This old fashioned favorite is top of the list for many gardeners. Although the peak bloom for most of this class of iris is May, they can start as early as April and flower into June (or late summer if you count the reblooming types). Called "Bearded" because they have what looks like a bushy tuft of hair growing on it's fall. Named Iris from the Greek goddess who rode rainbows, because … [Read more...] about Flowers Of May: Bearded Iris
Colorful Flowers
Why we work so hard in the garden is due to the beauty of colorful flowers. They are a large part of the attraction we have to growing certain plants.
Tip for Blooming Peonies
Planting Depth For Peonies . "Plant peonies for a lifetime of spring flowers, but remember not more than three inches below the surface" From Kim, Hypertufagardener If the growing points are too far below the soil surface, it hinders or even prevents the plant from blooming. A general rule is to place the plant about two inches below the surface. More about Peonies, here. … [Read more...] about Tip for Blooming Peonies
How To Grow Lavender For Its Heavenly Scent
Growing Lavender Plants in your Garden First thing to remember is that Lavender requires full sun to grow well. Choose a sunny spot, which means it has 6 hours or more of sun exposure. Good drainage is the next most important condition.If your garden does not have good drainage, plant your lavender in a raised bed, or get the planting area built up so that the roots will not sit in … [Read more...] about How To Grow Lavender For Its Heavenly Scent
Daylilies Grow On You
I just wrote a page about Daylilies, and then saw Kathy Purdy's post on Facebook with a delightful portrait of a variety called "Going Bananas". It got me thinking about what colors of Hemerocallis I like best. Time For Daylilies, on Ilona's Garden From earliest memory when visiting old fashioned gardens that often had a circle of daylilies somewhere in the yard, it was the "Lemon lily" … [Read more...] about Daylilies Grow On You
Instagram Walk
I took a walk in the garden yesterday and shot some photos in the Instagram app. Most of my peonies are on the wane, but caught a pic or two of them along with some old roses. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit Ilona's Garden Journal on facebook: Click here © 2014 written for Ilona's Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog. … [Read more...] about Instagram Walk
Blooming In The Garden
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 … [Read more...] about Blooming In The Garden
August Lilies
Lilies are one of the main joys of August, if you ask me. These are not the blooms of the Asian lilies that come earlier in the season, but those lushly fragrant Oriental lilies and the tall spires of Trumpet and Aurelian strains.These are opulent flowers, luxurious in color, form and perfume.If you don't have the late season lilies blooming in your garden, the time to order them is now, … [Read more...] about August Lilies
Globe Thistles And Other Nice Looking Xeriscape Plants
The last post was about thistles, since I had been hard at work in the garden getting rid of as many as I possibly could manage, but there are lovely garden flowers that have thistle characteristics without their tendency to elbow everything else out. Long ago, when planting my first garden on Glen Echo (isn't that a lovely name for a street? Too bad it was located right next to a raucous, busy … [Read more...] about Globe Thistles And Other Nice Looking Xeriscape Plants
Where Should I Plant This Rose?
I know many of you have done this, too, so I don't feel quite so guilty. So many times I know better, but I can't resist nature, not of plants or my own at times. We are past the season of planting roses... the heat of summer is coming, but a beautiful rose plant was on sale. Forget the fact that you have no real place prepared for it, or even a vague idea of where to put it, it was a beautiful … [Read more...] about Where Should I Plant This Rose?
What’s So Great About Annual Flowers?
A Temporary Transplant My first gardens were all about two kinds of plantings: vegetables and annuals. For one thing, I rented the home, and as a renter, a person is not very motivated to sink time, money, and effort into planting perennials and shrubs. So probably the first thing I did during this period was to plant bulbs. Not annuals in the strict sense, but carefree color when I most … [Read more...] about What’s So Great About Annual Flowers?
10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant
Shirley poppies and Bachelor Buttons Not every garden writer alerts you to the fact that annuals can have seasons that are shorter than other choices. For places like Ohio which have hot summers, there are common annuals that only do well when our weather is cooler, such as in early summer. Those flowers sort of burn out in our hot summer temperatures of midseason, in July and … [Read more...] about 10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant
Do You Like Lavender?
I love it. It is a plant that I have been growing during most of my gardening career, starting with the first herb plants I tucked into my city lot garden. It was in that garden on Glen Echo Drive that I discovered how perfectly paired English lavender (Lavender vera) and dark purple petunias (Purple Sails, at that time) could be in a summer garden. Dark purple petunias, not only for their … [Read more...] about Do You Like Lavender?