Garden Bloggers Bloom Day–October 15, 2013

Flowers are few in my shady Upstate garden, but my mind is still swimming with the beautiful blooms I saw in England recently. Here are a few of my favorites at RHS Wisley.

Dark, upright stems of Phlomis russeliana against a graceful ornamental grass.

Hydrangea paniculata Vanille Fraise ‘Renky’ in the woodland garden.

Dahlia ‘Veracruz’ in the trial garden.

Eutrochium purpureum (our native joe-pye weed) in a border featuring ornamental grasses.

A view of the stunning herb garden, still buzzing with bees and other insects.

Taking cuttings of Cuphea in the mixed border on Battleston Hill.

To see what’s in bloom around the world, visit Carol, the host of bloom day at May Dreams Gardens.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day–August 15, 2013

August bloom day has come and gone without a post, but I haven’t forgotten the flowers. I’m just a tad tied up at my home away from home on N Street in Washington, DC, the headquarters of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, where I’m in meetings with other volunteers from across the country.

I’m up early this morning, though, to share a few pics I took on Thursday of the neighborhood, which is just a stone’s throw from DuPont Circle. It’s great to see the urban garden doing so well, don’t you think?

Headquarters of GFWC on N Street, Washington, DC.

N Street neighbor featuring colorful vinca with lush foliage.

The fountain garden at NAB. Love the ornamental grasses!

Floriferous median on nearby Connecticut Avenue.

The YMCA on Rhode Island breaks up the brick with a multi-container garden.

A lacy Tardiva hydrangea on N Street.

Begonias and Boston ferns are easy-to-grow choices.

Contemporary style at the Topaz Hotel, our across the street neighbor.

Home again!

For more blooms, visit the host of Bloom Day, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day—May 15, 2013

After an extended period of cool and rainy weather, the end of spring appears to be in sight. The 10-day forecast for the Upstate shows high temperatures between 80 to 87 degrees F and only an occasional chance for an afternoon thunderstorm.

In my garden, where shade dominates, winter and spring are the primary seasons for blooms. Even still, there are a handful of flowers worth sharing now.

‘Summer Beauty’, a hybrid of Acanthus mollis and Acanthus spinosus.

Chief among these is Acanthus ‘Summer Beauty’. This hybrid plant was chosen for a feature spot near the front door, where its attractive foliage adds year-round interest. Bloom spikes, which began to appear about 6 weeks ago, now stand 5-feet tall. Along each stalk, white blooms peek from under a purple hood (calyx).

Blooms of Summer Beauty peek from under hoods.

Other flowers in the ornamental garden (which circles the house) include a native wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ (W. frutescens) and columbine ‘Crystal Star’ (Aquilegia caerulea). A number of hydrangeas are also beginning to show their stuff, including this bigleaf hydrangea (H. macrophylla).

‘Amethyst Falls’

‘Crystal Star’ is a vigorous performer with long spurs. (Note: the foliage in this photo is iris.)

Hydrangea macrophylla

In the woodland garden, eye-catching Rhododendron is in its glory, but it is the shy Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) that is the superstar.

Rhododendron

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

To see what’s blooming in the rest of the world visit the host of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day—Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

March Bloom Day–Part II

Home never looked as good as it did yesterday at 6:15 p.m. when I pulled into the driveway after a 500 mile drive from Washington, DC. The journey was not as mind-numbing as usual, however, since I traveled from winter into spring. In fact, just before I turned into the neighborhood, I noticed it was 72 degrees on the car thermometer. Incredible!

About half way through North Carolina I began to see Bradford pear trees in bloom. Bred to be sterile (self-incompatible), Pyrus calleryana readily cross-pollinates with other species and is an invasive nuisance in the South that grows wild along fences and under electric lines. Around here, they’ve also been dubbed a Walmart Indicator Species, or in other words, not a tree you want to grow in your garden.

Despite their ills, I wasn’t sorry for the pear’s cheerful flowers yesterday. To me, they appeared to be winter’s white flag of surrender.

When I got off the interstate and headed into Greenville, the landscape became decidedly more interesting. Within a few short miles I saw a host of tulip magnolias in flower, along with a wealth of forsythia and a few cherry trees.

Though my garden is too shady for these spring blooms, I wasn’t disappointed by what I found at home.

Ipheion uniflorum (Blue starflower)

Gelsemium sempervirons (Carolina jessamine)

Corylopsis pauciflora (Buttercup winterhazel)

Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’

Unfortunately, it seems I brought DC’s windy, wet, and cold weather with me to the Upstate. Today’s high was nearly 30 degrees lower than Sunday’s and a daylong drizzle became an evening thunderstorm.

But isn’t that just like Mother Nature?

She’s such a tease.

Bloom Day–March 15, 2013

Happy Bloom Day! I’m still in DC, but wanted to share a single photo taken last week before I left the Upstate. The weather here in Washington has been cold, wet, and windy, however the news from home is that the tide has finally turned and days have been sunny and warm. Or perhaps Tim is just teasing me, I never know for sure.

Experts predict the Yoshino cherry trees around the DC Tidal Basin will peak between March 23 and 26, so I may miss their show. I hope to get over sometime tomorrow, before I leave town, to check their progress. This spring marks the 101st anniversary of Japan’s gift. A few of the dozen original trees still survive—a remarkable feat since the life span of this species is roughly 50 years in the US.

The photo below of my beauty at home features another Asian plant, Pieris japonica ‘Temple Bells’. Commonly called Lily-of-the-Valley shrubs, Pieris are valued for their attractive foliage and clusters of bell-shaped flowers.

Pieris japonica ‘Temple Bells’

To see what’s blooming in other gardens around the world, visit May Dreams Gardens where Bloom Day began.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day—February 15, 2013

I saw my first (and probably only) snowflakes this winter on Saturday, February 2, but the precipitation turned to rain within the hour. The Upstate has had plenty of gray days and moisture since January’s Bloom Day posting, with temperatures fluctuating from the 20s into the 70s. I’ve heard, but haven’t been able to confirm, our most recent cold weather destroyed much of this year’s peach crop. Fingers crossed the sad news isn’t true. More cold is on the way this weekend, however, as Saturday’s forcast predicts a low of 24 degrees F.

Even still, there are blooms in the garden. The vignette below is inspired by Ellen HoverKamp‘s stunning botanical photgraphs in Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations by Ken Druse, a favorite Christmas gift I simply can’t put down.

Vignette inspired by Ken Druse

Flowers include several Camellia japonica (top) and various Helleborus hybrids (bottom). The rosette of yellow near the center of the photo is Edgeworthia chrysantha (Chinese paper bush), and the yellow fringe at the bottom is Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ (witch hazel). The pansy is ‘Dynamite Wine Flash’, while the smaller viola is ‘Sorbet Antique Shades.’ The early yellow daffodils draw attention to the ‘Gold Dust’ Aucuba japonica (aucuba), and the slightly smaller leaves of variegated Gardenia jasminoides (gardenia). The red-veined foliage is Rumex sanguineus (bloody dock), and the silver-veined is Saxifraga stolonifera (strawberry begonia).

Even better, here’s what’s blooming or almost blooming in the woodland.

Erythronium americanum (trout lily)

Trillium cuneatum (Sweet Betsy)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

To discover what’s blooming in gardens around the world, visit the host of Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens.