The Most Beautiful Time of the Year

Fringe tree and 'Blue Barlow' Columbines.

Pagoda dogwood on left, fringe tree and Full Moon maple on the right.

On the east side of the house, my ornamental trees are putting on a lovely show: The Pagoda dogwood (now called Swida alternifolia, a new name for this genus) on the left was in full flower a week ago, along with the Virginia Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). The 'Blue Barlow' Columbines under the trees present a strong contrast to the color of the full moon maple near by.

Such beauty is short-lived, and now the dogwood is setting seed while the Fringe tree finishes its cycle of bloom. But, the progression of flowers continues with lots of other plants.

Yellow iris in front bed.

Yellow iris and blue Camassia on the left.

Front bed by the driveway.

 

The bearded irises started opening around the first of the month, and continue to delight. One of the things I love the most about irises is that deer won't touch them, and they do well in almost any kind of soil. The bi-color 'Blatant' is one of the earliest to bloom, and it's still going strong, joined by the imposing 'Victoria Falls' in the back bed.

The bed in front of the house hasn't offered much of a display this year--I dug up and separated the rhizomes earlier this spring--but the bed by the driveway made up for it with plenty of yellow blooms, and another patch of yellow iris with blue Camassia 'Quamash' on the west side is very pretty.

Bearded iris 'Victoria Falls' on the left and 'Blatant' on the right.

A bicolor iris, unnamed variety.

Iris 'Wine Festival'

 

We've had some good rainstorms this spring, a much-needed respite from last year's drought, so other shrubs and trees are coming into bloom now. The Salvia 'May Night' with the yellow flowers by the side of the house looks so nice.

 

Salvia 'May Night' with yellow Coreopsis on the west side of the house.

Both of my Ninebark trees are starting to bloom too: 'Amber Jubilee' on the west side, and 'Coppertina' in the Badlands.

Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee'

NInebark 'Coppertina' in the Badlands bed.

Close-up of 'Coppertina'

The Verbascum 'Southern Charm' which my sister Silvia gave last year is also blooming well under the Seven Son Flower tree in back. I can't wait to see what the coneflowers in the bed will do this summer--last year the deer ate almost every flower here, let's hope this year they'll find something else to snack on.

 

Verbascum 'Southern Charm'.

Peony 'Coral Charm'

 

I transplanted the 'Coral Charm' peony that had been waning for the past couple of years in the front bed to the Herb bed last year. With the help of lots of fertilizer it seems to have recovered enough vitality to produce one flower this year. Not a great show, but perhaps the beginning of its recovery?

First flower of Peony 'Bartzella'

My other peonies are just starting to open up, I hope they'll be the stars for this month's Bloom Day coming up next week. I hope my flowers last long enough to have plenty to show then!

The Merry Month Of May

The garden east of the house.

A closer look.

 

The merry month of May launched with some much-needed rain in the last two days of April, but the following cloudy, drizzly days have brought very little additional rain thus far. Still, the rain was enough to help the emerging foliage--my Japanese maples in particular appreciated it.

The flower beds to the east of the house are really starting to shape up into a lovely display with the pink-tinged foliage of the full moon maple 'Shirawasanum' on the right, the deep red of 'Bloodgood' beyond, the pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) in bud, the dwarf  Virginia fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicum) and Rhododendron  'Southgate Brandi' in the background. The dark purple flowers of the columbines 'Blue Barlow' growing underneath are starting to open.

 

Virginia fringe tree and Rhododendron in flower.

 

Earlier in the spring I re-edged all of the flower beds to the east of the house, and re-planted the Hakonechloa grass (Hakonechloa macra) closer to the front of the bed, in hopes that it will spread and make a better show.

 

Hakonechloa grass with hydrangeas.

Moving on to the back yard, the iris bed I dug up last fall is showing some blooms, though it will take a couple of years for the rhizomes to re-grow and bloom as profusely as before. These are the most perfumed of the irises that I grow.

Old-fashioned iris from my mom's garden.

My iris 'Blatant' had not bloomed for a couple years after being attacked by a beastie who ate some of the rhizomes, but it's blooming again this year. My other irises in the front garden are also blooming, just starting their seasonal display. I bought two new varieties last year, but thus far, neither is showing any buds--perhaps they are later blooming varieties, or just haven't grown long enough, who knows?

 

Iris 'Blatant'

Irises along the front walk.

White iris.

 The clematis that my sister Bea gave me is blooming beautifully. The two lilacs near the clematis haven't bloomed very much this year--too dry or too early for them, perhaps?

Clematis

The pale lilac Dutch iris have opened up, as has the red honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler.' Our first humming bird sighting took place on April 25--the earliest date since we've been here--feeding on the honeysuckle! The males are the first to begin their migration north in the spring, and it was surprising to see two or three males buzzing the flowers together--normally they are solitary birds. These little hummers were probably heading to Canada and parts far, far, north; they travel amazing distances alone rather than in flocks, unlike most other birds.

Dutch iris.

 

A new acquisition, a red carnation, went into the expanded bed on the west--the plant looks a little beat up at the moment, hopefully it will settle in soon. I haven't finished planting this bed yet, I plan to put in the anise hyssop I'm growing from seed there along with some bee balm.

 

Red carnation.

Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

After digging up the Spanish bluebells under the Zelkova tree last fall, separating and re-planting them, I 'd hoped for a better display, but the deer attacked the foliage and buds earlier in the spring, so I didn't get as much bloom as hoped for. Next year I must cover this bed with some sort of netting--the Muscari on the perimeter was also chomped down--such a shame!

 

New natural garden decoration.

Above is a new garden decoration--I found this weird-looking twisted juniper wood stump in the back woods a couple of years ago and wanted it for my garden, but wasn't able to detach it from the ground then. Last winter during one of my forays, I tried prying it again and it came out easily. Perfect to decorate the Herb bed! I planted some sedum and moss in it, and still have one pocket left for a succulent, maybe some hens-and-chicks or Crassulas?

 

Red Columbines

One columbine I planted in the back bed survived and is flourishing--I think it may be a dwarf variant of our native columbine (Aquilegia canadensis). But I also planted seeds of the native variety here a few years ago, and this could be one of them, it's hard to tell. I have another set of seeds of the native variety sprouting this year. Hummingbirds love this plant.

Yesterday my husband asked me how many trees I'd planted since we bought this property, and after counting, I was surprised to realize that we've planted thirty-six trees in our less than half-acre plot! That count doesn't include the shrubs like Viburnums, beautyberries, hollies and hydrangeas, or the cherry tree and arborvitae that were already here when we bought the house. Some of my trees will stay small in scale, but some will get much larger eventually--I'll post something about my trees soon: quite a few are exotic, and some of my natives are unusual, you don't see them planted in gardens very often.

More flowers to come on May 15's "Bloom Day," the peonies and roses are starting to bud.

Early May Garden

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi'

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi'

This year for the first time I have flowers on a Rhododendron I planted several years ago. Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi' had formed buds the previous spring, but the deer ate them before they had a chance to open, so this past winter I put up a barrier to keep them away, and finally get to enjoy the gorgeous pink flowers. 

On the east side of the house, while the delicate bells of the Carolina Silverbell tree have dropped to the ground and begin to set their curious four-sided pods, the Virginia Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) brings forth its frothy flowers and leaves, highlighted by the patch of dark purple columbines. It's amazing how quickly everything changes in a matter of days at this time of the year. 

 

East side beds

Virginia Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) with purple Columbines

 

Other surprises awaited me here--the variegated Jacob's ladder (Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou') presented its first delicate blue blossoms. The leaves of this cultivar as so gorgeous the plant really doesn't need any flowers to be more decorative, but together they are lovely.

Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou' with Ajuga 'Black Scallop'

Another Rhododendron which had not been prospering I transplanted to a shady spot of the front yard last summer, where it would be more sheltered from the wind. As you can see, it is definitely happier in its new location and covered with lovely white blossoms.

Rhododendron 'Unique'

Rhododendron ' Unique'

 

The Azalea 'General Semmes' which I dug up and replanted into a shallow pot to place under the shade of the cherry tree in front is also looking better. These acid-loving favorites don't do well in our alkaline soils, so I've been experimenting with ways to provide them with more favorable conditions, from pouring lots of sulphur to acidify the soil around them, to transplanting into pots with more suitable soil. The latter solution may be my best bet eventually, but I enjoy these experiments and learning through trial and error.

 

Azalea 'General Semmes'

The irises exploded into color around the first of the month. My front walk, despite becoming more shaded as the trees grow, is very colorful at the moment.

 

Irises by the front walk.

The front bed on the west side of the garage is also brimming with flowers: bearded and Dutch irises. Soon the roses will begin to make their show.

Dutch iris

Yellow and Dutch irises on the west

As the early spring daffodils and narcissus fade, other flowers begin to emerge. The scent of the lilacs in back yard is permeating the whole area. The purple 'Bloomerang' lilac has reached it final size, I hope. The other lilac 'Primrose,' which was supposed to have pale yellow flowers seems to not be the variety I purchased, but something else with white flowers. The flowers are not very plentiful this year--several stems died off over the winter, but I hope it will recover soon.

The back yard on May 1st.

Back yard.

Circle of Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

The circle of Spanish Bluebells under the Zelkova tree is already past its peak--the photo above was taken about a week ago. The Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' has leafed out and the Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee' in front of it seems to have survived the depredations of the deer.  The new conifer I planted last fall, the tiny Korean fir on the left (Abies koreana 'Horstmans Silberlocke'), is getting ready to bring forth some new shoots. This should develop into a silvery beauty eventually reaching some ten to fifteen feet high.

The yard from the west side of the house.

The Clematis montana odorata climbing on the trellis mounted on the brick wall of the house is also blooming, along with some of the perennials in the border below.

Clematis montana odorata

Thalictrum aquilegiflorum 'Nimbus White'

In one of the back beds the meadow rue (Thalictrum aquilegiflorum 'Nimbus White') that bloomed last year for the first time, is fuller this year, with more flower spikes. It's such a delicate-looking plant! I've planted some seeds of the more ordinary meadow rue also but it's hard to tell at this point if they have sprouted, among so many other weeds hatching. I added a Royal fern (Osmunda regalis) behind it, the tiny fronds are barely visible thus far, but will reach nobler proportions in a few years.

Soon the roses and peonies will be starting. I can hardly wait to see some of the new varieties I added in the last couple of years that have yet to offer their first blooms, as well as what other shrubs and the annuals I planted from seed this spring will bring to the summer garden.