Friday In The Garden

 

Another week has whizzed right by and we here in Ohio are glad to see such a wet week behind us.
Our hearts and prayers go out to those states and families where devastating tornadoes have wrecked havoc on homes and have taken so many lives.
I pray all our gardening friends are safe.

This week the Ajuga reptans  ‘Burgundy Glow’  a Carpet Bugleweed started blooming. This is the first year that it has bloomed for me so I am still trying to decided whether I like this tint of  blue flowers against its burgundy variegated foliage.

It is good to use in shadier beds and is hardy in zones  3 to 10.  In some areas I am told it may be invasive but it is a groundcover so should be considered as such when you plant it in your garden.

Some of the Alliums ‘Purple Sensation’ or Flowering Onion are also starting to open some of their blooms. They are some of the earliest blooming alliums so they opening just in time as the tulips petals are blowing off in the wind. When the blooms are open all the way the blooms run from 4 to 5 inches across and the stems are about 30 inches tall.

 Dicentra spectabilis  Alba Bleeding Hearts are blooming in the Shade Garden now.

Since there is no bleeding of colors on these white hearts it is sometimes called “White Pantaloons”. I am not certain I like this name for them at all but like to see them as just hearts. LOL!

 
The Iberis white Candytuft continues to spread and fill in with those pretty white blooms along a section of the front walkway. It is an evergreen spreading shrub that ranges from 9 to 12 inches tall and is used as a border plant. It is hardy to zones 3 to 9 and can be grown in full sun to part shade.
It is partly shaded here along the Shade Garden walkway and is doing well but I am certain it would do better in more sun.
I like it for its early spring blooms which brightens the shady area  and its evergreen foliage.

Clematis ‘Silver Moon’ is getting buds and is one of my earliest blooming of the clematis vines in my garden. It has very large 6 to 7 inch lavender-silver blooms. It is a type 2 clematis and grows in zones 4 to 10.

For those of you who have been looking for this one it can be found at Bluestone Perennials.

Some of the earlier blooming tulips have lost their blooms now but a few later blooming tulips are now opening.

One the one sunny day we had this week the “Queen of the Night’ tulips did get to open up.

 
The deep burgundy blooms look almost black when they are closed.

 

Is everyone tired of seeing tulips already? I hope not because I am enjoying every little bloom after the long winter we had and just refuses to get the hint and leave already.

   Tiarella  ‘Spring Symphony” Foamflower is just gorgeous now in the Shade Garden. I love its pink feathery blooms.

Tiarella is an early bloomer and is a bright spot in any shade garden. The plant grows from 12 to 18 inches tall and is hardy in zones 4 to 9. The foliage is a great addition to the shade garden until freezin’ season.

The high winds and rains have now knocked off most of the petals from the Magnolia  ‘Jane’ now. Her blooms gone too soon this spring.

But the Pulmonaria blooms are still going strong and the leaves of ‘Diana Clare’ are losing their spots and are growing longer and getting  their solid silver-green look that lasts throughout the growing season. Even without the blooms this plant lights up a shade garden with  just its foliage alone.

The vinca minor, or Periwinkle, or Creeping Myrtle, which has as many names as it has plaques, is blooming prettily.
This is the one of the most invasive groundcovers next to Crownvetch so never, ever plant it anywhere else but a problem area in your yard. I have it on the slope behind the garage that wanted to wash away . As a new gardener I planted some in a bed between the house and the garage and now I pull it up by the handfuls all summer and still cannot get rid of it because of its spreading root system. It will take over your flower bed and choke out your flowers . I have noticed in the parks around here that the wild periwinkle is  even threatening to take over other native plants and flowers that grow near it. It is an evergreen groundcover.

Vinca minor variegata has bigger leaves and does died back after a freeze but it comes back again in the spring. It is a little invasive but can be more manageable. I dig some out and use it in hanging baskets and containers for the summer.
Be aware that if it touches the ground it will root in and start growing.

I think this is wild mustard plants that are growing along the Woodland Garden.??? I know someone will know what its true name is.

The Sorbet peony is getting its buds also but I have not seen any ants yet. LOL!

So the gardens are really growing and blooming right now and my gardeners little heart could not be happier.
I am joining with Tootsie at “Tootsie Time” for Fertilizer Friday. Why not join with us and “Flaunt Your Flowers”.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend in the garden and
Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Tulips,Pulmonaria,Ajuga,Magnolia,Tiarella,Clematis,Allium,Shade Garden

Pollinators Love Lilacs

 

There are few gardeners that do not have lilac bushes in their gardens and if you do not have at least one you should make room for one.  The fragrance of lilacs are so sweet and strong that the breezes carry them throughout the yard.
As I was walking around in the back yard yesterday I could smell the fragrance of the lilacs which grow out front on the bank by the road.

The shrub form may not be all that attractive most of the year after the blooms fade but for these shrubs it is all about those fragrant flowers that bloom for up to three weeks in the Spring.

I have two very large bushes that are about forty years old now. They were starts taken from off of the shoots of my Grandmothers shrubs which she had had for many many years. I loved smelling them while my cousins and I played outdoors at her home. So they always bring back fond memories to me when mine bloom.
Those starts I had gotten are now well over ten feet tall and about six feet or more wide. I allow some of the new shoots to grow that come up around them in the spring and summer so that there will always be new plants just in case the unexpected tragedy should  happen to the old growth of the shrub.  I never want for them to be totally lost.

The ice storm we had in 2008 broke many of the old branches off, but what branches remained pulled right back up after the ice melted and it bloomed beautifully  the following spring.

I not only love their hardiness and fragrance but I love those light lavender blossoms that appear on my old fashioned lilac bushes in the spring.

Their sweet smell also attracts  the  pollinators like no other flower in my gardens. While they are in bloom they are swarmed by the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

No matter how well the chemist try to manufacture a duplicate scent for lilacs they can never get it to smell as good as the ones that grow in my garden.

The Lilac bushes are a very busy place with all of the pollinators vying for the blooms.

 

There are so many varieties of lilac shrubs now ranging from white, lavender, pink, yellow and even  two toned.
Some newer varieties even bloom more than once during the spring and summer.
Lilacs can be trimmed after they bloom so you can keep them to a size to fit into your small garden spaces or maybe at the back of a bed where later blooming flowers can then fill in the space in front of them and take their turn to bloom.
With varieties that can be grown from zones 2 to 9 there is a shrub that can adapt to many gardens.
Think about getting a Lilac bush for your garden and draw in those pollinators to your flowerbeds and gardens.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

Technorati Tags: Lilacs,Butterfly,Bumblebee,Ice

We May Need An Ark

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
With all of the storms blowing about it was an iffy weekend to be sure. I think we are going to have to build and Ark if it keeps going like this. The creeks in the valley keep coming out of the banks.  I did not see any Easter bunnies in the garden this weekend. I think maybe all of the stray cats kept him away.  But they did not scare off the Bluebirds that decided to do some nesting in the houses in the Woodland garden.

They are about a month late this year compared to last. I am always so glad when I see this favorite shade of blue in my garden.

What a sweet couple.

The grass finally got mowed in between the showers it was looking more like a meadow out in the yard instead of a lawn.
The plant world is loving all of the rain despite all of my grumbling about walking on water, mudding in new plants, and the rain predicted for the next five days.

The Labrador violets are looking much fuller now and I love the purple-blue blooms against the dark foliage.

The Brunnera  plants are not as big this year and have fewer pretty blue blooms for some reason and one was almost completely lost. The winter must have been extra hard on them.

Heuchera  Amethyst  Mist
The Heuchera plants are taking all the rain and wet feet very well.

 Heuchera Purple Palace

The lilacs are starting to bloom but if I want to smell their fragrance I will have to cut some and bring indoors for a bouquet.

The small  ‘Jane’  Magnolia tree is blooming and I love looking at the big blooms.

 
The pink Dicentra Bleeding Hearts are filling out.

Pulsatilla Pasque Flower ‘Red Clock’ may even open up its blooms if the sun shines.

Tulips ‘Queen of the Night’ also are waiting on the sunshine.

Amongst some of my Birthday presents were a set of Butterfly stakes for the garden. The wings light up at night.
Love those garden gifts. LOL!

To everyone who overwhelmed me with so many Birthday greetings my heart warmed,  Thank You!

Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

 

Technorati Tags: Pulsatilla Pasque Flower,Tulips,Heuchera,Discentra Bleeding Hearts,Muscari Grape Hyacinth,Lilacs

Friday Blooms & A Giveaway Winner!

 

 

And the winner of the RAMSIGN is….

 

Meadow Sweet Cottage !!!
Please Email me so I can pass it on to Ramsign.

 
I want to thank Ramsign for donating the sign for the giveaway.

What a soggy week! Flooding creeks in the valley and it looks like it is not going to change anytime soon.
The arrival of new plants in the mail yesterday had me running to get them  planted  in while the sun was out for the day but with all of the rain I do not have to water them. LOL!

Heuchera Snow Angel

Although it does not look like it now with the sun shinning but this is the Shade Garden. Two new heuchera’s and a new pulmonaria were added to it.

 Heuchera Georgia Peach

Pulmonaria Raspberry Ice

This new Pulmonaria has beautiful deep pink blooms on it and I am going to love it.

Pulmonaria Diana Clare is full of blooms now.

And the Candytuft has more blooms opening.

The tulips were taking advantage of the sunshine and the Brunnera and Japanese Ferns are growing well.

One lonely Angelique tulip appeared after I thought they had all stopped blooming two years ago. I pulled most of them up so now I am thinking that may have been a mistake.

 
The Color Magic tulips are changing now into a brighter orange.

And thank goodness a new Color Magic tulip opened up and it was white with a purple tinge around the petals.
It will be fun to see what color it will turn.

Tiarella Spring Symphony is also starting to bloom and is looking so pretty in the Shade Garden.

Pasque Flower

The ground Phlox and Periwinkle are starting to bloom along the banking on the back side of the garage.

There are many Mourning Doves visiting the yard now and the leaves on the trees are growing out. It looks so wonderful to see green leaves appearing again.

I am joining Tootsie at “Tootsie Time”  for Fertilizer Friday. So join us and Flaunt Those Flowers.

Thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

 

 

Technorati Tags: Pasque FLower Pulsatilla vulgaris,Tulips,Pulmonaria,Heuchera,Fertilizer Friday,Giveaway,RAMSIGN