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Blooming In The Garden

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Finally. Cold weather disappeared and things are blooming.

Therese Bugnet

I cut these roses down to the ground last fall due to dieback. They are sprouting up and blooming. Rugosa roses are usually very resistant to rose ailments. Except for being a bit chlorotic due to the uneven moisture levels this year, they are doing well. I expect that they will reach their 5-6 foot height by the end of summer.

Blanc Double De Coubert has one bloom and numerous buds

That one flower has perfumed that part of the garden. I am going to make cuttings and try to start new plants of this lovely old rose. These roses are a bit earlier than many others.

Beaux Arts, a German Iris

I like the colors of this one. It is one of a few remaining German irises that I still grow. I don’t take care of them very well. But this one is frilly and has unusual color that blends nicely with other plants of mine. I saw some German Irises growing in town that made me have second thoughts about them. A very striking stand of strong bicolor purple flowers on either side of a driveway entry. They stood alone, with no competing colors or flowers.  It was very effective, and I think that is how I like them used the best.

Siberian Iris

I prefer the delicacy and easier care of Siberian iris. They are also coming into bloom now. I think this one is Caesar’s Brother- or was supposed to have been.

Cheddar Pinks

I just planted these pinks last year and they are just blooming for the first time. I was sort of surprised since I had forgotten about them – and there they were! These are really cute, diminutive blooms. They would be right at home in a Fairy Garden.

Bowl of Beauty Peony

This single herbaceous peony is the earliest of my peonies to open, although they all have flower buds. It is in a part of the garden that I let go a bit wild, as opposed to the parts that get wild without my permission. Its color is very pleasing from a distance, and I look at it after my eye has glanced over the Beauty bush and the variegated Weigela, which bloom at the same time in the back yard.

Dream Catcher Beauty Bush

Here is the Dream Catcher Beauty Bush that is finally growing to size and blooming as advertised. It is in the shade of a very tall highly pruned (by ice storms and one paid professional) Silver Maple. I’m very happy with it. Its golden foliage is not as sharply colored as the one I located in full sun in the front yard, but it grows better with a bit of shade.

Well, I have a few more things, some of which are over or just starting. Shasta Doublefile Viburnum is almost over and the Fringe trees, while fragrant, are losing their petals. Columbines popped up everywhere, now slightly past their prime, and the lily of the valley is about over.
I’ve worked really hard in the garden, but it still needs so much more weeding, trimming, and quite a few other tasks.
To leave on a happy note (the whole post is happy, but this is what really made my day) : the Sweet Gum trees that I thought were goners have showed new growth. Perhaps the very late hard frosts had killed back the new growth on those trees and they were just slow to recover. I hope thye make it through the summer- then we will be home free.

Also, I cut the Lonicera fragrantissima down to the ground (actually my husband used the chainsaw to cut it down for me), Now it is responding with new growth.

All is well.

Til later, Friends.

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© 2014 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

About Ilona Erwin

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

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  2. Ilona Erwin says

    Some call it “orchid pink” and it carries well visually in the garden, looking very much like the photo, although it can intensify the pink at times.