Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - June 2012

I have to admit, I'm late for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day more often than I'm on time. Usually, I have good intentions, and start planning to try to fit in a GBBD post around the 10th... but miss the deadline anyway.  This month?  I just flat out missed the date!  I literally looked at my cell phone this morning and then said out loud:  "Oh my gosh, it's the SEVENTEENTH! I totally missed Garden Bloggers Bloom Day--AND the Foliage Follow-Up!"

At least the plants are blooming right on cue.  Well, the oakleaf hydrangea might be a tad bit early, but the ponytail grass and the salvia lyrata are pretty much on time, anyway.  And the presence of as-yet-unplanted flats of summer annuals confirms (sadly) that it's still mid-June at my house:

'Bonfire' begonia is nearing the end of its first flush of blooms on the north side of the front porch:

While bright red snapdragons are just starting to bloom in the backyard.

Drumstick alliums are just getting started now, too, but it's odd to see the lighter purple of verbena bonariensis already in bloom behind them:

I feel like the verbena usually doesn't start putting on a show until later--at least July--in a normal year. And it's odd to have a June Bloom Day without the appearance of my 'Zweiweltenkind' goatsbeard, which started blooming in earnest right after the May edition and it browned and done right now.  So I guess that the legacy of our mild winter lives on through June!

Also blooming in my yard right now:

'Summerwine' yarrow, 'Chubby Fingers' sedum album, various red sedum, 'Purple Dragon' lamium, 'Caradonna' salvia, (the last of the) sea kale, a few hosta, lonicera sempervirens, clematis jackmanii, culinary onions, 'Sweet Kate' spiderwort, 'Black Beauty' and 'Black Lace' elders (because I cut them back so late in the spring), 'Grosso' lavender, horehound, Meyer lemon, 'Blue Daze' evolvulus.

For more of what's in bloom all around the world, visit Carol's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day roundup, here.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May (???) 2012

The garden continues to change at a frantic pace...  with all of these June bloomers, it's no wonder I have to keep reminding myself that there's no need to panic. It's only mid-May, and I still have plenty of time to get the veggie garden started!

In the meantime, I need to stop and smell the (lovely, sweet grape-scented) variegated iris:

And marvel at a few Seussian allium blooms: 

And smile at the puffballs on the purple ninebark:

And think that the 'Caradonna' salvia needs to be moved next to a grass that stays golden all summer long, because it looks so nice next to the bright new grown on this switchgrass:

 And decide that the blue star gets too lost next to the powdery leaves of the sea kale:

And rejoice that the clearance, unmarked baptisia not only came back but also turned out to be the coveted 'Twilite Prairieblues':

Then head to the backyard and remind myself to collect the seed from the yellow-flowering collard greens--and to deadhead the white-blooming chervil:

And have the idle thought that the elderflower and the ninebark look pretty similar, with pinky-white flower tufts on super dark foliage:

And maybe even drool a little bit, knowing what it will mean that the blackberry is covered with hundreds of snowy white berries-to-be:

And then go sneak out of the house to make a quick Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day list, before I head back into the house to work a little more on my wedding invitation design!  For more of what's in bloom, head on over to May Dreams Gardens and check out Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post.

Other things in bloom here:  'Purple Dragon' lamium, various heuchera, last year's brussels sprouts, many dandelions, lungwort, 'Jack Frost' brunnera, Ozark everbearing strawberries, the last of the passalong dianthus, globe allium, sweet woodruff, yellow baptisia, passalong pink lamium, my rhododendron, Japanese bloodgrass (for the first time ever), sea kale, 'Sweet Kate' spiderwort, many purple salvia lyrata, 'Marcus' salvia.

Of note: Raspberries, cherries, peaches, and my tree peony are usually in some sort of bloom at this time of the year... but each of their bloom times have already come and gone!

April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (Came Way Too Early!)

April's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day--hosted (as always) by the lovely Carol of May Dreams Gardens--came way too early for me in so many ways. The 15th seems to sneak up on me each and every month anyway, but this spring the blooms are sneaking up on me, too!

Check out my May GBBD post from last year for a photo that looks VERY similar to the one above! This pretty dwarf iris didn't bloom last year until May, either:

Things are so early that much of my usual spring garden work remains undone. For example, many of my "late" tulips are blooming determinedly among the as-yet-unclipped foliage of 2011:

Thankfully, the smaller species tulips are sited on the edges of the driveway garden. This area stays mostly clear of leaves, so they are all blooming freely:

The hyacinths are in a similarly clear spot, too... which is particularly good for this bee:

And I am particularly happy to see him, because the cherry trees, apple tree and blueberry bushes are all in bloom right now, too!  And so are the currants:

Hopefully there are enough pollinators around to take care of all of my fruit trees. I guess that we'll find out whether or not that's the case this summer!  Here's a roundup of everything else that bloomed in my garden on April 15th, 2012:

• Pulmonaria
• 'Jack Frost' (but not 'Looking Glass') brunnera
• 'Lilafee' epimedium
• mom's passalong pink lamium
• 'Purple Dragon' lamium
• 'Geranium' daffodils
• sweet woodruff
• 'Bressingham Ruby' bergenia
• the last of the red species tulips

An Upright(eous) March Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

In March, the garden invites you to get up close and check things out.  Whether that means the snowdrops that are (usually, but not this year) blooming, or the hellebores whose nodding flowers all seem to need a good tilt if you want to see inside.

Well, not ALL of them--not this year, anyway! I'm wondering if the cold temps encourage them to keep their heads down, because I don't remember ever seeing so many face-up hellebore flowers in my garden. But there are quite a few uprights, especially on 'Ivory Prince':

And to make things even better, these guys are literally covered with blooms and buds:

The other usual March blooming suspects here (mainly snowdrops, and my jewel orchid indoors) have already come and gone. But I do have one stray bloom in the house, too. 'Vancouver Centennial' scented geranium has thrown out two very early--and very hot orange--blooms in my kitchen window.

To see what other gardeners have blooming around the world, head over to Carol's May Dreams Garden to check out her March Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post!

October: Big News, Little Blooms (GBBD)

Hard to believe that I took these photos more than a week ago already... and yet the garden looks so different now, just 7 days later. Cold weather and chilly evenings have started to take their toll, but all of what you see in these next few photos is still in bloom:

Blue caryopteris and 'Black & Blue' salvia provide a nice habitat for George the Giraffe

When backlit, the flower spikes of 'Hameln' pennisetum positively glow

Acapulco agastache is a reliable late-season bloomer for me... if only it still looked this vibrant!

A larger (re)bloom on my African daisy (Gazania) 

Cool-toned Russian sage flowers separate the self-sown 'Lady in Red' salvia, front, and 'Hopi Red Dye' amaranth

VERY late this year: First blooms on the pineapple sage

Cool+Wet=Reblooming 'Sweet Kate' spiderwort

A surprise rebloom on my (unnamed, but probably Jackmanii) clematis

Last but not least, the big news: Steve and I are engaged!  We had gone ring shopping together more than a month ago, but I was still very surprised.  I wasn't sure which ring he had ultimately chosen out of the 2 or 3 antique rings I liked best... and I definitely had no clue that he had already spoken to my parents to ask for their blessing.  I didn't quite comprehend when he dropped down on one knee on the beach and reached into his pocket during an afternoon walk at a beachfront park... but, luckily, I recovered in sufficient time to stammer out a "Yes!" and a huge smile.  Needless to say, we are both very excited!!!

Not nearly as excited is this old girl... can't you tell? Sister knows that once we get married and Steve moves in, she's going to have to endure his torture... but secretly, I think that they both enjoy running each other around the backyard, chasing the little yellow tennis ball and tugging at sticks. And, although he doth protest with a, "Really, dog?" here and there, Steve scratches Coco's belly readily enough when she rolls over at his feet and presents it. 

So I'm thinking that they will be just fine.  :)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - August 2011

'Sparkling Burgundy' eucomis, heuchera, and oakleaf hydrangea

August is always an exciting, but bittersweet, time in the garden. It's exciting to see the late summer bloomers, like the Japanese anemone and the pineapple lily featured above, return. And it's always fun to see where the tall verbena decide to reseed themselves.

Verbena bonariensis, stretching from a tiny driveway crack to mingle with the urn plantings

At the same time, may of the tropicals hit their second wind:

 Unknown brugmansia, a cutting from the botanical garden a few years back

And it's always fun to see how well the drought-tolerant annuals have fared.  In the front yard, that means the usual snapdragons, portulaca, and 'Black and Blue' salvia, along with the new-to-my-garden "Mexican sunflower, a.k.a. tithonia.

 Salvia gauranitica 'Black and Blue' in front of a blue caryopteris

Unnamed orange-flowering tithonia, emerging from red sedum.

(Highlight provided by 'Sun Power' hosta.)

In the backyard, the drought-tolerant 'Vodka' wax begonias are joined by a different variety of lantana than I usually plant, and a surprisingly drought-tolerant fuchsia:

'Bandana Cherry' lantana--the flowers on this are so variable in color that I'll definitely choose a different variety next year.

 The surprisingly resilient 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt' fuchsia triphylla and 'Vodka' wax begonias, both currently overrun by lotus vine foliage.

The bittersweet part of August comes with the knowledge that there are mere weeks left of the growing season. So many good intentions and best-laid plans have come to naught, so many missed opportunities have passed me by. There's nothing to be done about it now, though, except enjoy the last big flush of the native honeysuckle agains the neighbor's house and the blue sky... while I still can.

For years now, Carol at May Dreams Gardens has been hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on the 15th of every month. To see what's blooming around the world right now, visit her August Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post here. Or scroll down to see the rest of my own August bloom list.  Happy GBBD!


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Other plants also in bloom today: True blue plumbago, hardy blue plumbago, bronze fennel, 'Hameln' pennisetum, oregano, almost all of the hostas, regular Japanese anemones, lots of 'Vista Burgundy' annual salvia, everbearing strawberries, 'Hopi Red Dye' amaranth, the orange-and-yellow gladioli that decided to resurrect themselves after several years' rest, Russian sage, broccoli (darn it), 'Purple Dragon' lamium, red pentas, red and other self-sown snapdragons, various caryopteris, achillea, and at least 4 different kinds of basils.

Numbers Challenged: June Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Lotus vine: lotus maculatus 'Amazon Sunset'

I could swear that the 15th of June was coming up this weekend... but when I opened up my feed reader today, I found a whole pile of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts from yesterday. OOPS!  Here, without further ado, are some more hot-color highlights from my garden this month:

Celosia spiking up through the lotus vine and alternanthera foliage

 Flowering peach heuchera--and a pretty self-sown red snapdragon

'Purple Dragon' lamium, digitalis parviflora, and a few clumps of variegated thyme

 A stray heuchera spike, caught up in the dark foliage of chocolate eupatorium

And a few on the cooler side of the color wheel:

Unnamed purple clematis, scrambling through my 'Bing' cherry tree

 As-yet-unplanted wax begonias at the end of a flat

Oakleaf hydrangea, the nondescript flowers of lyreleaf sage, 'Chubby Fingers' sedum

Also in bloom, but not pictured:

'Red Rocks' penstemon, 'Blue Star' amsonia, echinops ritro, 'Albury Purple' hypericum, nicotiana, 'Black & Blue' salvia, 'Caradonna' salvia, 'Salsa Burgundy' salvia, little-leaf culinary sage, 'Newe Ya'ar' culinary sage, blackberry, 'Sweet Kate' spiderwort, 'Black Lace' and 'Black Beauty' elderberries, 'Gartenmeister' fuchsia, 'Bandana Cherry' lantana, various snapdragons and heucheras, 'Zweiweltenkind' goatsbeard

To check out what else is blooming around the world--or, at least, what was blooming yesterday!--check out the June Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.