Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2010

– Posted in: What's up/blooming
13 comments

foxgloves blooming in shady border

I have plenty of foxgloves blooming this year.

image of foxglove from underneath

Foxglove from below

First, the good news. Unlike last year, I have plenty of foxgloves blooming this year. I have more foxgloves than ever, blooming in places they’ve never bloomed before. This is partly because my garden buddy Bub gave me some foxglove seedlings to plant last year, and partly because conditions were favorable to foxgloves this spring. I don’t know why some years they rot out between winter’s thaw and well-established spring, but in some years they do. Not this year! (Note: click on any photo to enlarge)

Conditions were not as favorable for the bearded iris or the mock orange. None of my bearded iris bloomed, and only one late variety bloomed for Bub. I think we got one of our infamous late hard freezes at the critical moment in iris bud development. Probably the same thing for the mock orange, which had a few sparse blossoms but not covered like it is some years. No, I didn’t prune it last year, so that’s not it. But I don’t see blasted buds on the mock orange like I do on the iris, so I’m not as confident that it was the cold. Every year, something does well and something else does poorly. It’s part of what makes gardening interesting, right?

white form of rose campion, Lychnis coronaria In general, everything that managed to dodge the hard freezes bloomed earlier than usual. The first Oriental poppy and the first peony both bloomed on May 27th! How can I call them the grandes dames of June if they start blooming in May? Don’t try to answer that–it’s sort of like calling Lychnis coronaria alba white rose campion.

grouping of pink rose, blue catmint, and pale yellow cephalaria

Catmint, Cape Diamond rose, and pale yellow cephalaria

These three plants, the catmint, the ‘Cape Diamond’ rose, and Cephalaria gigantea, don’t always bloom together, but when they do, the effect is a bit less than what I hope for. I think the cephalaria (aka giant scabious) is just too tall. They would look better together in a vase, or perhaps if the cephalaria were behind the rose instead next to it. Or maybe I should grow Scabiosa ochroleuca again. But I think there was a problem with that, too–it was too short, and overwhelmed by the catmint.
Cape Diamond rose surrounded with catmint

Here's a closer look at the 'Cape Diamond' rose surrounded with catmint

Close up of giant scabious

The intricate blossom of giant scabious

In the first image of the catmint, rose, and cephalaria, that two by four sticking up? That’s holding up the roof of our dismantled porch. Renovations are in progress, and because the porch is missing, you can see the penstemon that is around the corner and normally can’t be seen.
purple leaved penstemon

Dark Towers penstemon, taken with my Incredible cell phone

Just like last year, this penstemon is blooming ahead of the Lauren’s Grape poppies that surround it. Those poppies are filled with buds, and I can hardly wait!

Also in Bloom

  • Peach-leaved bellflower, blue and white forms
  • White musk mallow
  • Valerian
  • ‘Tangerine Gem’ Spanish poppy
  • ‘Concord Grape’ spiderwort
  • Pansies and violas
  • ‘Telstar Picotee’ dianthus
  • Cynanchum ascyrifolium
  • Alchemilla mollis
  • Rosa virginiana
  • ‘Sooty’ sweet William
  • Stella D’Oro daylily
  • ‘Lemon Cap’ daylily
  • ‘Jay Bird’ Siberian iris
  • ‘Blue Cloud’ larkspur
  • Peonies
  • Corn poppies in various colors
  • Geranium sanguineum striatum
  • a few ‘Dot Purple’ mountain bluets
  • ‘William Shakespeare 2000’ rose
  • ‘Waterperry’ veronica (just a bit)
  • feverfew
  • Achillea ptarmica
  • petunias of various sorts
  • ‘Black Stockings’ thalictrum

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month (I know, I’m late), garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in Mr. Linky and the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

When dealing with frost it is always best to be paranoid. In the spring never think it is too late for one more frost to come. And in the fall never think it too early.

~Rundy in Frost

Comments on this entry are closed.

Alan July 11, 2010, 6:07 am

Takes me back to my childhood. I grew up in the North of England. I have been living in Sub Tropical Australia for 40+ years now. Don’t see to many Foxgloves here. Thanks for a great post.
.-= Alan´s last blog ..How to Properly Grow Strawberries Using a Container =-.

Town Mouse June 28, 2010, 12:23 am

Very impressive! I love the foxglove, mine does behave like a try biannual and does not bloom this year. Let’s hope the best for next year.

Cheryl June 27, 2010, 10:13 pm

Kathy,
Please share the name/variety of the giant scabiosa – the photo is beautiful! Your cell phone takes great photos!
.-= Cheryl´s last blog ..Together is a wonderful place to be =-.

Kathy Purdy June 28, 2010, 10:09 am

It’s Cephalaria gigantea.

VW June 24, 2010, 2:03 pm

Ah, your William Shakespeare is already in bloom. Mine is just a bunch of buds and I’m hoping it will bloom before the adjacent delphiniums peter out. It would be a gorgeous combo.
I have some tall cream scabiosa in a bed with catmint. I got the starts from my dad. His are growing under an old pine tree that jealously sucks moisture and nutrients out of the ground. Plus they’ve reseeded very close together. So his stay short, while mine are 3.5′ tall. You need need a giant old pine nearby and yours will stay shorter 😉
.-= VW´s last blog ..Bearded Iris in Pink, Blue and Violet =-.

Layanee June 22, 2010, 11:24 am

It has been a banner foxglove year here also. They are starting to fade now but their stately presence has been thoroughly enjoyed.

Andrea at Heavy Petal June 21, 2010, 7:27 pm

Beautiful! That penstemon is gorgeous, and I’ve grown Lauren’s Grape poppies so I can totally envision how rockin’ that combo is going to be!

PS: My digitalis self seeds like crazy.

Les June 19, 2010, 8:57 pm

That penstemon is fantastic and so is the quality of your cell phone pictures.

Kathy Purdy June 19, 2010, 10:04 pm

It has an 8 megapixel camera on it, more than my “good” camera.

Cyndy June 19, 2010, 5:33 am

Love what’s happening in your garden – can’t believe that fabulous penstemon shot was taken by your phone! Giant scabious is definitely covetable…
.-= Cyndy´s last blog ..Open in Seattle II =-.

Patsy Bell Hobson June 19, 2010, 2:00 am

That penstemon is fabulous. Your gardens inspire me. Now I have to do research to see if these beautiful blooms will live in my area. I enjoy your posts and always learn something.
.-= Patsy Bell Hobson´s last blog ..Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2010 =-.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter June 18, 2010, 10:00 pm

I agree, the garden is different from year to year, it’s never boring. The foxgloves look wonderful. I wish I could grow them. It seems to be a bad year for poppies here. Only one plant has made it from seed to stature, and it doesn’t have any buds yet, so yours are ahead of mine.