What's Blooming June 22nd

Daylilies are the stars of the show in my yard right now, although there are other things blooming that I've not included below. Some of them are pretty in person, but hard to photograph, like Lavendar, Hostas, and Catmint.

This has become one of my favorite daylilies.  I have no idea what it's called.  I rescued it from my property line.  It was in the shade, so I had never seen it bloom.  A couple of seasons later it showed its pretty face.  It's just gotten better with each season.  The blooms seem to be thicker and brighter each year. 

This is one of the few mophead hydrangeas (Nikko Blue, I think) that is blooming.  I think I have my hydrangeas in too much shade.  I'm lucky this one has flowers.

Speaking of hydrangeas, these Annabelles surrounding my porch are over-achievers.  The blooms are humongous, and the sheer weight pulls them to the ground.  I have to say that this year they were looking grand and upright up until the first rainstorm.  I think the key to Annabelles is cutting them back to about a foot or so in height.  Most of what you see in the photo is new growth from this year so they can take a strong "haircut".

Traditional roadside orange (ditch lilies).  The conservation department used to plant them along ditches to help with erosion.  I've got some at the bottom of my dry creek to help keep the base intact during strong rains.  They are nice bright spots of color to catch your eye, multiply quickly, and even bloom in partial shade.  Great performers.

This one is called Dancing Shiva.  It looks so much prettier in person.  The eye (center) is such a bright yellow it almost glows.

Atlanta Full House is another of my favorites.  I actually dug this one up from my old house and brought it here.  There was no foliage up at the time we moved (late February) but I knew where I had planted it and just dug up the dirt where it should have been.

I don't know where this one even came from.  It's really tall and pretty though.  It stands up about two feet from the foliage.  You can see the coneflowers are starting to bloom in the background.



Early Summer Progress Report

This is the time of year when gardeners assess the success or failure of individual plants, and even gardens as a whole.  Remember, some plants need a couple of seasons to get established before you can make the call, so don't include them in your evaluation. Also, don't judge a newly established garden if you're getting anxious about the amount of mulch you're seeing in between the plants.  Time will fix that.  Weather also greatly affects the performance of plants, which is why you need a few seasons before you make decisions.

I'll start with my successes:

• Daylilies are just starting to bloom and the foliage is the best I've ever seen here.  The stems are covered with buds.
• Coneflowers in the back garden have finally taken hold where I've been trying to propagate them for years.  They are starting to bloom and it should be a good show.
• Catmint is always a winner in my garden; no complaints about this plant.
• Chinese ground orchids (bletilla) are a new addition.  I ordered 6 bulbs in the spring and the flowers are so pretty.  I hope they multiply and continue to do well.
• Hostas are completely at home in my garden.  I've never met a hosta I couldn't grow here.
• Creeping Jenny has really brought together my dry creek.  It is so lush this year, and the wonderful chartreuse color is stunning against the dark red coral bells.
• Indian Pink just finished blooming.  The combination of a red trumpet with a bright yellow flower is so unusual.  I dug this one up when I was visiting my sister in southern MO a few years ago.
• My boxwoods are excellent performers.  I have so many boxwoods that I've lost count.  I consider them a garden staple.
• Korean Viburnum produced some really great flowers earlier this year and the foliage continues to look great.  I would plant more of these just for the foliage!
• PeeGee Hydrangea looks amazing. It's in the perfect location and I just love it. I want more of these.

These plants are on my watch list to get the boot, or be moved:

• I am shocked that my bearded irises didn't do anything.  I have tons of them, and out of all colors, only one peach and a handful of white ones bloomed.  The white are my favorite, so that was somewhat comforting.
• The superbells I was so excited about in the spring are starting to wane.  Maybe the heat got them.  It is my first season growing them so I will have to give them another chance.
• Royal Purple hydrangea is taking over my raised bed in the back.  In defense of hydrangeas, I think this plant was mis-marked and is really a species hydrangea.  It never blooms purple.  It was supposed to get 4'x4' but it's about 6'x6' and continuing to grow.
• Limelight hydrangea grows really well for everyone else I know.  I think it should be blooming now, but nada.  If it doesn't produce this year, it's going to a new home.  Any takers?
• It's the first spring for my Popcorn Viburnums, so I can't be too harsh.  They will need a couple more seasons of a watchful eye before I kick them out.  I LOVE this shrub in other locations. I couldn't wait to have one (now two) of my own. But a harsh summer last year and my inability to water daily nearly brought them to death.
• My poor Foster Holly has been struggling for a few seasons.  I finally moved it to a sunnier location this spring and I see new growth, although I might have jinxed it by planting it in the former home of the butterfly bush, which bit the dust over the winter.

My latest brainstorm is to create a new garden in a sunny area near the intersection of the driveway and the street.  This will be a home to all of those plants that crave/require more sunshine, like the 5 poor peonies whose stems were stretched out so far toward the light that they were horizontal.  More to come on the status of that project.

Grass versus Gardens

In a recent conversation with a fellow gardener, we were discussing our garden approach and what stage of gardening we are in, as we are both recent transplants to Defiance.  I was describing our lot as a little over three acres, with almost one of them as "mowable".  She quickly replied, "oh, get rid of that grass!".  This is a common response from garden enthusiasts.  I don't agree with the strategy; here's three reasons why.

1. My hubby likes to cut the grass.  How many hubbies secretly love to cut the grass?  Well, I know, mine does.  The 42" walk behind probably doesn't hurt the case at all (he's now mowing the neighbor's lawn).  And I'm pretty sure my dad enjoys it too.  I can't blame them.  While it's difficult work in the heat of summer, it's an instant results type of maintenance that makes your house look great.  I can't get rid of all of the grass.  This is my last resort to keeping hubby engaged in the garden scene.
2. The scent of freshly cut grass and the feeling beneath bare feet.  Okay, when is the last time you took your shoes off and strolled across the yard barefoot?  I can honestly say it's been a while.  I have an excuse though, we have a 90 lb chocolate lab that does his business out there.  But given the opportunity in a clean area, I would give it a go.  I thoroughly enjoyed running barefoot as a kid.  And let's not forget that wonderful, fresh, one-of-a-kind scent that comes from a fresh cut lawn.  You know the scent.  It is fantastic.
3. It creates a beautiful green canvas for your gardens.  This is probably the one reason you didn't think of.  But truly, it creates a place for your eye to rest in a garden scene.  If you're lucky, your grass is one massive plot of emerald green, which is so pleasing to the eye and soothing.  Grass creates a very clean edge for your gardens and I think makes them look more interesting.  I like grass paths in gardens better than stones or other materials.  The grass surrounding your garden is what gives your garden a shape.  Otherwise, you'd just have a prairie in your backyard!

Convinced or not?  I'd love to hear other opinions.

Stick Your Face in a Peony

The peonies in my yard are in full bloom and they are stunning, despite the toll the rain has taken on them.  I'm not sure how they manage to look so beautiful after being ravished by storms.  It's difficult to see them with their heads slumped over as they carry the extra weight of rain water.  I need to run out and cut a few while I'm thinking about it...

Okay, I'm back.  I have a short clear crystal vase filled to the brim with double pink Sarah Bernhardt peonies, my favorite kind.  I have six clusters of plants in this variety.  Five of them are grouped together in a back garden and clearly aren't getting enough sunshine, as exhibited by the lack of blooms and the arching stems that reach toward the direction of the sun.  Moving them to a sunnier location is on my list of to-dos for the late summer or fall.  They're so tall that traditional peony grates are not able to hold them upright.  I think I'll invest in some tomato barrel cages for them to grow through next year.

I can't enjoy them much because they're always in peak bloom during our rainy season.  Anytime we get a break in the weather, I make it a point to go out and stick my face right into the center of several.  The fragrance is sweet and light.  The petals of the double peonies are thick, soft and silky, and feel so wonderful against my face.  I do this despite my terrible allergies.  It's worth the risk of a flare-up.  I know it sounds crazy, but don't knock it until you've tried it.  Give it a whirl and report back.  I think I'll have converts.

Pretty Herbs

Herbs are great.  The foliage is savory to smell, they're neat and tidy pretty much all summer long, and most people don't realize this, but they bloom!

Chives are the showiest, with their purple spiky flower heads atop long green stems.  The blossoms are edible too.

Narrow leaved Sage puts on a show too.  It has gray-green, almost fuzzy leaves, with beautiful purple flowers on a long stem that resemble a penstemon or a snapdragon.  Hummingbirds love this flower.

Rosemary is considered an annual here.  I had one plant survive four winters, and become very large.  The last year it lived, it actually bloomed.  I think it's pretty rare for Rosemary bloom, at least in Missouri.  It had lots of pale pink flowers and I was very proud for having kept it going for so long.

Thyme makes a wonderful ground cover.  I use it in the front of my flowerbeds and anywhere it can creep between stepping stones.  Some varieties look like a low carpet of pink when they're in full bloom.  My favorite thyme right now is a variegated one, it's white and green leaves are very showy.  I have 5 of them right now, let's see how hardy they really are.  It's my experience that the more ornamental the herbs are, the less likely they are to survive our harsh winters.

Most herbs are fairly drought resistant, so if you forget to water them, they don't immediately shrivel up on you.  Put some in a potted container along with some of annuals.  Mix them in with your regular flower gardens.  Make sure to plant some along a path that you walk along often so their scent will fill the air when you brush by them.  And don't forget to pick plenty to season those summer meals.  Herbs flourish when they're used often.  All this talk about herbs makes me want to buy more!

A Family Affair

Gardening isn't just a hobby, it's a family tradition.

Grandma Lee always had a huge garden of vegetables, fruit, and flowers.  I used to love spending summers on her farm. Sometimes I'd wake up early so I could stroll barefoot in the dew covered grass and visit the raspberry and strawberry patches for breakfast. It was also fun gathering up a basket of fresh produce for dinner.

Grandpa Finocchio had a small herb garden and a clump of some of the most gorgeous double-petaled pink peonies.  Every time I see my peonies bloom in the Spring, I think of the ones they had.

My parents are into gardening -- big time. I joke with my dad that at the rate they're going, soon all he'll be able to mow are paths.  My mom has always had lots of gardens, even when we had a small yard.  She tried to get me interested in her work throughout my school years, but at some point I never had "time" for such things. Now I fully appreciate their beautiful yard, and I get to hear how great their yard is every time Eric and I visit.

Mom did a wonderful thing when my sister and I were young.  She gave each of us small plots to work.  She took us to a garden center and let us pick out seeds that we wanted to grow, and sometimes some small potted annuals. We always had something to show for the summer.

I've gotten Eric psyched about growing our own vegetables and herbs.  We've got 10 tomato plants and 1 eggplant in this year, along with several types of herbs.  He's a home brewer, so it only made sense that we try out growing Hops.  We have two types, one was a gift from the owners of my favorite nursery, and it's doing really well.  You might say, too well. This photo was taken about 2 weeks ago.  All of the hop vines are up to the top of the porch railing now, and one has just topped the rail.  Looks like we're going to have a bumper crop this year!

Tyler is showing a lot of interest in digging and watering.  I anxiously await the day when he's old enough to tend his own little plot of land and be part of our family tradition.

What's Blooming - May 17th



An early daylily; similar to Stella D'Oro, but with pointed petals.

 

Sage



One of my favorite bearded irises

 

Yellow Flag - a water loving iris



Old fashioned purple bearded iris

 

Sweet Rocket/Dame's Rocket

 

perennial version of Bachelor's Button






Peony



hybrid columbine growing in my retaining wall

Coral Bell



Oakleaf hydrangea "PeeGee" starting to bloom



Oakleaf hydrangea "PeeGee" -- another angle