Foliage Follow-up May 2013

Hi, this is my first Foliage Follow-Up, so here is a link to hostess Pam at Digging.  Thanks for hosting!

Cutleaf weeping Japanese Maple-

Saxifrage 'London Pride' and Oxalis adenophylla-

Cotinus coggygria-

Sweet Woodruff and Pink Panda Strawberries-

Geranium 'Ann Folkard'

I love those mounding Geraniums, great for shading out the weeds.

-Hannah

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day May 2013

Welcome to my May flower display, to see what's blooming in other gardens around the world join gracious hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens.   I'll start out with the loaded Azaleas-

The most spectacular blooms at present in my garden are the Rhododendrons.   I have been living here for 19+ years and the Rhodies are original so I don't know their age or varieties.   I have to say they are lovely for such a short time then there is a lot of dead-heading to do afterward, but I can't even reach a lot of them and the plants bloom anyway.;-)  This pair is 8' and 10' tall.

Flowers on the near 10' one, first to bloom-

Flowers on the 8' one-

A better look at the whole bush-

Magenta one that is 7-8' tall but 12' wide, it likes to sprawl-

Front garden Rhodies-

First and last rose to bloom every year and THORNLESS is Queen of my roses, Zephirine Drouhin,  I think she's a couple of weeks earlier than usual thanks to all the really warm weather we've had-

Peachy Reve d'Or, quite annoyingly thorny, prolific-

White with slight blush, La Biche-

Other flowers blooming now are tree peonies, an NOID white one-

And a NOID magenta one, much more floriferous and mounding in habit-

This is Paeonia suffruticosa, which has been blooming well for many years,

And Paeonia delavayi 'Rubra' which is the same age but had it's first blooms this year, it was worth the wait-

My Geums are blooming and subject of a former post.  

But the garden that always means spring to me is rampant with seed-grown and self-sown frilly double petticoat-like and dwarf Biedermeier Columbines in many colors, as well as Forget-Me-Nots and remnants of Anemones.  It seems like a faerie or fantasy garden, springing up without care, and slowly getting closer to be weed-free thanks to the geraniums.

Tall bearded Irises are beginning to bloom, I'm partial to bitones and bicolors-

Tall bearded Ocelot, great color combination-

A delight is the fragrant early Citron Daylily, Hemerocallis citrina, floriferous and rapidly multiplying-

And I can't forget some valiant warriors against weed, hardy geraniums, G. sanguineum-

And one that self-sows a lot, G. oxonianum, and has a longer blooming season, with some Lady's Mantle, a weed-suppressing combination-

That concludes my "What's blooming now", isn't Spring great!

-Hannah

Geums, From the Rose Family to you minus the thorns

A perennial that I first encountered as a tough native in my yard, Geum macrophyllum, also known as Avens,  impressed me with its vigor, self-sowing around and coming up in beds here and there, but not taking over like some weeds.  Geums make a basal rosette, which can be evergreen in mild climates, from which tall stalks with flowers arise.  After the flowers comes a seed head with little hooks to catch a ride.

At first I resisted the  cultivars that had been developed from the ~50 Geum species, but the neat rosettes of leaves and the frilly bright flowers that have been developed from them wore me down.
My first cultivated Geums were grown from seed, the bright red double Mrs. Bradshaw-

This is my present Geum border, just getting started opening blooms, the seed-grown varieties are taller and have larger sized blooms and therefore more visual impact than the varieties sold as plants-

 I also experimented with Geum urbanum from seed, which has edible and medicinal uses, and makes a substantial tall clump, but has smaller and lighter yellow flowers than Geum macrophyllum-

Then I grew a couple more from seed that were even more double, which are blooming for the first time this year, the red double frilly Blazing Sunset,

And double frilly yellow Lady Stratheden-

I'm finding an explosion of Geum varieties in nurseries lately, some of these have neatly rounded leaves more appealing than the species.  Last year I finally succumbed to Cooky,

Queen of Orange

Mango Lassi which has delicate shading on the edges of the petals-

And this year, Totally Tangerine-

This year I have seen a darker red, not as bright and with smaller flowers, Flames of Passion, and  a gorgeous plant with astounding numbers of bloom stalks that trailed so had a hanging basket kind of look, the yellow buds opening to a delightful peachy pink with coral highlights, Mai Tai.

There is another native North American species with an interesting seed head like a puff of pinkish smoke, Geum triflorum, Prairie Smoke, which I haven't grown as yet.

I've had a little trouble with deer nibbling the bright red flowers but it is rather hit or miss.  My new bed is behind fencing.

So if you want a perennial that seems to have some staying power, and will brighten up your garden, try a Geum.  They do like cooler summers, or more shade in hotter climates.

-Hannah

New plants and Hortlandia

Hortlandia was fun, the most flamboyant plant there was at the Cistus Nursery booth, Fremontodendron californium.   The hardiness info on the internet is confusing.

The Carnivores were talking amongst themselves.;-)

I came home with a coveted pygmy running bamboo, Pleiobastus pygmaeus, which should make a nice border ground cover, I plan to chop it up a lot before planting-

I also found a beautifully colored Antennaria dioca 'Rubra', Red Pussytoes, it is literally bursting out of its pot, I have great hopes for it as a drought-tolerant ground cover-

And other plants I purchased recently include a number of ferns I'm trying in my 2 new shade gardens, I hope the deer don't like them.  Dryopteris seiboldii, Seibold's Wood Fern, described as being a black leather and studs kind of fern, and Osmunda regalis purpurascens, Purple Royal Fern, which starts out with purple new leaves, then turns green, then has yellow fall color.

Cyrtomium fortunei, Arching Japanese Holly Fern,  and Dryopteris atrata, Shaggy Shield Fern, below,

Wintergreen since I finally killed all mine off, and a great ground cover, Ceanothus gloriosa 'Point Reyes', which I have had many years, but in a protected place whereas this will be at the top of a bank, but it should like the drainage and dryness fine.  Mine has flower buds forming.  These plants are all from Little Prince of Oregon, which has a frog on their tags, and says, "Our plants won't croak!"  Cute.

It's so much fun doing Spring plant shopping, especially since new plants will survive better before the dry season and hot weather starts.   Otherwise I wait until fall when the rains start again.  I'm also hardening off my seedlings now to plant out.  It's nice to have a couple of new beds to plant.

The next shopping event coming up locally is the Master Gardener Sale, Mother's Day weekend.

Don't come, I want all the bargains for myself.;-)

-Hannah