A Clematis for Fall

 

 

 

 

Clematis terniflora

 

 

The sweet autumn clematis has begun to flower. This is a very vigorous vine which I originally purchased for  covering an arbor. I wasn't pleased with the result and removed it. Although I liked the fragrance and the small white flowers it was simply too large for the space.  The following spring I was surprised to find a few seedlings. I pulled most of them and move a couple to a fence that was surrounding a work area close to the house.

 

 

 

It has completely covered the fence from the gate all the way back to the tool shed. The whole length of this fence will be a solid mass of white blooms over the next several weeks. It is certainly a nicer view of that area in front of the tool shed. Another plus for this plant is that it is deer resistant.  However this plant is considered invasive in states that are to the south so I will still exercise caution watching for seedlings. So far I have not had any seedlings to come up in other areas.

 



Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for May

'Nelly Moser'

 

The last couple of weeks has brought a lot of change to the garden. There is enough blooming now to want to walk the garden each evening after work to see what might have opened during the day.

The clematis 'Nelly Moser' is as full of blooms as it has ever been. The temperatures have been mild here in Central Kentucky and there has been lots of moisture.

 

I don't have much luck with azaleas. I have tried to grow them in many different places over the 40 years that I have gardened here with mostly failures. This one has been in this location several years and this is the most bloom I have ever seen.  Is it the temperature and lots of moisture? I'm not sure, but I certainly am enjoying the show.

 

 

 

There are several iris that are blooming for the first time. These were planted two years ago but the late freeze last year damaged the buds, so what few actually tried to bloom were ugly and distorted.

 

 

These were planted at the same time and they also are all full of blooms.

 

 

I have several more iris already ordered to arrive later this summer. Seeing the blooms on these is making me glad that I will have lots of new faces to admire next year too.

 

 

The peonies are just beginning to bloom here. I love their big  blooms and just hope that we can avoid any heavy downpours for a few more days.I don't know the variety, they were plants that came from my mother in law's garden many years ago. 

I planted a few allium bulbs last fall. I ordered only a few so I could see if I would like them. Seeing them bloom the same time as the peonies has me making mental notes to add them to my list of bulbs to order this fall.

Wisteria frutescens 'Amethyst Falls'

 

Finally a wisteria that will bloom for me! This American wisteria, 'Amethyst Falls' is a far better plant for me than the Chinese or Japanese varieties. I had one of the Asian varieties for many years and fought its rampant growth and was repeatedly dismayed that the late spring frosts seemed to always get the blooms. They are beautiful but I just could not handle the maintenance required.  I have been so pleased with this variety that I purchased another one this past weekend.

 

Hope that you are enjoying the blooms that May has given us so far. There is still much to look forward too. For me the roses are just beginning to show color and daylily foliage is growing rapidly. It won't be long before I start looking for scapes to appear.

 

 

 

 



 

A Few Blooms for Friday

We had a half inch of rain last night. It was a wonderful sight to see the water drops on the foliage of the plants. They are responding to the moisture and I am beginning to see the promise of a few more blooms. This rose was planted earlier this spring. I haven't added a hybrid tea to my garden for quite some time but I loved the soft peach of 'Medallion'.

The English rose 'Abraham Darby' has started to bloom again. This plant was full of buds when the late April freeze hit it. I have a clematis 'Mr. President' growing up through this rose and it has a couple of new blooms on it.

One of the new daylilies that I purchased this spring has a first bloom on it. This one is 'Brooke's Bright Star' hybridized by Bill Waldrop in Georgia. I am finding blooms on several of the daylilies now.

As I was walking around the garden this morning and I came close to the row of crepe myrtles I could hear a constant buzz. The blooms were full of honey bees. He is a little hard to see in this photo which certainly shows that I am not that good with a camera but I was so glad to know that the honey bees were close enough to be gathering pollen from the garden.

Wordless Wednesday

Clematis and Roses

Clematis 'H. F. Young'

Clematis are fairly new to our garden. The more that I add the more I enjoy them. This is the second year for H. F. Young and the blooms so far have been beautiful. I added four new clematis last year and there are three more on the way to plant this year. So far most of them are paired with roses but I read about letting them climb through other shrubs so that may be the next combination I will try.

Zephirine Drouhin

The first bloom on Zephirine Drouhin will be followed by many more from the look of the canes. This rose is supposed to be a repeat bloomer with a strong fragrance. I have often admired the pictures of beautiful roses climbing on arbors full of blooms. I will post pictures later when she is in full bloom.