A Bunch of Random Photos

We had a stretch of nice weather--two or three days I think--and now we're back to rain. The sunshine and warmth were as good for the garden as they were for the gardener. Plants everywhere are saying, "Hello, world!"

Here is a random sampling.

I bought this native Penstemon at a Master Gardener sale last year. This is the first time it's flowered and I am so impressed. I expected this plant to be persnickety but it settled right in. 

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon rupicola

The pathway

I've got to get rid of those silly concrete blocks and plant something beefy and leafy here. Any suggestions?

I was worried about my Rodgersias not coming back but that was just me worrying. Now it's the Cannas. And the Dahlias...

Rodgersia sp.

The Saxifragas are abloom and looking all frothy and romantic.

Saxifraga x geum 'Dentata'

More random rock garden plants. The little Iris-looking leaves are Candy Lilies (x Pardananda 'Sangria'). I allowed the mother plant to go to seed and now I've got lots of them! 

Armeria maritima rubifolia is just starting to bloom.

Lychnis viscaria is a reliable, no fuss, evergreen, spring-bloomer. 

Lychnis viscaria

Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow'

Euphorbia 'Fireglow' and Geum 'Flames of Passion'

My first rose:

Rosa mutabilis

My first large-flowered Clematis:

Clematis 'Asao'

My first Fuchsia. This variety (I can't remember the name) has really tiny flowers. Not as tiny as F. 'Isis' but close. If you compare the blossom with the leaves, it will give you an idea of how small and cute it is.

Fuchsia sp.

Fuchsia sp.

My Lewisia decided to bloom this year.

Lewisia cotyledon

And my variegated honeysuckle is abloom.

Variegated Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum 'Harlequin')

This is a newbie this year. It's called a hardy Dwarf Snapdragon, (Chaenorrhinum origanifolium 'Summer Skies'). I am hoping they're right about the (winter) hardy part.  

Chaenorrhinum origanifolium 'Summer Skies'

I planted it in this metal box, for now.

In one of my woodland borders, the Primula sieboldii 'Late Snow' is starting to get elbowed by its neighbors.

Primula sieboldii 'Late Snow'

Spiraea x vanhouttei 'Pink Ice'

I always think of my gardening friend Nancy when the Montia are blooming. Don't you love pass-along plants?

Montia parvifloria var. flagellaris

Montia parvifloria var. flagellaris

Persicaria 'Purple Majesty' is looking very majestic this year.

Weigela florida 'Variegata'

This Cuphea jumped into my cart the other day. I love the blossom colors.

Cuphea Vienco 'Red Purple'

Cuphea Vienco 'Red Purple'

The tag says it's  Zone 8 so I'm going to try and winter it over in my newly constructed heated plant  winter-over area. 

Geranium 'Orion' is about to bloom.

 After three years and several moves, I finally found the right place for my ornamental rhubarb. Don't you just love the burgundy undersides of these leaves?

Ornamental Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum var. tanguiticum)

 The rain has been good for this Impatiens.

Impatiens omeiana 'Silver Pink'

Also the Podophyllum...

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty'

The new leaves on this maple are fabulous.

Acer pseudoplatanus 'Esk Sunset'

And these new leaves aren't too shabby either.

Hart's Tongue Fern or Asplenium scolopendrium 

Thanks to extremely good drainage, my pink-flowering California Fuchsia survived the winter! It's not huge, but it's alive!

Zauschneria or Epilobium canum 

Finally, this little guy must have slept through the lesson on camouflage. He's so adorable, all tucked in to Britt-Marie Crawford's burgundy leaves. 

Thanks for visiting my little world. 

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.