More Garden Beauty

Virginia Fringe Tree in East bed.

My garden looks so wonderful at this time of the year, it's hard to choose what to post! The succession of flowers and combinations of color is serendipitous. This section of the bed above is an example--I didn't exactly plan it, it was populated with the trees and shrubs that appealed to me at the time, and that I believed would do well in an eastern exposure where the soil retains more moisture. The bed started with the Full Moon Maple 'Shirasawanum' on the right, another Japanese maple, a dark red-leaved variety called 'Bloodgood' on the other end, and a tiny Rhododendron in the middle (the last two not visible in this shot). Over the next five years I expanded the bed by joining those three plants into a larger island bed and filled it in with the variety of plants you see here: Virginia Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus) on the left, a dark purple Columbine that has spread, Ageratum and some hollies. I love it when chance results in such surprising beauty!

East bed looking the other way.

My front walk in the rain.

On the other hand, the area by the front walk was a bit more planned, with a variety of sedums and creeping thyme (Woolly and Red thyme) interspersed with low shrubs and a Double Knockout rose. I wanted to present the effect of a Persian carpet with different colors and textures around the walk, and it's taken a number of years for the plants to grow dense enough to create the effect I envisioned.

Irises in front yard.

West side front bed with Alliums, Roses, Iris and a Peony.

Iris 'Victoria Falls' in the back

Bi-color iris in back yard

The irises started to open around the first of May, and are still putting on a great show. There is something about these regal flowers that is impossible to resist. One particular surprise was the yellow dwarf iris variety called 'Bluebeard' I planted in the back yard last year-- I had not expected it to be so short, with a pale, startlingly blue beard. I hope these new irises will gradually spread to fill the area with masses of color.

Dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'

The roses and Clematis are now preparing to burst into bloom--some of the rose buds have begun to open, but I expect the peak of bloom in another week or so. It's been a very rainy May so far, and my flowers are loving it.