June 2024 Bloom Day

Texas Yucca flowering spike (Hesperaloe parviflora)

 

  Today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but tomorrow, June the 16th, is the actual Bloomsday, celebrated in Ireland and many other places by lovers of James Joyce's novel "Ulysses." The events in this novel take place all on one day, June 16th, 1904, as narrated by its protagonist, Leopold Bloom. Upon the 50th anniversary of the publication of "Ulysses" a group of well-known authors decided to make a pilgrimage to all of the sites in Dublin mentioned in Joyce's book and re-enact its scenes, calling it "Bloom's Day". Since then, every year the celebration has become more elaborate--Dublin's 2024 Bloomsday is scheduled to last for an entire week!

  With that little bit of esoteric literary history out of the way, it's back to the garden for us today, thanks to Carol Michel's May Dreams garden blog. Disclosure: I'm scheduled to be at a family reunion this afternoon, thus some of my photos were taken a day or two before--close enough for rock n' roll.

 

Yuccas in bloom, with my new veggie garden enclosure in back.

Yucca flowers with Red-hot pokers beyond.

  We'll start with the Yuccas--this year my Texas Yucca (not actually a Yucca) put forth its first flowering spike, and I was thrilled! Then my 'Color Guard' Yucca, which is reverting to an ordinary leaf-color Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)  put forth two flowering spikes. I'd trimmed the side shoots which carry the flowers for the past two years, in an attempt to prevent their reversion, resulting in no flowers--but I'd rather have the flowers than the yellow-striped foliage, so last fall I left the side shoots alone.

  Yucca flowers are so lovely and they always bring to mind New Mexico: my first home in the U.S., and the site of my first artist residency. I painted my first Yucca flowers as a young teen for a school mural, and sold a watercolor of another Yucca in Santa Fe as artist in residence at the Mill Atelier. I may yet paint another this summer, if I have the time.

 

Clary sage flower buds with Centaurea 'Emperor William' in back.

 

  My Clary sage (Salvia sclarea), a biennial, bloomed last year, but there are more flowers this year--must be from some that re-seeded and overwintered--it's such a statuesque plant! 

  The Butterfly weed is in full bloom, and I finally have some 'Hello Yellow' blooms, though not many yet. The deer keep eating the yellow ones back though they don't touch the orange variety, go figure.

 

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Prairie sagebrush (Artemisia frigida) with Butterfly weed behind.

 

  The deer have eaten all of my Asian lilies, and most of my daylilies, despite my efforts to keep them sprayed with repellent. They left only a few for me to enjoy like this delicate peach colored daylily.

Peach dalylily.

  I'm hoping to save a few of my Cone flowers this summer, last year the deer ate every last one of them! The goldfinches were most upset, they love the seeds.

Cone flowers (Echinacea purpurea) and garden Phlox.

  The west back bed is not very colorful right now--it's all white flowers--but the Anise Hyssop here should start to bloom soon, along with a few blooms of the Monarda 'Jacob Kline.'

Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum) and white Salvia

Red-hot pokers (Knifophia uvaria) and Catmint on west side of house

 

  The hydrangeas growing on the east side of the house are particularly susceptible to the depredations of the deer, so this year I've protected them with physical barriers. Its doesn't make for a very scenic garden look, but it's better than seeing the plants decimated.

 

Oak-leaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' and 'Incrediball' beyond.

 

  Many flowers of the 'New Dawn' climbing rose are still hanging on; it's the only rose that has bloomed for me this year. All the other roses have been eaten by deer or had the foliage stripped by the saw-fly larvae.

Climbing rose 'New Dawn'

  The lavender is in full bloom in various parts of the garden, and the bees love it! I think my Buttonbush is going to flower this year finally--that is, if the deer don't eat the buds.

 

Lavender 'Hidcote' and Buttonbush 'Sugar Shack'

Lavender 'Munstead' and pink Monarda in front garden.

Lavender and pink Monarda in front yard.

   The front walk is now lined with my potted plants--the tropicals winter inside the house, and others I grow as annuals. The sedums growing beside the walk are all blooming.

Potted plants along the front walk.

  

  My porch baskets are starting to fill out a bit. I hope to have more success with these side-planters than in past years. Its seems that every year, at least a few side plants dry out and fail, and the baskets end up looking beat-up and skimpy. I'd like to see good coverage of the coconut fiber liners and fullness.

 

Hanging baskets on porch.

 

   Meanwhile, a few goodies in my indoor garden, in the orchid department. The beautiful white Phalaenopsis is blooming again, and a miniature Phal too. Another orchid in the master bath is also blooming.

White Phalaenopsis with miniature Phalaenopsis in bloom.

Mystery orchid in master bath.

       My next posting will be about my artistic pursuits and exciting events related to art. For today, Happy June Bloom Day to all!

June's Bounty of Flowers

 

Yucca 'Color Guard' in flower.

After several years of not flowering, this spring my "Color Guard' Yucca finally put out two flowering spikes. My plant seemed to be reverting to the original blue-green foliage of the ordinary Yucca filamentosa, so I cut back those shoots for several years, but of course since it's the new side shoots that produce the blossoms, I pruned away any chance of flowers.

 Last fall I decided I'd rather have the flowers than the pretty foliage, and let the side shoots grow out. Is it just my impression that these flowers droop a bit more than those of the ordinary Yucca filamentosa?

 

Yucca with red-hot pokers and lavender.

This part of the long island bed is very colorful at the moment. with red-hot pokers and a pink, or is it white lavender? I've forgotten. I have another red-hot poker variety with all-orange flowers on the west side of the house, but I think this one is prettier.

 

Red-hot pokers (Knifophia uvaria)

Red-hot pokers on the west side of the house.

The butterfly weed is is full bloom at the moment--the 'Hello Yellow' variety is finally offering some blooms but doesn't seem to be as floriferous as the ordinary wild species. The deer keep eating the  yellow flowers back, so perhaps it's not the plant's fault. Why one color would be preferred to the other in taste is a mystery to me.

Herb's bed with lavender and butterfly weed beyond.

Herb's bed with lavender, grasses and Hesperaloe flowers at rear.

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Butterfly weed and lavender in Little Indians bed.

The deer ate most of my Asian lilies despite my efforts to keep them sprayed with repellent, but I did manage to save these few to enjoy briefly. The beasts came by and ate them last night; glad I took the photos just before.

 

Pink and orange Asian lilies.

Asian lilies

 

My hydrangea 'Incrediball' is lovely right now, but I don't know if my other two hydrangeas (H. arborecens and H. paniculata) will bloom this year--I don't see any buds thus far. The oak-leaf hydrangea is making progress, let's hope the deer don't eat it back this year. The Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) also gets eaten back, but not as badly.

Hydrangea 'Incrediball'

Oak-leaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' and Spiderwort

Peeking through 'Incrediball' to the back yard.

Lavender in the front garden

 

With so many photos of flowers today, I wonder what, if anything new, I'll have to show for June's Bloom Day on the 15th?

Memorial Day in My Garden

Foxglove Penstemon in Herb's bed.

 

I don't have any red-white-and-blue-display of flowers to commemorate Memorial Day, not even a flagpole to hang a flag on, but the cycle of flowers in my garden continues. The Foxglove Penstemons are making  lovely display in Herb's bed at the moment. The peonies have just about finished blooming, but many others plants are getting ready for their annual blooms.

 

Texas Yucca flower spike (Hesperaloe parviflora)

 

The Texas Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) put out its first flowering spike this year, and the individual flowers are starting to open. Their coral color is very pretty--they're supposed to provide nectar for hummingbirds, but I've only seen one hummer around here this year.

 

Close-up of the Texas Yucca flowers

 

My 'Color Guard' Yucca has put forth two flowering spikes, after not producing a single one in several years, but it will be a couple of weeks before those flowers develop. The plant seems to be losing its yellow markings and reverting to the original Yucca filamentosa foliage. I've seen this in other plants whose cultivars sport differently colored foliage, and have no idea what causes it, but apparently once the reversion starts to happen, the shoots are stronger and will eventually dominate--the only solution is to prune back the reversions. I did that and therfore the lack of flowers in the past few years, but I'd rather have the flowers than the yellow-edged foliage.

 

Yucca 'Color Guard' flowering spikes.

Usually, lots of roses and the 'Dawn and Dusk' climbing rose and clematis combo are at their peak at this time, but this year the saw-fly larvae decimated the leaves and my roses look awful! The flowers haven't been affected as much, but still, the plants don't look very attractive.

 

Red Double Knockout rose in front yard.

The Dawn and Dusk combo on the side of the porch is a bit skimpy this year too, after a severe pruning in early spring. I need to train the rose back up the railing and post, to get the clematis to climb again--it's too close to the ground to make much of a show this year.

 

'New Dawn' rose and Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

Evergreens and Viburnum 'Brandywine' on the east side of the house.

The evergreens on the east side of the house are looking good, but the Rhododendron 'Anna Rose Whitney' behind the Viburnum probably needs to be transplanted to a better location. It's growing nicely, but the flower buds get blighted every year from lack of moisture. I've yet to see even one bunch of flowers on it open--the soil drains too well on this steep bank.

The hydrangeas are getting ready to bloom too--with 'Incrediball' leading. This spring's showers have helped them recover. Hopefully, this year the deer won't eat all the flower buds before they develop.

Hydrangea 'Incrediball' on east side.

My dark-leaved Elderberry (Sambucus 'Black Lace') is blooming, but some of the branches are showing wilting, despite all the moisture they've been getting. It's possible a wilt fungus is attacking it, but if so there's little I can do at this point; it will survive or die. 

Sambucus 'Black Lace'

Another plant in bloom is the Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate,' lovely with its deep purple blooms and yellow-green leaves!

 

Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate'

Stay tuned for more flowers later on!

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.