We know it’s summer when the frost-tender mosaic bird bath (pictured above) takes its rightful place in the front garden. That move from winter storage was delayed because I was attending the Garden Bloggers’ Fling in Toronto. (There’s a good story about the bird bath here.)
All the usual suspects are blooming, so I’ll just give you the highlights. The front walk is turning into a garden in its own right.
Johnny-jump-ups are growing in the crevices of the front walk.
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That plantain has got to go.
Berlin Tiger is a hybrid with I. pseudacorus being one of the parents.
‘Jaybird’ Siberian iris has got to be the bluest iris I’ve seen.
Darcey Bussell: cold hardy, disease-resistant, fragrant, and RED.
Gertrude Jekyll is another David Austin rose with a wonderful fragrance.
Lupines self-sow in the Slope Garden so I never know where they’ll pop up.
ex ‘Midnight Reiter’ geranium. This one’s a keeper
I’ve had ‘Bev’ for 13 years now and she never fails to delight. Never needs staking, either.
Bartzella peony: the very first bloom since I planted her in 2012.
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, 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.
Loved all of your photos, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing some ideas for my own garden. Thank you so much for sharing anyway.
I love the flowers especially Bartzella peony it took long but very lovely. A big thumb up to your sister
How do I get on your list of cold climate gardening? I am in zone 4 in Central WI. Mainly I blog about flowers, and in the winter I include arts and crafts plus tea activities.
I saw your pictures on blooming. Its wonderful and inspiration. I will adapt to your front walk idea! Thanks!
The geranium is great; and if the leaves are that color normally, (not just when they come out) I may need to look into getting Midnight Reiter.
-Ray
Gorgeous Photos! I am looking forward to take pictures of all the veggies that I am growing 🙂
Jaybird iris – instant love! My bearded irises were disappointments this year – hardly any of them bloomed. So, instead, I feasted on your peonies.
A lot of my bearded iris buds rotted on the stalk. I think there was too much rain for them.
Hi Kathy – got your note in the mail yesterday! Thank you so much. Your iris trader reminded me of a woman who just happened by with a trowel and plastic bag when she spied some ground cover she thought I might like to share with her. You just have to smile. Bartzilla is absolutely glorious! If you can bear to remove a blossom – they look wonderful floating in a bowl. B.
Maybe next year I will remove a blossom. This year I just want to gaze in rapt adoration.
I’ve always been partial to Siberian iris, but ‘Jaybird’ is a knockout. That blue! Happy Bloom Day!
The siberian iris ‘Jay bird’ is gorgeous!! And I must have one….where did you get it? From Joe Pye Weed’s Garden?
I’m also loving the front walk with the Johnny Jump-Ups….so cute!
I got Jaybird from Seneca Hill Perennials, which is no longer in business. But Google it, I think I saw it in a catalog recently.
The Berlin Tiger looks wonderful. There seems to be some of them too in my backyard. They’re quite a sight for sore eyes.
Hi, Kathy; I always enjoy your newsletters. I would love to try a David Austen rose, but think of japanese beetles and how the fragrance would attract them. How do you cope with them?
I just pick them off if they start to get really bad. If I didn’t grow a plant because a bug might get it, I wouldn’t grow any plants!
As we prepare to move into a new house and plant a whole new garden (this house has only bare flat lawn) I am encouraged to think how rapidly your garden has taken beautiful shape. Today I am particularly taken with that johnny jumped up stone path.
The first year was tough, and so was the second. It helps to fill in with annuals, self-sowing or otherwise. And be generous with soil amendment, unless you bought a house with perfect soil.
I like your walk with the Johnny jump ups. They hop around my garden too and they are such cuties. Also, I envy those lupine. The native ones don’t grow here, and keeping the cultivated ones happy is difficult in our heavy clay, rocky soils.
I have heavy clay soil with rocks, too, but the lupines are growing on a slope. That might be the difference. These lupines were here when we moved in. I don’t think they are natives. I think they are seed children of lupines bought at at store. Possibly they were a different color to start with.
NEED that Geranium – beautiful. LOVE your front walk – don’t weed it. Love it all “cottagy.” Why don’t I have peonies? Really.
I don’t weed it; I edit it. I take out what I don’t want and leave what I want to seed around. I don’t want plantain in there!
Your sister is generous with her gifts, but you probably deserved it.
She is generous. Furthermore, she pays attention and remembers what I enthused about, so her generosity is spot on. And I hope I deserved it.
Love your flowers! It seems like it’s taken forever to get to early summer. I winter sowed a lot of annuals and am just waiting on them to bloom during summer. My spring bloomers – bleeding hearts, daffs, etc. are long done flowering. Peonies? No flowers this year. Found the buds on the ground and the leaves all covered with small holes. Always next spring, I guess.
Oh, Jane, I’m so sorry to hear about your peonies! Having iris troubles here. Some bearded iris buds are turning to mush; others are being snapped off by–what?–and left lying on the ground.
I love the little violas in your path! And I’m glad to see your ‘Bartzella’ bloomed. I have two intersectionals and like both. And ‘Midnight Reiter’? I’m envious as I’ve never gotten it to grow for me. Thanks for sharing!
I’m still lusting after Cora Louise.