June's Jazzy Colors

Red Asian lilies

This has been the wettest month to date since we've lived in this area--my rain gauge has measured over 12 inches of rain so far, and the month is not quite over yet. My garden is usually a riot of colors at this time of the year, but this year, as you can see, the rains are making it spectacular! The Asian lilies started their display about two weeks ago, with red leading the way. Bright orange and yellow-orange follow as the red flowers begin to fade, and finally the yellow and pink varieties come into bloom.

Red and orange lilies

Orange and Yellow lilies

Earlier in the month the late-blooming native Azalea bakerii put on a show with orange-red blossoms, while the Azalea 'Weston's Innocence' (an Azalea viscosum hybrid) gives the eye a rest with its white scented blooms.

Azalea Bakerii

Azalea 'Weston's Innocence'

The Little Indians border continues to develop into a fanciful layer of colors. The pale gold of the Stella d'Oro daylilies complements the airy blue spikes of the Catmint. The wavy cream wands of the Itea virginiana 'Little Henry' bushes are beyond, with bright orange Butterfly Weed (Asclepias) that are just starting to bloom. I've seen a number of butterflies visiting these, including some lovely Spangled Fritillaries. Six years ago when we moved here the arbor vitae were these sad, stunted, deer-chewed evergreens, but with lots of fertilizer and TLC they have grown to more than seven feet tall!

The Little Indians in June

This pink Bee Balm (Monarda) that I had planted five years ago was not prospering in the 'Badlands' as Herb calls the weedy rear flowerbed--it had never bloomed there. Last fall I dug it up and transplanted it to the east bed where the soil retains more moisture, and lo and behold, this year it's blooming profusely! The Mexican Feathergrass (Nassella tenuissima) planted a couple of years ago seems to be spreading, with new clumps cropping up here and there--this is one of the loveliest ornamental grasses, specially striking when you see its delicate blades waving in a breeze.

The east bed in June

Pink Bee Balm (Monarda)

The yellow Daylilies under the red maple tree are lush. The new bed beyond was planted earlier this spring with a group of discontinued Daylilies on sale from the Gilbert H. Wild & Son catalog. A few flowers of these new varieties have opened, but it will probably take at least another year, maybe two, before they can match the splendor of the older bed.

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) under red maple tree.

West side garden

The native Wafer Ash tree (Ptelea trifoliata) I planted last fall died back to the ground and took such a long time to re-sprout I thought it was a goner, but it's finally making some progress with all this rain. It should eventually grow into a small tree; I wonder how long that will take?

Wafer Ash tree (Ptelea trifoliata)

The new raised bed for veggies is also coming along, with the sugar snap peas almost ready to harvest. The artichokes are growing so slowly, I don't know that they will yield much in the way of edibles, but it's fun to try something new anyway.

New raised bed for veggies

Lavender in the front yard

Front yard on a rainy evening

The lavender in the front is so lush--the bees love it! The front yard is finally shaping up as I envisioned, a Persian carpet with an intricate interweaving of colors and textures.

Brief Glory

Dawn and Dusk

Rose 'New Dawn' and Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

This year my climbing rose and Clematis growing on the porch was, as you can see, glorious! Sadly, also brief--a series of storms and constant rain shortened its beauty to about one week. By Sunday evening when the rain stopped my backyard gauge had recorded six inches!

The Red Double Knockout rose seems to be indestructible and lovely as ever, but my other roses haven't presented a display as gorgeous as the previous year. The very dry fall and winter probably did the damage.

Double pink Peony

Peonies and roses

 The double pink Peony came through beautifully, and so did the red "Simplicity' rose. The yellow Alliums (Allium moly) in front are multiplying well, but only a few blooms have appeared on the 'Petal Pusher' roses. You can't win them all. Let's see what the rains bring forth in a few days.

Iris and the Spring Garden

Bicolor iris in colored pencil and watercolor, stage two.

How time flies when it's spring! My garden has grown so much since my last posting, that the particular bearded iris I was in the process of painting from photos came into bloom once again, and is now fading. And I'm only halfway into the painting... Here is a shot of it in my garden this year.

Bicolor iris in my garden

It's always great to be able to work from a live subject--you see so much more detail than in a photo, even a good one. The subtle changes in color of the falls and the striation near the beard, the veining... all so beautiful! Here's a recent progress shot of my painting.

Bicolor iris painting, stage three.

So much has already bloomed and leafed out, where to begin? Here are some photos of the seasonal progression, arranged more or less in sequence, to show how the plantings are developing.

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia caroliniana)

Close-up of the Silverbell flowers

It was exciting to see the small Carolina Silverbell (Halesia caroliniana) sapling I planted four years ago bloom for the first time in early May. Such a delightful sight--I hope to illustrate this beautiful native plant soon. It's only about four feet high right now, but should eventually reach 15 to 20 feet in height.

Front garden with iris and White Dogwood

With every passing year there is more in my garden to admire, it's hard to decide what to feature. What follows is just a sampling.

Pink Dogwood

West garden seen from the deck

The beds under and around the trees on west side of the garden continue to expand. Last fall I connected the small Witchazel and pink Dogwood trees to form a new triangular bed and have planted it with daylilies (just emerging). The Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) and the Spanish Hyacinths (Hyacinthoides) at the base of the Zelkova made a nice showing this year. You can see a few pink and white bells that I added the previous year, gaining ground.

Blue, pink and white Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

Front bed by the garage

The creeping Phlox in the bed by the garage is spreading, and the purple heads of the Globemaster Alliums by the roses make for some nice color combinations. The 'Coral Charm' Peony produced more blooms this year than last, but as we got hit with a few 90-degree days, they were so short-lived, I hardly had a chance to photograph them.

'Coral Charm' Peony

During the past week the weather changed dramatically--very stormy, with close to six inches of rain--I've never seen my garden as soggy as this, the soil is positively boggy in places. Hopefully, the welcomed rains will bring on a great burst of bloom shortly. Here's what other parts of the garden look like at the moment.

Irises in the Little Indians bed.

Japanese maples in the east garden.

Coreopsis with Blue Salvia and Catmint on the west side.

The backyard island beds continue to expand. The addition of a birdbath motivated me to add some new perennials, and some annuals will be interspersed soon. The red Honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' is climbing up the trellis and its blooms should attract some hummingbirds.

Backyard island bed.

Backyard from the deck.

Clematis and Sweet William in island bed.

The strange hangings on the Kousa Dogwood 'Rosy Teacups' beyond, are garden pots hung to weigh down its branches--a strange trick to re-shape the tree, I admit, but the branches need to be opened up for a better display. I'll end with this shot of the salad bowl growing on the deck.

Spring has Sprung

Bicolor Iris (work in progress).

I've been working on this painting of a lovely bicolor iris, from my garden photos taken last year. As you can see, I'm using colored pencils under the watercolor to outline some of the veins and delicate features on the falls and standards. But alas, it's hard to stay on task when the weather has finally taken a turn.

Last Friday the buds of my yellow magnolia were starting to open, just as overnight frost was imminent. The flowers, which I've yet to see fully opened and unmarred, were looking so good... I bought a special cloth that is supposed to protect them and draped the tree with it.

Yellow magnolia hybrid 'Butterflies'

Unfortunately, the temperature must have been quite extreme, and when I took off the cover a couple of days later, all the buds that were partly open were burned. Only a few buds that till had their outer covering survived, and are starting to unfold now. We then went from overnight frosts last weekend to eighty-degree weather in a matter of days!

King Alfred daffodils in the back yard

Thalia and Tazzeta narcisus in the front

Front yard by the walk.

 Other flowers are not as susceptible, thank heaven. My daffodils, both the yellow' King Alfred' and the white 'Mount Hood' are looking better each year, along with the perfumed Thalia narcissus. The grape hyacinths too are emerging. It's been very dry, less than an inch of rain in the past few weeks. Storms tonight are supposed to bring us one to two inches, and I really hope these will materialize.

Blue and white Grape Hyacinths.

The warm weather over the weekend was irresistible so I spent yesterday afternoon and part of today working on my garden--moved the Hydrangeas and a Holly-leaved Osmanthus that I'd planted too close to a holly out farther. It was hard digging up the well-established plants, and I had to cut a few large roots that went very deep, I hope the plants will survive.

Last weekend David helped me assemble my cedar-board raised bed, and I put in the liner and have it about 2/3 filled with good garden soil, almost ready to plant. This year I decided to try growing artichokes, so I started some from seed indoors, hoping for a decent crop. I'm also growing some basil and leaf lettuce from seed, and later on Sugar snap peas and perhaps Japanese eggplant will go in the raised bed.

The Kwanzan cherry in the front should be in full bloom by the middle of the coming week, and I can hardly wait to see all the other flowers that are hopefully on the way as a result of the previous years' labors.

Spring Paintings

Rhododendrons in the Mist, pastel, 9" x 12."

Here's a couple of new pastel paintings for this spring's Art at the Mill show. The one above was done from photos of last spring's week-long botanical excursion to SW Virginia with the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS). This particular day when we visited Cumberland Gap was the only rainy day we had. It had been pouring in the morning, but the rain had started to let up a bit when we drove up this hilltop. The spectacular view of the valley below was completely veiled in mist, it was very cold and wet, but the Rhododendrum minus on the hillsides covered with soft pink blossoms looked lovely in the moody light.

The View from Sky Meadows, pastel, 9" x 12."

This other pastel was done from a photo taken a number of years ago on an overcast day. The lush grasses on the rolling hillsides hadn't been mowed yet, and the sprinkling of white dogwood flowers in the thickets of trees were echoed by the dots of the houses in the small town of Paris beyond. It's a classic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains that surround us here in Virginia.

Crocus thommasinianus, last week of February

Early daffodil 'February Gold' in first week of March

White hyacinths, first week of March

The first signs of spring are popping up in my garden--crocuses, early daffodils and white hyacinths are emerging. Unfortunately, this particular hyacinth clump was dug up and eaten (likely by ground hog) just a few days after I took this photo. I've sprinkled powdered hot pepper on the flowers as a deterrent to future depredations--let see if it works. The deer don't seem to find the C. thommasinianus too palatable, thank heaven, and daffodils are known to be toxic to them, so those are safe, but it's a constant battle to keep all these pests from eating everything in my garden. They're particularly ravenous at this time of the year.

Sky Meadows in Spring

Sky Meadows in Spring, pastel on Wallis paper, 9"h x 12"w.

 

Photo of Sky Meadows Sate Park

I've been working on a couple of small pastel landscapes for the Art at the Mill 2018 Spring show. This one is based on a photo I took a number of years back when I visited one of our nearby state parks, Sky Meadows. The park is located in a beautiful area of rolling hills at the eastern base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The day was overcast, and the grass had not been mowed yet... the creamy spikes of the blooming grasses echoed the sprinkling of white of the dogwood blossoms peeking out of a thicket in a delightful symphony of greens and cream.

Sometimes a simple photo can be a great opportunity to explore composition, and for this painting I brought the edge of the grassy hill closer to the viewer to push the line of the trees forward, leaving the bluish mountain range to be seen through the emerging leaves of the trees. For the sake of comparison, below it is the photo the painting was based on.