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. 

Summer's Early Arrival

It's not even official yet, but the mercury has sure said, "Summer" the past few days.

The shade thermometer at 4:30 PM, today.

We have two window AC units to keep us comfy and while we know our cats are also not fans of the heat, for some reason, they prefer to stretch out on the floor in the warmer parts of the house.

Taz being silly

We had rain just one day before the heat wave so the garden is handling the heat better than the humans, or the cats. And now I'll prove it. 

I found this little Blue Pimpernel at a variety store for cheap and decided I needed to have it. It just started blooming.

Blue Pimpernel Anagallis monellii

Another little flower, Talinum calycinum just started blooming. I had it in a bed last year but it got smothered by its neighbors so I dug up all the seedlings (it reseeds beautifully) and planted them in a pot. The flowers are no bigger than a half inch in diameter, but so pretty!

Talinum calycinum

It's easy to see the male and female flower parts. No wonder they reseed so well.

This 'Double Delight' rose bush has been struggling for years under the shade of neighboring trees. I think maybe it has adapted to the low light because this is the second blossom this year. Not a bumper crop by any means but I'll take what I can get.

The uber fragrant, Rosa 'Double Delight'

While nursery hopping with my garden buddy Heather last week, I couldn't pass up getting two pots of bargain-priced hardy orchids (Bletilla ochracea). Aren't those the cutest faces?

Bletilla ochracea

I was also unable to resist two pots of Lewis Monkeyflower I recently spied. It's been on my wish list forever. I love that flower.

Lewis Monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii) going "ahh!"

Astrantia maxima

Cool pink flowers on Rodgersia 'Bronze Peacock'

 I sowed Salvia viscosa seed in early 2015. One plant made it. And now it's blooming! 

Salvia viscosa

I'm happy that all of my little Chinese Foxglove survived.

Chinese Foxglove Rehmannia elata

The annual Rhodochiton is blooming like crazy!

Rhodochiton 'Purple Bells'

Rosa 'Lyda' survived its transplant last year.

Japanese Iris Iris ensata 'Variegata'

The first bloom on Scabiosa caucasica 'Fama' with lots more to come

Alstroemeria 'Tri-Color'

Brachyscome 'Magenta Bliss' with variegated Ivy

Rosa glauca

Rosa glauca

Clematis viticella 'Confetti'

My night-blooming phlox is doing great this year. 

Here is super sweetly fragrant Night-Blooming Phlox after 4 PM
(Zaluziankya capensis 'Midnight Candy')

And here it is before 4 PM.

And now presenting a 

Before 

& 

After 

Here is an area right by the covered patio that was terribly overgrown and messy. I had mistakenly planted my (huge) Indigofera heterantha here. Then to add insult to injury, I underplanted the area with a spreading Japanese anemone and ... (wait for it) Bishop's Weed. Yes. That was almost twenty years ago. I was dumb. There was also a hardy fuchsia squeezed in there. 

Before

In February I started digging on the dormant Indigofera and with much determination I was able to get it out of the ground and relocated to a spot where it can stretch out. The Japanese Anemones and Bishop's Weed are an ongoing chore. The hardy fuchsia wasn't nearly as difficult to relocate.

After

The focal point of the area is a comparatively compact and well-behaved 'Ruby Slippers' Hydrangea quercifolia with a few smaller edging plants.   

Here's a look from the patio. The gravel channel is for rainwater run-off from the patio roof,

And another vantage point, to the right of the area, looking out into part of the garden.

I'll probably add a few more ground covers to the area but first I want to make sure there aren't any more Japanese anemone or Bishop's Weed roots threatening to come back. 

And finally, some wide shots.

The Mock Orange, Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile' in the background.
Wow did the warm temperatures bring out its fragrance. 

You can see the aforementioned redux in the very back of this photo.
The little Thyme carpet is getting ready to bloom.
The bees are going to be so happy.

These Dianthus are not terribly thrilled with getting so much shade from the tree above them.
I might have to do some relocating this fall.

It's getting a little chaotic.

Rosa 'William Baffin' and boy have those Boxwood balls really grown!

The glorious Clematis viticella 'Madame Julia Correvon'
Not the best photo, unfortunately.

Finally:

The resident spotted towhees have abandoned not one but two nests so far this year.
This one had eggs.

Thanks for visiting, everyone. Enjoy your gardens.