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| Iris on front walk |
I love this time of the year when the irises bloom--there isn't a more regal flower than the much hybridized bearded or German iris! This year my irises started blooming much earlier than usual, the buds were up in the last weeks of April, and the flowers began to open the first days of May.
The colorful clump of bearded irises by the front walk was planted right after we moved here, and last spring I expanded the bed, which was becoming overcrowded. Odd how this year I seem to have only one flowering spike of the white variety, but since the yellow and the purple bi-color bloom earlier than the other varieties, a few more white flowers may yet emerge. Plants are notoriously capricious that way: producing record blooms one year, then sparsely or not at all on other years.
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| White bearded iris. |
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| The bed by the driveway |
On the other side of the driveway there are more yellow and pink irises, and some Dutch iris. I transplanted the Dutch iris a few years ago after noticing that they weren't flowering much--the more vigorous lavender was crowding them out--and they've taken a couple of years to settle in their new locations before starting to bloom again.
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| Pale lavender Dutch iris. |
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| Dutch iris in the back bed. |
The old-fashioned irises from my mother's garden in Falls Church continue to grow more lush in the "Little Indians" bed in back. My sister Bea, who had grown these in her Maryland garden, gave me a few rhizomes about six years ago when I was starting to expand the bed that runs along the property line with my neighbor. Although smaller and not as showy as the current spectacular hybrids, this variety has a wonderful scent that permeates this corner of my garden.
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| Irises in the Little Indians bed. |
The long island bed in the back yard includes a few more irises. The dwarf iris 'Bluebeard' bloomed very early, around mid-April, and is now done for the year. One of the other two varieties, 'Blatant', was attacked by a large rodent that tunneled underground and ate some of the rhizomes, and has not bloomed this spring--a real shame, but since it's a re-blooming type, I'm hoping it will recover enough to bloom in the fall. The other variety, the stunningly tall 'Victoria Falls' is particularly lovely this year.
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| Iris 'Victoria Falls' |
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| The backyard island bed. |
The red honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' is laden with blossoms--we sighted the first hummingbird on May 1st, and the hummers have been visiting regularly since then. The double-flowering quince has been displaying blooms since early April and it's still going--the coral color complements 'Major Wheeler' beautifully.
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| Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) in bloom. |
Newer plants in my garden are the Pagoda dogwood blooming above, and a hybrid Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum aquilegifolium 'White Nimbus') planted two years ago which bloomed for the first time this year. The hybrid bugle ground cover (Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop') planted last fall is just starting to spread among the variegated Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou') planted last year, but both are growing slowly--it'll take a few more years before this bed begins to fill out.
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| Meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegifolium 'Nimbus White') |
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| Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop' with variegated Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou') |
I've grown flowering onions (Alliums) for some years now, the large-flowered purple 'Globemaster' and the yellow Allium moly. Last fall I planted another dozen Alliums 'Persian Blue' (Allium caeruleum) in one of my new beds, and the flowers are lovely, but not the deep blue color I'd hoped for. Perhaps it's the PH of the soil, but mine are a deep magenta; still, it composes beautifully with the blue-green foliage of the daffodils under the Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost'.
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| Allium 'Globemaster' |
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| Allium moly |
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| Allium caeruleum. |
Next up will be the roses and other late spring bloomers, can't wait to see what they'll be like this year!
