Garden Bloggers Bloomday June 2023

Great Spangled Fritillary on orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).

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

The severe drought continues here in my corner of northwestern Virginia (Zone 6B)--we've had only a half inch of rain since the beginning of the month, on top of the driest April and May since I've lived here. I don't know if the drought is contributing to it, but we also seem to be having the worst tick season yet--I've been bitten twice in as many months while working in the confines of my garden! That last one was a lone star tick, a recent introduction brought by deer.

Speaking of which, the local deer have been incredibly voracious: I've hardly seen a flower from any of my daylilies. The buds get eaten before they have a chance to open! They've decimated my Coneflowers and phlox too. But there are still a few blooms from plants that don't appeal as much to these beasts. The orange butterfly weed is out in force, though even the 'Hello Yellow' variety got munched back.

The chiggers, that scourge of the rural south, are also out in force and viscious--I have to douse myself in insect repellent just to go out into my garden, and even then it's likely I'll get at least a few bites!

 

Asian lilies and red-hot pokers.

Red and orange Asian lilies.

 

The Asian lilies bloomed, but this year, their glory was brief. These photos were taken four days ago, this morning the flowers were all gone, devoured by the deer. That's so unusual--I was under the impression that Asian lilies were toxic to most animals, including deer, and these flowers had never been touched before. What could be going on? Have deer suddenly developed an immunity to the toxins, or have they become suicidal?

The Red-hot pokers are still holding on, only a few spikes have been chewed off. The Diervilla 'Kodiak Black' is blooming. So are the foxglove pentstemons and blue Centaurea in the Herb bed.

 

Diervilla 'Kodiak Black'

Centaurea 'Emperor William'

Foxglove penstemon.

 

'Incrediball' and my new Oak leaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' are blooming, and it looks as if 'Little Quick Fire' will bloom later on, but I doubt that my other two hydrangeas will present much bloom this year--the old wood died back to the ground during our dry spring.

 

Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' and 'Incrediball' in background.

Oakleaf hydrangea and tradescantia.

My front yard offers welcome shade at this time of the year, and a variety of blooms: Gaillardia "Arizona Sun', a pink bee balm in the shade, and two varieties of lavender. The daffodil foliage is dying back, but the annuals that were intended to hide the dying foliage are being munched by the deer!

 

My front yard on June Bloom Day--Gaillardias in front.

Pink Monardas under the cherry tree.

Lavender under yellow magnolia tree.

Lavender and yarrow by the driveway.

The bed by the front driveway sports an 'Admiration' barberry with lavender (Lavandula 'Grosso') and red yarrow.

 

Clary sage in bud.

Although not in bloom yet, the buds of the clary sage (Salvia sclarea) I grew from seed last year are developing. This is a biennial native to the Mediterranean region which I've never grown before--I can't wait to see what the flowers will look like! The leaves are somewhat fuzzy and tough, the plant is usually cultivated for its medicinal oils.

 

Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles'

This New Jersey tea plant 'Gloire de Versailles' is a hybrid between a native eastern variety and a California one. Supposed to be deer-resistant, I've had to put a tomato cage around mine to keep if from being devoured by deer, like many other plants in my garden--it's finally making some progress.

More red-hot pokers (Kniphofia) on the west side.

Hanging basket with Calibrachoas on the back deck.

I have a number of hanging baskets with plants on the porch and the back deck, but these haven't grown enough to make much of a show, except for these Calibrachoas. As the summer progresses, I hope they'll make a better showing.

Peonies Rule

Itoh Peony 'Bartzella'

Peonies rule in my garden at this time of the year, but only for a short time--aside from their beauty one great thing about peonies is that deer won't touch them! This year my Itoh peony 'Bartzella' is gorgeous, particularly with that touch of blue of the catmint flowers behind.

Peony 'Bartzella'

 

'Duchesse de Nemours' looks very sloppy this year--I couldn't find the grow-through wire hoop to support the flowers at the proper time, and the plant grew so fast it was too late to use it by the time I found it-- the large flowers are bending over on the ground. 

 

Peony 'Duchesse de Nemours'

'Duchesse de Nemours'

The no-name pink peony which I planted the first year here is also gorgeous, though this year's drought has made the flowers look somewhat blighted even before the buds opened.

 

Pink peony.

Pink peony in front yard.

On the other side of the house my 'dawn and dusk' combo is in bloom, but not as showy as in other years. I'd hoped to get the huge climbing rose 'New Dawn' back up on the porch pillar, but its thorns are so formidable, that for now I'll wait until late fall after the foliage has withered to try that.

 

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

Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

As usual, the clematis seems to precede the flush of rose bloom by about a week. My 'Petal Pushers' and other roses are lagging behind, except for the red 'Double Knock Out' which I pruned back a lot in early spring, and fertilized generously.

 

Flowers in the back bed.

 

A few surprises in the back bed--which I've been watering regularly--were these native irises, known as blue flag (Iris versicolor). I'd almost forgotten they were there since they hadn't bloomed in several years, but this year they produced some lovely blossoms.

 

Blue flag (Iris versicolor)

Pink foxglove

 

I forget where these foxgloves came from--maybe they were a gift--and they're doing well under the Kousa dogwood back here. The native foxglove Pentstemon (Pentstemon digitalis) are also blooming along with the electric blue Pentstemon and a pink Gaura I planted this year. Only one of the blazing meadow stars (Liatris ligulistylis) seemed to have survived the winter, so I bought another variety, Liatris 'Kobold' to keep it company and fill the bed.

 

Electric blue Pentstemon and pink Gaura with Liatris.

Same shot, longer view with foxglove pentstemon.

I planted my anise hyssop seedlings grown from seed a few days ago, so now the remodeled west bed is complete. I added some zinnia seedlings also grown from seed to cover the browning foliage of the daffodils, but it will take some rain to get these going so they can be seen. The Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' and the ninebark 'Amber Jubilee" look so lovely in the evening sunlight!

 

Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' and ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee' in the west bed.

 

Of course, the bed will change over the course of summer when the daffodil foliage dies down and hopefully the 'Benary's Giant' zinnias take over. 

 

My left over irises blooming.

I'd abandoned these irises under the deck stairs last fall, intending to replant them somewhere or give them away, but never got around to it--it was a surprise to see them blooming even with bare roots! I guess this calls for a new iris bed to be dug sometime in the fall. I need room for more plants, as usual; the question is where?