Garden in Early June

 

Just a few glimpses of the garden in early June. We have had such wonderful weather the last couple of weeks but I have been fighting a summer cold and allergies from all the pasture grasses that are blooming all around us. I am really behind with getting some new plants in the ground and hope to make some progress this weekend.

 

 

The Kousa dogwoods are full of blooms this year. There are four blooming in our yard but this is the largest. In the foreground there are boxwood 'Wintergreen' and a couple of 'Blue Star' junipers. Behind this short hedge of boxwood are boxwood edged squares with tree form double pink knockout roses growing in containers. We just recently cut the boxwood hedges back to make them shorter to better display the roses. They still need a few weeks for the new growth to turn them back to their beautiful green.

 

The double red knockout roses are also putting on a show this week. They are blooming in front of a clematis 'General Sikorski'. In the background the Forest Pansy red bud is showing off its purple leaves. It was become one of my favorite small trees.

 



 

The Asiatic lilies have started to bloom. This is one of the very first that I bought just to try to see if they would grow in my garden so I don't have it's name. It is always one of the first to bloom. Below those blooms are the buds of one of the many daylilies that grow in my garden. 

 

 

Along the edge of a small pond we have planted elephant ears and canna. Last year we did not dig them up but instead cut them down and heavily mulched them with straw. I realize that they may not always survive our zone 6 winters but I wanted to experiment one year to see. This year with its mild winter they came through fine. Also planted here is a red twig dogwood.

 

 

 



Lillies in Bloom

Three years ago while attending a garden fair I purchased a few lily bulbs. I guess I didn't have much faith that they would survive. I don't think I even kept their names so that I could tag them. They survived and I am so glad they did! These are planted with the Double Red Knockout Roses.

Asiatic Lily 'Elodie'

When I have success with a type of flower there are usually more added to the garden. so that fall I ordered several of the Asiatic lilies. Elodie is described as a double and it is planted with Verbena bonariensis. 

You can see the second row of petals which create the "double" effect.

There is much for me to learn about growing these flowers, so I want to continue to experiment with them. Any plant that can add this much beauty to the garden will be worth the time I spend to learn.

Garden in Late May

This is what I see when I step outside my sun room/office door.  There are lots of daylilies in bloom which is unusual for late May. The Knock Out roses are recovering from the late frost we had and are coming into full bloom. There are eight of the double reds, a double pink and a  single pink Knock Out along this walkway.

'Larry Allen Miller'

Going down the walk toward the pergola one of the daylilies you will see in bloom is 'Larry Allen Miller. I like the gold edge and the deep purple color. Although it really is not visible it has a green throat.  It is by far the best this plant has looked which is no fault of it's own. It was in a very crowded bed until last fall. We re-did both sides of the walk and gave all the daylilies more space by moving some to other beds.

After going through the pergola and to your right this is the scene you will see. There are many more daylilies in bloom in what we call the rock wall garden. The purple leafed tree in the background is a 'Forest Pansy' redbud.

'Dizzy Miss Lizzy'

 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' is one of many daylilies which reside in this garden. It is an unusual form which also has that beautiful green throat. 

 It is a joy every morning to go see what is blooming for the first time this daylily season. There are many more to have their first flower for the 2012 season so there is still much to look forward too.