Garden in late…

Garden in late May

These are my absolute favorite alliums (right now, at least), Allium bulgaricum. They make awesome cut flowers, very structural in a vase, and long-lasting. The bell shape is so unusual and striking in the garden. And you have to tip them up to see the inside (or shoot from below), but it's just gorgeous. The hellebores are almost done (though their leaves will linger fresh and green for a long, long time), but if you tip them up, you can still enjoy. I think I may cut the remaining blooms soon and float them in a wide, shallow bowl, so we can enjoy the secret interiors. Spanish bluebell, I'm pretty sure; I have a row of them in white, pink and blue (a mixed grouping from Dutch Gardens) that come up about when the scilla are dying down. They're almost done now. The bleeding hearts are not quite as dramatic as they were, but still lovely. They even give a tour of all the tools they use, like the best garden hose reel so that water can be easily and equally distributed and the homemade fertilizers which cause no adverse chemical reactions in the plants. Columbines just visible beyond them, in a big clump right now, that I'm going to try separating out today so I can make more of a wandering row of them. Jack Frost brunnera is pretty awesome; no wonder it won awards. The tiny blue/purple flowers are almost done, but the variegated leaves glow in the shade garden. A great companion for white-edged hostas. Ah, columbine, how I do love thee. Awesome in partial shade. So here, this is less successful. For one, while I love azaleas, the dying flowers seem to linger for a long time. And yet, I think I am too lazy to actually deadhead a whole bush -- do people actually do that? And two, the big white globe alliums are leaning over more than I expected, falling right into the azalea. I'm not much of a staking person; if I have to stake them, I think I won't bother. I'm probably going to try just moving them further back, so they don't fall right into the bush? Of course, the bush will be bigger next year too. Hmm. Thoughts? The allium bulgaricum seem fine where they are. Now this composition, I love. Salvia blooming bright (and long-lasting, if I'm remembering right) at the border of the path, with irises behind, and pale lilac further back, all set against the lavender and blue of my porch railings, and accented by greens. Love love love. Will look up the name of this iris and get back to you. First blooming of my fancier irises. I am SO glad these actually bloomed this year. Last year, something ate all the blooms before they got going, and it was tragic. This is my favorite iris, with classic color and shape, straight and tall like spears. I'm not sure what the name is, though? Oh, this is driving me nuts. I could have sworn I dug this thing out last year -- a remnant from the previous owner's garden. It's a fine plant in and of itself, but way too tall for this bed of ajuga, pulmonaria, dead nettle, etc. Anyone know what this is? I'm going to try to dig it out again, but may plant it elsewhere if it seems worth keeping. And the ranunculus is finally finished (having done yeoman service for months), and I have pulled it out. Need to start thinking about summer plants for this pot -- any suggestions for a tall thriller to go in the middle? The ivy should last through the summer, trailing down, but the pansies will probably be replaced in a month or so, when it gets too hot for them.

5 thoughts on “Garden in late…”

  1. Does your neighborhood have a ‘no food crops’ policy? I hope not. Seeing your garden pictures had me wondering whether you would try tomatoes, leeks, okra, or other things that are so much better tasting when they are home-grown.

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