Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Okay, there really is more going on here than just bulbs! My white lilac is blooming, too. (actually almost done as of yesterday)......and the mason bees are filling their nesting tubes... ...'Candy Stripe' creeping phlox blooming and creeping (but not creep-y)...
...'Blue Mouse Ears' hosta representing the name well. Several of my hostas are really slow to emerge this year, in fact 'Aphrodite' is barely above ground! I would have thought all the snow last winter was good insulation, so maybe I have an underground pest or something.
Gathered a nice bouquet for the house...

....and even fading out, "purple haze" still looks great! (I just had to mention it :) ...
...and not to be undone, 'Samabor' geranium is contributing some purple to the area...
...between the blooms and the foliage, I'd say this is my favorite geranium!
I love this variegated solomon's seal my mom gave me! It's really multiplying, too...
....and this 'White Feather' hosta that I got last year looks like a ghost as it emerges...very cool.

My shooting star is blooming better than ever this year... ...I think they look like artsy street lamps. I even found babies growing near the mother plant-yay!
'Little Plum' bitterroot blooming nicely, and the flowers are usually pink like this...


...but look at this orange one! I never saw one like this on any of these plants last year...strange.
This flowering almond bush has pretty blooms but an odd feature I never noticed before... ...the flowers appear to be sticking out their green tongues! Something to do with pollination, I'm sure. (Yea, I forgot a lot of botany from high school...obviously :)
Spurge coming along nicely...

....the pasque flower has seed heads that are as pretty as the flowers, IMO.... ....very cool how the raindrops stick to them.
This clematis is 'Markham's Pink', and the only sucessful grower I have besides 'My Angel' (no idea why)...
...I like the shape of the flowers...
...even un-opened!

This variegated lilac is one of my favorite purchases from last year!
This is an interesting annual, I'm pretty sure it's "New Guinea impatiens". I'd never bought it before, so I hope it enjoys my accomodations.
This wildflower/hosta bed is coming along nicely...I like how long the trillium last. (They have faded somewhat since this was taken about a week ago.)
Even these newcomers are growing well...nice jump from "plant plugs" for the meadow rue. These epimedium were bought just last year from Busse Gardens, and I'm super happy with them! This is 'Rubrum'...
...and he looks nice next to this lemon trillium........this one is 'Sulphureum', and quite a cutie as well... ...but the white one (grandiflorum) has these long spurs, like a spider! Very nice.
Now this annual may work into perennial status....
...this is the tag, "Variegated Lysimachia"....

...."hardy to zone 6"? Hmmm.....
....way too pretty for just one season! Maybe if I put it by the house where it can get heat from the foundation, and if I mulch good, etc. Hey, if anybody can squeeze a perennial performance out of an annual, I can!
Right Bentley? Hey! What was that wink for?!

Okay, maybe sometimes I get lucky! :)

15 comments:

Katie said...

Wow - you've got a lot going on! I bet you're never bored...

meemsnyc said...

We love lilacs. Its our favorite flower!

Rurality said...

So many great plants, it's hard to choose a favorite. I'd never seen that phlox before - cool!

lisa said...

Katie-Thank you! Oh yes, I haven't really felt bored since I moved here! :)

Meemsnyc-I love them too! Sure wish they bloomed longer, cuz' they smell so divine.

Karen-Thank you! I got that phlox from Bluestone perennials out of Ohio several years ago. It's a really reliable bloomer, and it spreads nicely in the sun. Great for a steep bank where mowing is difficult.

chuck b. said...

That Clematis 'Markham's Pink' is nnniiiice--Different, and wild-looking. I think I've heard of it before, but I probably just hear about it here.

lisa said...

Chuck-I found 'Markham's Pink' at this nursery, and it says zones 4-9, so you could grow it if you wanted. (Heh...you know, in all that "extra space" you have :)

lisa said...

Or I could just send you seeds! (Duh...I'm kinda slow on the uptake sometimes ;-)

Anonymous said...

I love your shooting stars, with their distinctive blooms. I have to move mine since their area has grown too shady, with too much competition. Your epimediums are looking good, love their foliage combinations.
You sure have an abundance in the garden now.

lisa said...

Thank you so much! I really enjoy the shooting star, I want the red/pink one, too. Isn't that the cool thing about the short growing season...sleep all winter, and then , KA-BOOM! Growing season just kind of explodes...I never get tired of it! :)

Annie in Austin said...

What a feast for the eyes, Lisa - with so many beautiful white flowers that won't grow here - the shooting stars are wonderful.

I used to grow the variegated Solomon's Seal in Illinois and the little flowers had a faint but pleasant scent... you had to crouch down low to catch the fragrance.

Your June is beautiful!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

I enjoyed the tour of your garden very much. love the kitty wink.

lisa said...

Annie-Thank you! It must be pretty fun and yet frustrating to garden in one zone then move to another as you have. My move was only down a zone, and usually I can push it with micro-climates and keep growing the same stuff. Some things even seem to like it better up here.

Deb-Thank you! My son's kitties are pretty much mine now, and I'd like to have some sort of outdoor enclosure for them someday...they always look kinda forlorn sitting in the windows. (They meow for me all the time when I'm outside, but I know full well that a bald eagle would love to dine on their "chubby, succulent" hides!) They need protection from that for sure, I see my song birds flee for their lives from smaller hawks and eagles regularly.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Bentley is a great cat name, and he looks like a great cat!

Isn't it funny how we forget exactly what all we have in the garden until it blooms each year? I completely forgot I had white lavender, for example (but I do!).

Can you tell me more about the bee nesting tubes--that seems cool!

~Monica

Anonymous said...

You didn't tell how buy you've been! I had to scroll waaaaay down here, just to catch up on all your posts! My timer is going to be ignored, me thinks. :)
Absoulutely gorgeous blooms! Well, worth the wait, I'd say. I love your garden, it looks like paradise. :)

lisa said...

Monica-Ooops! Sorry it took me so long to reply! The nesting tubes are for mason bees, if you click on the link, it shows my first post on the subject, with more info and links. They are very easy to maintain, and help keep my flowers pollinated.

Vonne-Where you been, girl? :) Thank you for ignoring the timer!