My garden is practically exploding right now, each day bringing more flowers to admire and just as quickly, others fading away. The look changes so rapidly it’s hard to keep up. Quick, let’s take a tour before the heat wilts the show!
Come with me and my camera as I make the rounds.
Starting at the front curb is frothy Snow-in-summer, or Cerastium, blooming like crazy in a cloud of white. It’s nearly over now, so a few of these shots were taken last week. I like this hard-working ground cover not only for its carpet of white flowers, but the foliage stays a soft silvery grey nearly year-round, even in winter.
Along with briliant golden barberry, spirea and a dwarf blue spruce, the contrast makes for eye-popping color.
This bed contains utility boxes, so spirea was put in to hide them. Magic Carpet opens red then yellow, complimenting the Orange Rocket barberry hedge behind.
Soon it will flower in hot pink, the foliage will turn chartreuse and finally apricot by fall — a total of five colors from one cultivar. Moving farther along in this bed are dwarf conifers, many peonies and roses as well as annuals and assorted perennials.
Sparkling Star is an early single peony with a large golden boss. A pink penstemon peeks out from under the cerastium, and pink peony Rozella brings up the rear. Sarah Bernhardt will be open tomorrow.
Chestine Gowdy reveals frilly light pink and white bicolor markings.
A cool shade of medium pink, hardy Buck rose Carefree Beauty and a red Knockout add punches of color. Single peony Polly Sharp shows off puffy golden centers, like big fat daisies. I love their informal blowsy quality, so rare in a peony. Rain doesn’t faze them.
Just above Polly Sharp is Phlomis Amazone, a new minty perennial for me, with its tall whorled blooms. This is its third year in the garden and first time in bloom. Pretty! The bees will love it.
Behind it is light blue Amsonia hubrictii. Amsonia turns brilliant yellow in autumn.
But in spring, amsonia’s coloring echoes the Korean fir Silberlocke. Both play off the red barberry hedge. The barberry will soon tone down to a more accommodating bronze until fall before flaring up again.
Below the barberry is Low-Gro Sumac budding up. Its flowers are tiny and insignificant, but that’s not why I planted it. This tough groundcover is tailor-made for difficult banks under black walnut trees, like I have here. It turns a deep burgundy in autumn.
Farther along the the bank, grasses and other perennials thrive in mid-growth. There’s not a lot to see in flower yet. Looking up, you can just glimpse foxgloves, catmint and a peachy Julie Rose peony at the very top. This section will come alive in midsummer.
Self-seeding Orlaya or White Finch brightens the rear bank while everything else gets going. Orlaya is an annual that looks a lot like Queen Anne’s Lace but blooms earlier. I let it do its thing as a filler.
Another pretty filler is purple Toad Flax, or Linaria. This airy self-seeder blooms off and on all summer. It has a slender habit that fits in most anywhere, adding a sprinkle of color wherever it grows. It’s just starting to open.
Siberian iris and a light toffee-colored bearded iris named Champagne Elegance are in flower along the bank’s rim and rear.
The woodland show is about over, but here are a few photos from two weeks ago. Camassia, Aralia, phlox Blue Moon, magenta Millenium Allium, Bleeding Heart Alba and Winky Blue-and-White Columbine were all in bloom at once.
Also Mount Everest Allium, Viburnum Summer Snowflake and deliciously fragrant Carolina allspice or sweetshrub, called Michael Lindsey. The latter has dark red flowers and smells of sun-kissed strawberries when it first opens. The ethereal scent quickly dissipates, but it’s absolutely captivating for a few days.
Along the house on the north side Pieris Mountain Fire, several hydrangeas, a white Rhododendron and Sky Pencil Hollies fill in. This is a difficult position in total shade, so the plantings reflect that.
One interesting choice here is Calycanthus Venus, a white Carolina Allspice. It’s a relatively new cultivar and very vigorous but has little scent. It blooms sporadically off and on despite the deep shade.
On the opposite edge running along the top of the side bank, Toronto and Beverly Sills bearded iris make a coral and purple duo, as well as another purple whose name escapes me.
Next to the driveway the main perennial bed dominates the property. This time of year it’s bursting with salvia, lambsear, catmint, peonies, foxgloves and iris. Not visible are geum, bellflower, lilies and phlox.The color palette is a cool blue and white until the tiger lilies bloom.
Peonies Garden Treasure and Raspberry Sundae are spectacular.
Schubertii allium looks like a Fourth of July sparkler. It makes a fun dried flower but unfortunately it has a rather short stem.
Festiva Maxima peony is so lush and fragrant! Unfortunately they grew so fast from all the rain that they’re over four feet tall, bending and toppling over their supports. I salvaged as many as I could for the house. The heat accelerated their blooms, so the show is briefer than usual. Nearly all my peonies opened together this year.
On the other side of the drive is the hellebore bed under a large Norway spruce. The hellebores are waning, but chartreuse hakone grass Aurea is coming in nicely. This bed also has Coronation Gold Achillea (yarrow), Helen von Stein lambsear and many other perennials. A Kousa dogwood and a sweetbay magnolia round out the trees, with low Soft-touch Japanese hollies extending out to the mailbox from the still slumbering “meadow” garden.
You’ll have to wait until later for that show…that’s it for today, folks!
I hope you enjoyed the tour. Stay tuned as the garden evolves over the summer.
