June Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month

I want to highlight some blooms that are not the usual ones I post every June.

Lychnis coronaria, Rose campion is such a work horse. It blooms in heat, reseeds well, survives winters, and the color combo of silver and magenta is striking.

Coconut lime echinacea is a hybrid that is lower in height, and not as attractive to pollinators as the native. Here, some little guy poses on a petal.

Speaking of lime ... this is lime green nicotiana. As thick as ever at this time of year, and a proflific reseeder. I keep it separated from the white in another garden to keep it from intermixing, and to maintain the green color. This year the fragrance at night is incredible.

I was lazy and did not cut off the seed pods one year. A whole lot of different hostas sprouted the following year. I kept about a half dozen including this one.

This lavendar was free at the Garden Bloggers Fling when it came to Washington DC. Lavender 'Phenomenal' is exceptional in that none of it died back in winter, and the amount of blooms is awesome.

\Once I figured out what this low-growing iris was (picked up at a plant swap), it was moved from the sunny garden to damp part shade. My native crested iris (Iris cristata) is now flourishing and I am rewarded with flowers.



An impatient visitor waiting for pollen to open.

Daylilies I crossed using the orange ditch lily with 'Night of Passion'. Very proud and pleased with the results, but the colors get washed out to a dull pale rust in bright hot sunlight.

Find more ther garden bloggers' blooms on May Dream Gardens.

June 2020 Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month

There is a lot going on in the garden at this time of year. Most of these are perennials that have been featured in past years, but I will try to add a few comments and use closeups for this year's photos.

After receiving them from a Master Gardener plant swap three years ago, these bloomed well for the first time this year. A little research turned up that they are 'beach-head iris", found along the eastern coastal areas. They do best in part shade here.

Hydrangea 'Incrediball' is looking as good as ever, but just wait until the next heavy rain or wind. Half will be bowing to the ground.

A type of Opuntia -- Prickly Pear Cactus.

Unknown hosta that seeded itself three years ago.

Closeup of St. John's Wort 'Brigadoon'. This cultivar has beautiful lime green leaves when they start out.

Unknown daylily cultivar. This will bloom again off and on during the summer.

Purple coneflowers have just started.

For other garden bloggers' bloom day photos, spring over to the blog May Dreams Gardens

June 2015 Bloom Day

Lots of things are popping out of the gardens - 'Never Looked So Good' should be the theme applied to many garden inhabitants this month. Onion and green beans comprise the bounty to date, and go well together in a three bean salad. Fresh basil and oregano work wonders on a grilled pizza. More hot weather is on the way, though.

The datura is off to a great start and has never looked so large this early. This is the second time I have grown this moonflower, and hope it does better than the first which was in a more shady spot.

'Night of Passion' is what I think this daylily is called, after viewing 100,000 photos online.

The hydrangea has never looked so good. Although I wrote about my Annabelle hydreangea, a fellow master gardener believes this one is not Annabelle because the blooms are too enormous and perfect. 'Incrediball' is probably the correct name. Ignore my sorry attempt at staking.

Even the hostas are getting in on the bloom fun.

Another bloomer that has never looked so good this year. After years of care, 'Miss Lingard' phlox is now an established perennial that needs no attention. How did I end up with so many whites? They do look cool in this hot summer weather.

Lychnis coronaria has so many names I am reluctant to call it anything but its formal name. When they are planted together, they look like a fun bunch. But pulling out their thousands of seedlings (as bad as cleome) is not fun.

Tradescantia was moved last fall to a shadier location, and it loves its new digs. Never blooming into the hot weather except for this year, it is yet another one that has never looked so good.

Finally, the first photo of phase 1 of my hell strip beautification attempt. It is surprising how many neighbors see this, but don't notice the larger cottage garden in the front yard. Thanks to Scott at Rhone Street Gardens blog for the inspiration to do this.

For other garden bloggers' bloom day photos, spring over to the blog May Dreams Gardens.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: rudbeckia, phlox, poppy, geranium, datura, tradescantia, echinacea, phlox, lychnis, hydrangea, hosta,   • Harvested: green beans (bush) 1 onion

Full Figured Frances Williams

I did have a few moments last week to photograph and write about the Frances Williams hosta (Hosta sieboldiana), between a national convention, picnics, and happy hour in a whirlwind weekend. One of my only two plants from the 'famous Walmart collection' is now in its third year, and it continues to improve and impress. This year, Frances Williams is larger than life and reaching her full figured size. Look at those ginormous quilted 1-foot (30 cm) leaves! No slug can gnaw through that thick hide.

Frances Williams was an American hosta connoisseur and breeder. This was one of the first big leaf hostas, so it became very popular despite its shortcomings. What are they? First, like the best vampires, there is an intolerance to sunlight and summer heat. Second, it is slow to grow and mature with age. I read that the less green on a host leaf, the more sun tolerant it is.

He or she? Frances was a she. And she has 17 hostas to her credit, along with a notable impact on the American Hosta scene. This particular plant was given one name by Ms. Williams, but renamed in honor of her at a later date. Two different stories emerge about its origins. Did she breed this or find it in a batch of seedlings in the 1930s? Regardless, it was one of the most popular hostas for a very long time. Newer varieties improved on its deficiencies, but it is still around as an original.

My plant was purchased from Walmart and split into two after my infamous shopping trip there three years ago. I have been back a few times since, and have never seen anything like the selection available then.

Each year, the colorful leaves emerge bigger than the last. Flowers are on sturdy stalks, about 18-inches tall (45 cm). And each year, the plant develops crispy burnt leaves toward mid summer. In truth, it gets direct morning sun for about 3 hours. Its size has increased in direct proportion to the organic amendments I add to the clay between her toes.

Growing between the two gals is Gold Standard - a perfect companion. It has chartreuse leaves with green edges, as opposed to Frances with her green leaves with chartreuse edges. Goldie is lower growing with more-pointed leaves that gradually change over the growing season from chartreuse to gold yellow. Flowers are unimpressive, but we don't grow them for floral arrangements. I lucked out with another pair of plants with great complimenting colors. Tell them I planned it that way.

For The Record:   • Heavy clay soil with lots of organic amendments   • Mostly moist shade, a little direct morning sun   • Small amount of organic fertilizer   • Slugs and something else eating small holes in Goldie   • Burnt leaf edges in summer due to heat and direct sun (I think) Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: Echinacea, nicotiana, daylily, peony poppy, hosta, tradescantia   • Harvested: Radishes

Neon Hostas

With three or four years of hostas under my belt, you would think I know my plants pretty well. This fall they surprised me, maybe because of the unusual weather, maybe because of they are more mature, or maybe because they are trying to impress me.

Two of the hostas have stood out. The first, True Blue, was purchased three years ago and is described as, "Large, heart-shaped gray-blue leaves with slightly wavy margins and moderate puckering, excellent substance and pest resistance, near white flowers." To date, they have proved the description correct.

This fall, however, True Blue turned mellow yellow. The leaves changed color to a neon gold. In the dull shade of the back yard, the yellow is a stand out. In previous years, the leaves may have been a little colorful, but mostly just turned brown and disappeared.

Leaves on trees seem to be holding on longer this fall. My bearded iris is blooming again. Is there a more gradual than normal change in the season this year, allowing the hosta to fade slowly rather than quickly die off? And what are those black and tan pointy thingies hanging off the hostas? For the first time, the True Blue seed pods fully matured, completely dried, and dropped seeds!

And who is in that last photo? It's Frances Willimas, the other large shade hosta. Like the True Blue, their leaves are dying off slowly, but are not changing color all at once. Instead, these are changing from the outside edges inward, producing a tri-color green, yellow, the brown pattern. The seed pods are also quite plentiful and maturing.

The other hostas are turning in this fall as usual. Only the large hostas are putting on a show this year.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: pink cosmos, mexican zinnia, acidanthera

The Garden of Doom

With the fourth annual Spring Plant Swap behind us, it may be a good time for an evaluation of the swapees that followed me home in past years. First, we must remember the departed that never made it after finding my yard a garden of doom:

• The First Nandina - This was planted after a fall plant swap. It went into dormancy and stayed that way. A second Nandina obtained a year later is alive and well.

• Shasta Daisy - This was also planted after a fall plant swap. It grew well into the spring, began budding, then, well, began pushing up daisies.
• Rudbeckia - seeds were planted after a fall plant swap and grew nothing but dirt in the spring
• Coneflower - again with the seeds. After planting in the fall AND spring, they at least provided some organic matter to the soil.

• Lily - an unknown peach Asian lily was planted after two separate swaps. They hit a home run, thriving and multiplying in their home yard, but struck out in my yard. A third lily was obtained last fall (the donor cannot give them away fast enough) and is now growing this spring!

It's not all doom and gloom. Of course, there are success stories. Money for nothing and your plants for free:

• Mahogany Iris - these did not come with a name, and after an exhaustive search of the internet, are still nameless. Growing well.

• Dwarf Coreopsis - ('Nana') this was picked up last spring with two blossoms. Today, there are dozens - very happy in its location.
• St. John's Wort - ('Brigadoon') picked up last spring. This lights up a shady spot with chartreuse green, but to date hasn't grown much.
• Dwarf Hosta - again, no name is associated with these 3-year old donations.
• Purple Iris - (no name again) a handful of small rhizomes from last fall produced one flower stalk this spring. However, I was expecting a Japanese iris from the gardener's description last year.
• Spiderwort - these took off upon planting last spring. Today they are a blooming, healthy, happy bunch.
• New England Asters - I donate some purple ones every year, but picked up some magenta. You can't kill 'em if you tried.
• Gooseneck Loostrife - [22.6.2008] after two years, this ground cover is covering a lot of ground, requiring spring cleaning.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: dutch iris, bearded iris, rose,     spiderwort, coreopsis, salvia

Mushroomed

After waiting a few years for something to happen, several ornamental plants have mushroomed into large showy displays this year. Now in its third year, the gooseneck loostrife (Lysimachia clethroides) [22.6.2008] have spread into a tough, formidable, low-growing bush. Two years of tender loving care and manure/humus have encouraged it to begin its notorious spreading. For the first time, I have been pulling up rhizomes in the spring.

The concrete hostas [10.8.2008] growing in full sun have flower stalks that rivaled the bearded iris. Such a mass of blooms from my deck looks like a solid lavender cluster. The same plants in the shade are less conspicuous, not as large, and do not get their leaves crisped.

The coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) [10.6.2007] have now grown into a firm bush. Goldfinches no longer need to balance on the tops, swaying under their weight. The number of stalks support each other. They are the highest - standing tall in the front garden.

After three years, the obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) [1.8.2008] has decided to produce clusters of flowers on branching flower stalks instead of flowers along one solitary stalk. This feat allows the flowers to bloom for a longer period of time, and gives a thicker display of blooms.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: Cosmos, obedient plant, hostas, nicotiana, loosestrife,     coneflowers, daylillies, cleome, liatris, phlox   • Harvested: broccoli, lettuce   • Progress: tomatoes 1"; peppers 0.5"

Concrete Hostas

The green hostas are finished blooming, but at least they are not growing in concrete the way they were found. While visiting some friends in May two years ago, the entire foundation along their summer home on Staten Island (they live in Manhattan, so their Staten Island house is considered a summer vacation home) was thick with plain green-leaf hostas. Hostas are known for being a tough plant, but concrete? I was given permission to dig up a few and haul them back to Virginia on the train. After clearing away some leaves to begin digging them up, no soil could be found. Moving away large chunks of concrete yielded smaller and smaller concrete pieces until eventually roots were found thriving in sandy gravel. These were growing in construction debris. Needless to say, if plants survived concrete soil, they survived the train ride a day later and summer transplanting.

Two plants were placed in shade, and one in partial shade. The sunnier location yielded lighter colored green leaves that tended to dry out and burn a little around the edges. But this plant also grew larger than the shady two, and produced twice as many flower stalks this summer. And, it also formed seed pods pictured here, whereas the shady siblings did not. One gardener offered an explanation that being in so much sun, the plant was stressed and through it was doomed, so it rushed to reproduce, growing more flowers and seed pods.

There are three other hosta varieties growing in the backyard garden, but only this no-name variety is doing well. The others are 'Gold Standard' and two unknown varieties obtained in our local plant swap brunch. All hostas are relative newcomers to the garden, and their sun and soil requirements still need some tweaking (and a year or two more to really fill in.)

Some Online Hosta Resources
  • Growing Hostas Fact Sheet
  • The Hosta Patch Store
  • New Hampshire Hostas Store
  • Green Mountain Hosta Nursery
  • Hosta Library
  • Bridgewood Gardens Hosta Store
  • American Hosta Society

For The Record:   • Heavy clay soil   • Partial shade / full shade   • Peat and humus manure fertilizer Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: silver salvia, nicotiana, cosmos, sunflowers, canna, zinnias, castor, basil   • Harvested: 12 tomatoes