Monday, June 23, 2014

Pink In The Garden


Pink is a very important color in the garden.  It tempers the hot colors of summer like orange, yellow and red and seems to blend with all of them.  Pink likes blue and white as companion colors and comes in all sorts of pink tones.




Interplanted with Blue
 
Hagley Hybrid Type III
 
Comtesse de Bouchard Type III
 
Clematis Ville de Lyon Type III

Carefree Beauty

Pink Knockout

David Austin's Mary Rose
The only rose I have with glorious fragrance

Pink Meidiland
 
Rainbow Knockout
 
All The Rage
 
Rex Begonia
 
Lythrum Morden's Pink
 
Echinacea Kim's Knee High
 
Non-Stop Begonias
 
Non-Stop Begonias on the patio
 
Lots of pink in this container! 
 
Sunpatiens
 
Zinnia Uproar
 
Astrantia
 
Pink looks great with yellow!



 

Friday, June 06, 2014

Around The Garden In June

I am having a difficult time actually believing it is June!  There is life in this once frozen garden and I am surprised at how resilient some plants are and disappointed at the demise of others.

Fireworks and Bee's Jubilee (Type II)
 
Fireworks
 
General Sikorski
 
Rouge Cardinal (Type III)
 
The Type II's are the early bloomers unless they get eaten to the ground by the rabbits as most of mine did (not the one's on the pergola).  They also have the very large blooms which I will miss this year as the blooms will be much smaller as they regrow and bloom.
 
 

Geranium Dragon Heart
 
This is my new geranium, supposedly going to surpass Rozanne!  We will see, not available in any of my local nurseries, ordered from Garden Crossings in Michigan.
 

Geranium Karmina
 
I can't seem to get this one going, brought from my last home, and it has never been in full bloom.
 
Geranium Lancastrierse Striatum
 
This geranium will rebloom all summer if deadheaded.  Home Depot had it this year!
 

Geranium Magnificum
 
This is a short blooming geranium but well worth growing.  I lost two this winter but the one remaining is blooming it's head off!  I will cut it down to grow new leaves that turn red in the fall.
 

Geranium Max Frei
 
This is another worthwhile geranium, a lower edger, but does not flower for an extended period.  I almost pulled it a couple of years ago until I followed the suggestion to interplant for when the geranium was finished blooming.  I have put in Sunpatiens this year that grow very large and spread horizontally.
 
Rainbow Knockout
 
Rainbow is the earliest bloomer of the Knockouts and they all lived through the winter, lost five other Knockouts including two of the double red.
 
Iris Caesar's Brother
 
I thought I gave all of this to my daughter-in-law last year but obviously I forgot some.  They are in a great place towards the back of the garden so I will leave them.
 

Ninebark Summer Wine
 
This shrub came back strong maybe not quite as many blooms but looks healthy.
 
Tor Spirea
 
Very few blooms this year but lots of leaf growth.
 
Love the shrubs along this walkway!
 
Weigela Wine And Roses
 
This is a great new introduction, trimmed off winter dieback and it still bloomed like crazy!
 
Hosta Buttercup
 
Hosta June
 
Hosta Golden Tiara
 
The above are smaller hostas in the garden, not miniature, but smaller than the three foot wide varieties.
 
Hosta Paul's Glory
 
Hosta Patriot With Paul's Glory
 
Hosta Frances Williams (large)
 
Interrupted Fern
 
Amsonia Blue Ice
 
Amsonia Northwind Select
This is the third year for this variety and I will trim it down again.  The threadleaf Amsonias need to be pruned down after blooming in order to fill out for a glorious fall display.
 
 
 
 
 




Monday, May 12, 2014

The Awakening


After a long bitter cold winter, it is difficult to believe that anything could arise from the frozen ground.  The freeze line went down four feet in our area this year so our back lawn is certainly a testament to this with only small tufts of grass displaying life.

We have over seeded and put down some topsoil but I see the birds out there every day, probably eating the seed!

Thalia Dafffodils, Orange and Sweetheart Emperor Tulips
 
Orange Princess Tulips
 
Flair Tulip
 
Sensual Touch Tulip
 
 
I guess you can see I like orange, especially with the colors of the spring daffodils.
 
Itzim Daffodil
 
Mount Hood Daffodil
This is an older variety but very much sought after for its pure white color.
 
White On White
Magnolia Starlight with a background of Chanticleer Pear
 
 
Amelanchier Regent
White is really a color in the garden!
 
Fothergilla Gardenii
This is a wonderful shrub with fantastic fall color.
 
Brunnera Angel Wings
 
Brunnera Jack Frost
The leaves become much larger as the season progresses.
 
Iris Gerald Darby
Known not for its bloom but for the wonderful foliage both in the spring and fall.
 
Red Rider Hellebore
This is on the north side of my home and blooms very late.  I will move my yellow one to this area as it does not bloom to the right of this one against the foundation.
 
Pachysandra Green Sheen
This is the most bloom it has every had, go figure after such a cold winter!
 
Dicentra Valentine Heart
 
Dicentra Spectablis and Dicentra Golden Heart In Foreground
 
Dicentra Alba
Worth having in the garden but not as many blooms as the pink variety.
 
Dicentra Eximia
This variety blooms throughout three seasons if you deadhead.
 
Raspberry Splash Pulmonaria