Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

June 15, 2011

I met lots of interesting gardeners by participating in Garden Blogger's Bloom Day last month, so here I am to do it again.   It's a fun way to showcase what's going on in your garden on the 15th of each month. You can find out more about it May Dreams.

I have buds on a lot of my perennials now and a few more things coming into bloom. This is just a lovely time of year...what is more fun than going out into your garden after a long day of work, and seeing what has started blooming while you were away?

Papaver orientale Oriental Poppy 'Paradiso'

my side border with the Oriental Poppy against a backdrop
of blue cornflowers

Aconitum Monkshood

my little hosta bed in the shade

can't wait for the peonies to open!

one of the few annuals I bought this year
a salmon-coloured geranium in a pot my Dad gave me

Flower of the Week: 'Rita Heritage' Iris

June 13, 2011

These are what I like to call my 'Rita Heritage' Irises! They were given to me by my dear friend, Rita, who got my lovely gardens off to a wonderful start by giving me many perennials out of her beautiful garden in 2008. She said that these irises were given to her, forty years before, by the woman who started HER out in gardening.

They are particularily tall and bloom early, but mainly because I have them planted against the white wall of our swimming pool, which also faces south.

I have come upon purple and white bearded irises that look suspiciously like these, in photos only, and think they may actually be called 'Wabash' irises.

But I will always think of them as my 'Rita Heritage' ones.

PS - Just so I don't give anyone the wrong impression, this 'Flower of the Week' post that I started last week isn't meant to be taken as any kind of advice or expertise or anything like that! As I mention in my 'About my Blog' section, I'm an amateur gardener who just likes to share information about my own garden.

I'm just going to pick my favourite flower that's blooming each week and kind of showcase it. Any sharing from the Blogging World is more than welcome in the comments section.

"White Choral Bells"

June 10, 2011

Lilies of the Valley

More of my lilies of the valley. Just a favourite! When I was little, my Mom and I sang while we did the dishes. A little round that went:

White choral bells, upon a slender stalk,
Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk.
Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
That can happen only when the fairies sing.

Wordless Wednesday

June 8, 2011

Heuchera Coral Bells, Iris

Iris

Convallaria Lily of the Valley

Flower of the Week: Centaurea

June 2, 2011

This beautiful flower is something new to me this year. I bought two of them at a plant sale last spring. This looks like one big plant now, which shows you how quickly they spread. The Centaurea, also known as Cornflower or Knapweed, is just starting to come into bloom. There are a good many buds on it, and it already looks great.

From what I read in my books, they bloom in early summer, but will also have a smaller flush of blooms in autumn. We shall see if they do in my zone.

The flowers look like little thistles, but they are soft to the touch. They make excellent cutting flowers and will do well in light shade as well as full sun. Mine are getting full sun, but I will experiment with moving some into light shade.

You might be asking yourself, should you put anything in your garden that has 'weed' in it's common name? I'll let you know about this time next year!

As I've already found out, they are fast spreaders, so they probably aren't a good choice for smaller gardens. I'm the type of gardener who doesn't mind quick spreading plants, as I have lots of room to move things to, friends to give plants to, and two composters for what's left over!

And you can't have too much blue in your garden. In my garden, anyway.