol Michel said...

Your flowers look great, and all are beautiful. I enjoyed this May day tour through your garden today. Thanks for participating in Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

Dorothy said...

Kylee I had Princess Grace of Monaco when we lived in California. Now there was a state for growing roses....no dreaded blackspot ever or japanese beetles.
Your photos are lovely, I learn so much from your site!

KC MO Garden Guy said...

Great pictures!!! Love the one of the columbine. I don't know why I like columbine so much. I guess it reminds me of my grandmothers house. From your pictures you look like a very experienced gardner. Keep up the good work!!

Unknown said...

lovely photos as always, Kylee. Ornithogalum is hardy here in our zone 5, so I think someone got their wires crossed when they told you zone six. Some also find it invasive but this hasn't been a problem with my garden, either.

No frost here but cold, wet, foggy, rainy, dreary, and now windy too. Despite that, things are growing lke crazy.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

What a lovely display of blooms you have, truly lovely. I see that we have many flowers in common (no surprises there;-)).

Love the name Foam Flowers for Tiarrella sp. and how beautiful they are! So the Iberis sempervirens is called Candytuft? The things you learn on this blog. :-D

Except for the Geum I have all the plants you have in my current garden or used to have in my previous one. Love that Diana PoW rose. Does it have a scent?

Kylee Baumle said...

bev - I contacted J&P about this one, and they said they only guarantee their roses for 60 days. :-(

Carol - This was fun! It's a great thing you started!

dorothy - Thank you for saying that! I'm learning all the time, too.

kc mo garden guy - Thank you, but I actually only started gardening in 2005. But you know how it is when you've been bitten by the gardening bug - you just want to learn anything and everything about it and that's what I'm doing!

jodi - I think some species of Ornithogalum are hardy to zone 5, but I can't find anywhere that says O. nutans is hardy to anything warmer than 6. No matter, it does great in my garden!

Yolanda - I'm not surprised either that we have many flowers in common. Do you have any relatives in Germany? I'm sure we must be related. ;-)

You MUST get some Geum! It's a vigorous plant and a blooming machine! I've got red, too, but it's not blooming yet.

Yes, Diana is quite fragrant, especially when she is first opening up. Did you know that part of the sales of this rose are donated to Princess Diana's charities? It's one of Jackson & Perkins' Roses For a Cause.

Michelle said...

*Love* the pasque flower! Just beautiful! :)

Ki said...

I see creeping phlox walking my dog every morning and wondered what it was. Now thanks to you, I know!

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