A Rainy May Bloom Day

Peony 'Bartzella'

Peony 'Bartzella' in the "Little Indians" bed

It's raining here today in my Zone 6b Virginia garden, a soft and gentle drizzle making our fields and gardens so green and lush...  Bloom Day is hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden Blog on the 15th of every month. Happy May 2024 Bloom Day!

My 'Bartzella' peony is in its full glory right now, and holding up well in the rain, for which we're so grateful. Last year I separated the old-fashioned iris behind it, but this year's blooms have been very disappointing. 

 

Iris 'Victoria Falls' with double flowering quince beyond.

 

Purple Dutch iris with Sambucus 'Black Lace'

My irises are just finishing their display for the year, although some of the late varieties are still blooming; now the peonies are coming into their own. 'Duchesse de Nemours' in the Herb bed is just starting to open.

 

Peony 'Duchesse de Nemours'

 

A flowering spike of the Texas yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) I planted two years ago has appeared, I'm looking forward to seeing the flowers close-up. The spike is impressive in height thus far, let's hope the flowers are equally pleasing.

 

Flower bud of Hesperaloe parviflora

Both of my Ninebark trees are blooming at this time, as is the Asian dogwood, which has recently been re-named Benthamia kousa, replacing the old genus name of Cornus.

Ninebark tree 'Coppertina' (Physocarpus opulifolius)

"Coppertina' with Kousa dogwood behind

Kousa dogwood (Benthamia kousa) in bloom

 

The native iris (Iris versicolor) under the Redbud tree has produced one bloom thus far; last year it flowered so abundantly, I don't expect anything as profuse this year. The Verbascum 'Southern Charm' was looking much better before the rains, but what can one do? The Salvia 'Pink Profusion' near it was a new addition last fall, but it's not living up to its name yet.

 

Iris versicolor

Verbascum 'Southern Charm' with Salvia 'Pink Profusion'

The other Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee' near the Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' complement each other so nicely. Beyond are some Willowleaf starflowers (Amsonia tabernaemontana) with the Anise Hyssop I planted last year, a sedge, and some white Salvia.

 

Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee' with Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost'

Amsonia tabernaemontana

I have another variety of Amsonia--hubrichtii--growing in the "Little Indians" bed, but these don't seem to be blooming as well as in previous years--they probably need to be broken up and re-planted farther away from the Korean boxwood. They seem to be re-seeding themselves as well.

Amsonia hubrichtii

The bed on the west side of the house has some nice color--Catmint, Salvia 'May Night,' red Dianthus and a yellow flower that I've forgotten the name of. The Clematis 'Appleblossom' climbing up to the deck still has some blooms

Bed on the west side of the house.

West side of the house with new backyard vegetable enclosure.

Another late-blooming bearded iris variety, 'Wine Festival' offered just one flowering spike this year.

Iris 'Wine Festival'

The pink peony is getting ready to open in the front, by the driveway. The purple Dutch iris are just starting to fade as the Allium moly gets going.

Pink peony with Allium and irises beyond.

Dutch iris and Allium moly

My front yard appears to have the fewest flowers at the moment--the last flower of a lone white bearded iris spike and the red 'Double Knockout' rose. The Double Knockout rose was decimated by sawfly larvae, and I didn't see them until it was too late--the poor rose looks as if it had bronze foliage, but it's only the skeletonized leaves.

 

White iris and red 'Double Knockout' rose

A blast of color is provided by the last of the red Amaryllis flowers opening on the porch.

Red Amaryllis buds.

Spring Garden Flowers

 

Pale Dutch Iris

As April turns into May, the progression of spring flowers in my garden begins to peak. Right now the pale Dutch iris are coming into bloom, their perky blossoms brightening the front garden. The bearded irises in this bed (mostly yellow) are ready to burst into bloom, along with the flowering onions (Alliums)

 

Dutch and bearded iris with giant alliums.

Bearded iris 'Blatant' with Dutch iris.

 

My azalea 'General Semmes' is blooming profusely in the shade of the cherry tree in front of the house. The native flame azalea, in an identical pot just a few feet away, had all its flower buds eaten by deer during the winter, but they never touched 'General Semmes.' Why, I can only guess--one is a native and the other a hybrid, perhaps this influences the way it tastes to deer? The Lewisia "Little Peach" growing in a pot in front is lovely too.

Azalea 'General Semmes'

Lewisia 'Little Peach'

Going along the west of the house, I found a few sprays of lilies of the valley under the maple tree. Although they're supposed to be poisonous, deer do eat these, so only the flowers under a wire cloche survive. 

The circle of Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides) under the Zelkova is blooming, but as usual, the deer eat the foliage before the flowers emerge, and often dig up the bulbs as well, making for a less than stellar display. I wish I could find a physical barrier to keep the deer away from this bed... all of my beds!--spraying with deer repellent works only for a very short time.

 

Lilies of the valley (Convallaria majalis)

Spanish Bluebells under the Zelkova tree (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

 The Clematis vine climbing up to the deck is offering its dainty pink flowers. It looks wonderful from the deck, draping itself over the railing.

 

Clematis montana 'Appleblossom'

 

My lilac 'Purple Bloomerang' is in full bloom, but the other lilac (behind the purple) has only a few panicles of white flowers.

Lilac 'Bloomerang'

More 'Blatant' irises are blooming in the long bed in back--they seem to have recovered from the attack of two years ago. The two prune-leaf Viburnums way in the back near the woods are covered with flowers.

Iris 'Blatant'

Pruneleaf Viburnum in bloom.

A happy surprise in that part of the yard: the buckeye tree that I grew from seed collected from a hybrid at Blandy is offering its first spike of flowers. From the looks of these, this is likely the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) rather than the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) parent. My tree is still quite small--under three feet tall, and must be protected from the deer until it reaches sufficient height to be out of their browsing level.

Flowering spike of buckeye tree.

Ambling back towards the house, my Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi' is blooming nicely under the Japanese maple 'Bloodgood.'  I love the pink-tinted new foliage of the full-moon Japanese maple (Acer 'Shirawasanum') and its curious flowers. My Japanese maples suffered a lot of die-back with last year's drought, and I'm hoping they will recover some during this growing season.

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi'

Japanese maples and fringe tree.

Soon the 'Blue Barlow' Columbines and the Virginia fringe tree (Chionanthus virginica) in the east bed will be bursting into bloom. This is always a stunning combination, along with the maples and the pagoda dogwood. This spring I joined the two strips of flowerbed into one, but I haven't had a chance to improve the soil and plant some new spring ephemerals yet. I hope to eventually turn this bed into a small wooded area with shade-loving plants underneath. It's evolved so much from its first year, when all I had planted were the full moon maple and the Carolina Silverbell tree.

 

East bed expansion with pagoda dogwood on the left.

Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia) under the maples.

There's so much work to do at this time of the year for gardeners! Trying to re-plant all the plants that had to be dug up for the veggie garden enclosure, re-edge some beds and get some vegetables in the raised beds is probably more than I can manage in the next week or so. Happy spring!

May Bloom Day

White bearded iris.

Yellow iris.

The 15th of the month is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's "May Dreams Garden" blog.

The month of May is so beautiful in the northern hemisphere, a gardener would almost wish it could last all year long, except that then we wouldn't appreciate it as much... to everything there is a reason and a season.

I love bearded irises because of the beauty of their regal flowers and easy care. Today some are already past their peak in my garden, but most in my collection are still blooming. The core of my iris collection was given to me by a lady at the Virginia Native Plant Society's booth at Garden Fest, a weekend-long plant sale at Blandy Farm, the Virginia State Arboretum, held every spring. The rhizomes she gave me weren't native of course, nor were they labeled, so I have no idea of the names of these varieties. Other varieties that I've purchased over the years have names, of course.

One of my favorites is the white you see above--its lovely pure white falls and standards have pale blue beards with weird little tongues on their ends. The pure yellow and the purple and apricot bi-colors are also lovely

 

Bicolor iris with red 'Double Knockout' rose buds.

Iris patch along the front walk.

 

Last year I dug up and thinned the old-fashioned variety that once grew in my mother's garden in Falls Church, so this year my bed is a bit skimpy, but there's still enough bloom to admire.

 

Mom's irises.

A few years later I added two more varieties: the blue 'Victoria Falls' and 'Blatant', a yellow and wine bi-color.

 

'Victoria Falls' and 'Blatant' in the back yard.

 

My Virginia fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) is a dwarf cultivar, and it was spectacular about a week ago--there is still some bloom there. Underneath the columbine 'Blue Barlow' has spread nicely.

'Blue Barlow' columbines under Virginia fringe tree.

Foam flower (Tiarella)

 

This clump of foam flower also grows under the fringe tree--I usually keep this one under a wire cage because the deer love to eat it, but I remove it to take photos.

 

Clematis 'Etoile Violette' with 'New Dawn' rose.

 

At the side of the porch my "Dawn and Dusk" combination of clematis 'Etoile Violette' and climbing rose 'New Dawn' is about to launch its fabulous display of bloom. I need to find a way to re-train the rose back up on the porch pillar where it once was before a storm blew it down, but the rose is so huge and heavy now, it's hard to control. I need a suit of armor to get in there to prune it!

 

Elderberry (Sambucus 'Black Lace') with Dutch iris and red honeysuckle.

Dutch iris with red honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler'

 

The Sambucus 'Black Lace' is just opening its bunches of pale pink, next to the purple Dutch iris. The red honeysuckle "Major Wheeler' has started to offer its red trumpets for the ruby-throated hummingbirds to feast on. At the end of April we saw the first of the migrating hummers visiting, and since then they've been coming by regularly.

 

Blue Salvia with Coreopsis and pink Dianthus.

 

On the west side of the house my late spring/early summer perennials are starting their display. I have other flowers here and there, everywhere.

 

Pink Dianthus in front.

Indoors  two Phalaenopsis orchids are blooming. My sister Silvia gave me the white one some fifteen years ago and it bloomed regularly for a number of years, then went into inexplicable decline a few years back; it had not bloomed in over five years. After a lot of coaxing, it has finally been persuaded to re-bloom. The pale pink one was given to me by my other sister, Bea, and has bloomed regularly for about eight years.

 

White Phalaenopsis orchid indoors.

Pink Phalaenopsis orchid.

 

Currently my porch is full of potted plants--Mother's Day gifts--waiting to be set out in my garden. A lot of vegetable and flower seedlings I've been growing indoors are being hardened off here

 

Plants of the porch.

Hanging baskets on the front porch.

I planted my hanging baskets last week, but it will take some time before they look like much. Here's hoping for good, lush coverage soon!

A few days ago I had a bit of a start--I saw a small snake crawl up through the wood slats onto the back deck and slither across the threshold of the sliding door. The color and markings looked suspiciously like a rattlesnake's but I didn't seen any rattle at the end of the tail. Just to be sure, I looked up photos of juvenile snakes, and was reassured to see that juvenile rat snakes do have these markings. So, I let this garden buddy slide away down the clematis vine the way he came. Rat snakes are a gardener's friend--they eat a lot of garden pests, particularly mice and voles, though they do go after birds' eggs too. This one was probably looking for some eggs in the birds' nests under our deck.

 

Juvenile rat snake on the back deck.

Begonias on the back deck.

My collection of houseplants is almost all outdoors now--the begonias and succulents always take a beating when they go outdoors, but recover quickly.

Green thumbs?

This last photo is for fun--I have very soft nails and my thumbnails have been splitting down to the quick lately (even wearing gloves), so I decided to put some nail polish on them to try to stop the unraveling. The only nail polish I had on hand is green--my husband Herb thought it was a great sight gag!