May Bloomers

This time of year is so delightful in the garden. There are lots of photos so I'm going to keep my words to a minimum. 

Clematis 'Ernest Markham'

New this year (on sale!) Clematis 'Dr. Ruppel'
In my opinion, it has much better better coloring than C. 'Nelly Moser'.

This is Linaria triomithophora or Giant Toadflax.
There has been some discussion on FB regarding its resurgence.
Annie's Annuals sells it
but I was honored to receive a clump from my friend Diana. I love it! 

The purple flowers bloom up the stem. Even before they bloom, the buds are interesting.

Pink Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima rubifolia) and Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)

Variegated Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum 'Harlequin')

Weigela florida 'Variegata' is intensely fragrant on warm days.

And the bees love the flowers.

The first little blossom on Rosa 'Jeanne LaJoie'

Camas Camassia qualmash

Looking down...

Meadow Rue (Thalictrum aquilegifolium)

Painted Daisy (Tanacetum cocineum)

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' Flower and buds

Dwarf Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) in flower

Geranium 'Elke' 

First flower bud on Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue'

Here it is in full bloom! So fragrant.

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) 

Euphorbia stygiana, purchased in the spring of 2014. It's now over five feet tall.

Here is a photo of the Euphorbia's flower. Not much to look at but, oooh, the fragrance!
The delicious, honey fragrance is far-reaching and stops me in my tracks.

Silene...blooming all over my garden right now.

It goes to seed everywhere but I don't mind.

Variegated Silene ~ Silene dioca 'Clifford Moor' has been in this pot for several years.
After experimenting, and finding every other situation unsatisfactory, I found that
growing it in a pot is the best option.
Even after the blooms quit, the foliage looks nice. 

Has anyone else been dealing with spittle bugs?

I wanted to show you a comparison. On the left is Mukdenia rossii 'Crimson Fans'.
On the right, Mukdenia rossii 'Karasuba'. Notice the drastic difference in leaf texture.
In my opinion, stick with 'Crimson Fans.'

The main reason I bought this Hellebore was for the fantastic leaves.
Helleborus x ericsmithii 'Ruby Glow'

Last week we had a hail storm. Check out the damage on my Edgeworthia chrysantha...

... and my Tetrapanax.

Does your Tetrapanax do this? Drop its smaller, outer leaves? It almost looks like a crime scene.

Stachys lavanduifolia is starting to bloom.

Hosta 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake' finally found a home
under my Sobaria. Now if the slugs will stay away...

Loving the bluish foliage on the Rosa glauca above the Lychnis viscaria.

The super-easy to grow and very long blooming Geranium pyrenaicum 'Summer Sky'
does a great job mingling in among the shade-lovers.

After going into shock from being moved from shade to sun a few years ago,
my Carpenteria californica is finally going to bloom.

My daughter's boyfriend brought us this bird's nest that had fallen to the ground.
I put it in this basket and added three green rocks. 

Ohio Buckeye(s)

Recently on the news, reporters sought the answer to a question apparently on many Oregon citizens' minds right now. What is a buckeye? I was sitting on the sofa, only half paying attention to the question and quickly replied, "a tree. Duh." 

We who garden know these things. For the rest, there is Wikipedia, full of information and photos of Aesculus glabra. Or there is the nightly news. 

With the Oregon masses duly educated, said TV reporters asked passersby if we shouldn't cut down a heritage, prominently located Buckeye tree because, of course, the University of Oregon football team will be competing with the Ohio State Buckeyes for the national championship. It was done tongue-in-cheek, I hope. Oregon loves its trees. But maybe not as much as it loves its football. I'm not sure. 

Admittedly I can ignore a football game for a garden tour any day. I love the buckeye tree (also called Horse Chestnut). The verdant, palm-shaped leaves are fabulous and the red-flowered variety is jaw-dropping when in bloom. Despite being completely winter-hardy it has a tropical look that I can't resist. Below is a photo I took a few years ago of Buckeye blossoms.  

With petals leaning more towards hot-pink than red, this Buckeye, what I assume is
Aesculus pava is a small tree or large shrub, perfect for those of us with limited space. 

Poor Buckeye... humans are so weird.

Anyway, we're fogged in right now. Fortunately the temps aren't terrible-40s and 50s. And I'm noticing just a smidgen more daylight now in the evenings. Hooray! 

It might be wishful thinking but I think I may be detecting a few microscopic flower buds on my Grevillea rosmarinfolia. I'm keeping it in a pot by the door and bringing it inside when the temps dip low like they did last week. It's worth it to witness these fantastic blossoms. 

I've had it planted in the ground twice and lost it both times to winter's cold.
No more! I'm learning. 

And finally I'm seeing lots of buds and a few open flowers on my Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox). While the flowers are nothing to write home about, their scent is to die for. 

I hope you're enjoying your winter months, dreaming of the garden to come.