Fun in the Sun

When you see the term "fun in the sun" you probably think of white-sand beaches and pool parties. But gardeners know that playing in the garden can be equally or in some cases (me!) much more enjoyable than lounging on the beach. 

It looks like summer has arrived early here in the Pacific Northwest. We've had sunny weather with highs in the 70s and even 80s. Typically we don't see more than a scattering of nice days until the middle of July when the rain turns off and the temperatures turn up. But nobody is complaining! After several dreary, wet springs, this year is a welcome change.  

Here is a fragrant blossom on my poor, neglected Rosa rugosa bush.

My little pink-flowered 'Jeanne LaJoie' is just starting to bloom. 

Wow, my camera really brought out the ruby highlights of Rosa glauca.
I've got it planted with Aster lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’and Bronze Fennel. 

I just love these Verbascums. 

Not the best picture, this is Jasminium beesianum just starting to bloom. 

I just love Dianthus! These guys have been in my garden forever
and they never fail to dazzle me when they bloom. 

Calamintha grandiflora is also starting to bloom.
I have two healthy plants but I think I need more
so I'm going to see if I can root some cuttings.

Cistus 'Gold Prize' ... I think. The label on this plant said simply, 'Golden Cistus'
and I can't remember where I purchased it last year.
After searching the Internet, I'm going to conclude that it's 'Gold Prize' although some of the online images
depict a green leaf with yellow margins. 

I love the rosy buds and I should have a flower tomorrow!
And yes, that is a Bishop's weed photo bomb. :) 

Anemonella thalictroides is still just a bitty thing so I'm keeping it in a container
which I can now see needs a freshening up of  the moss topdressing.
Funny the things you see with the camera's lens. 

The last of my Dutch Iris...planted years ago. 

My Hydrangea serrata 'Omacha Nishiki' is such a beauty.
And look at all those flower buds. 

This was a small plant last year when I purchased it so I kept it in a pot.
I think it's about ready to go into the garden.
But where? 

I know many gardeners despise Euphorbia cyparissias ‘Fens Ruby’ due to it's traveling prowess. But I really like the tiny, fragrant blossoms.

My Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) is just beginning to bloom.
I love these because they look pretty in bouquets for my desk at work. 

I planted seed a year ago and the plants sailed right through our wicked winter. 

In a shady spot, my Hart's Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) juts skyward
as if to say, move aside, peeps, I'm coming up for air. 

I love this plant. 

The goodies in my vintage wheel barrow are coming to life. 

Here is the entire rusty, vintage vignette. The aforementioned wheel barrow is
to the left, behind the sewing machine. You can only see the yellow Sedum 'Angelina.' 

This Hypericum (Hypericum androsaemum) is ruby-leaved progeny from
the more lightly variegated H. a. 'Glacier.' Go figure.
It's kind of weird how these plants get to frolicking. 

This is a newbie this year. Geranium 'Victor Reiter.' The leaves, which are the
best part of the plant, are actually a bit darker than they appear here. 

Yesterday, at the Corvallis Habitat for Humanity ReStore, I found this plant.
Can you guess what it is?
Eryngium yuccafolium. $2.00. STEAL!
I asked my peeps on Facebook if I should go back for the two remaining pots
and got a resounding YES!
Commonly called Rattlesnake Master, it is a host for Swallowtail
butterfly larvae. More info can be found here.

My in-ground planting of Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigra’) looked terrible.
So I dug it up and planted it in two containers with
Sedum 'Angelina' for contrast. We'll see how it fares here. 

And finally: A Confession

I really try hard to not fall prey to current trends. I like to think of myself
as a free-thinking rogue, not easily swayed by the titillation of mass media.
When it became apparent that Digiplexis would be the IT plant of the year,
I found it easy to eschew, given its high price and marginal hardiness. 

But then I saw this at Home Depot. With multiple side-shoots
and deep green foliage, it was the picture of health and vigor. 

Um, yeah. $7.00? .... I think I can do that.
After all it's a PINK flower ! I'll plant it in a spot where I can protect it easily
should we get a repeat of last winter's arctic unpleasantness. 

So there you go. I'm officially part of the IT crowd now.  Yay me.
Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' 

Thanks for visiting!

May? Well, That Escalated Quickly

"Slow down!" This is what I'd like to say, not just to the cars speeding down my street, but to Mother Nature too. I love this time of year and I don't want it to end too quickly, dang it. Each evening after work I spend at least an hour walking the garden paths, unwinding and looking for opportunities to putter and create. Even when I'm not in the garden, my mind is ruminating on ways to improve a little troubling scenario--which is code for "bare dirt." 

I've been taking lots of photos. Here are the highlights.

Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' is actually the second rose to bloom this year.
The first is Rosa rugosa. I'm not sure why I didn't get a photo of it.
'Rhapsody in Blue' is now a really happy plant but started from a humble
cutting, a gift from my garden buddy Carol.
It has a fabulous fragrance.

Years ago I "rescued" two clumps of Pacific Coast Iris from the roadside.
After the initial culture shock, they settled in and now bloom reliably every year.
They're so delicate and sweet. But tough as nails. Kind of like me.  Ha, ha.

Antennaria dioica Pink Pussy Toes is a newbie this year. 
It's one of those plants that I look at and say, "Where have you been all my life?" 

Astrantia major ‘Ruby Wedding’ is just getting started. Whenever I see it,
I think of Scott Weber, the exceedingly talented Portland gardener, photographer
and proud new owner of Lil Sebastian. 

Incarvillea delavayi or Hardy Gloxinia is also a newbie I couldn't resist while
rummaging through the plant offerings at a local nursery.
It will go dormant in mid-summer.
Now, I want to buy its summer-blooming cousin, I. olgae. 

Heuchera 'Paris' has remained in this same pot since I bought it several years ago.
It blooms all summer and the foliage is nice too.
Definitely one of the most reliable Heucheras for me. 

I guess I bought a bunch of Allium 'Purple Sensation' last fall...

...because they're blooming all over the place.
Here, they're inter-planted with Phlox paniculata that will bloom in July. 

Camas (Camassia quamash) are just finishing up.
The native bumble bees really go for these native plants.
Makes me happy.

Melittis melissophyllum has really outdone itself this, its second year.
It makes me think of Barry, Canadian shade-gardener extraordinaire.
Thank you for introducing me to this lovely plant, Barry.

Phlox pilosa or as multi-talented Tennessee gardener Gail Eichelberger, likes to call
PPPP--Practically Perfect Pink Phlox is also all abloom.
Gail graciously shared this plant with me several years ago. Gail is awesome. 

Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Karmina’ has really grown on me. It has seeded nicely all 
around my shaded pergola area so I guess you could say it has grown on me and the garden. 
 If I keep it watered, those sweet round leaves will make a nice ground cover all summer. 

I purchased Geranium ‘Birch Double’ last fall. It's not a rambunctious geranium 
but these flowers are so nice. 

Jacob's Ladder, (Polemonium caeruleum ‘Apricot Delight’) grows in a container under my patio covering. 
This way the rain and hail don't smash its delicate stems and flowers to smithereens. 

Verbascum 'Helen Johnson' is not delicate but top-heavy. It will
flop without a little help from mankind. 

I bought one plant of Silene robotii ‘Roly’s Favorite’ back in 2008.
One plant! 
I let it go to seed and its progeny have made themselves very at home in my garden.
The flowers are pink so, of course, it can stay. 

The progeny of Silene robotii ‘Roly’s Favorite’ grow much taller. 
Once they finish blooming, I'll cut the entire plant down to ground-level. 
It might put up a few blooms during the summer, otherwise just stay looking nice and green. 
For all these blossoms, it takes up very little garden real estate.

Speaking of pink, my Fagus sylvatica ‘Tricolor’ is "blooming." This tree is also a gift from my garden
buddy Carol. It's in a pot. Eventually it's going to need a permanent home. 
I'm not going to think about that right now.  

Thalictrum aquilegifolium “Meadow Rue” has also seeded in my garden. 
Here is one of the offspring blooming with 
Weigela florida 'Variegata' blossoms in the background.

Last fall, I had to break the container to get my Mukdenia rossii ‘Crimson Fans’ out of it. 
I think it likes its new in-ground home. It's just starting to blush. 
If you look closely on the right, you'll see the blue-green foliage of a poppy volunteer
that I didn't have the  heart to pull out. 

I captured this photo just last evening. 
How perfect is the Japanese Blood Grass, (Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’)
with back-lighting from the evening sunshine? 

I am so proud of this artichoke plant. (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus)
I know they're "common" but these guys survived the record-breaking cold last winter.
I put a box over them which I'm sure helped but mostly I think they just wanted to live and make me happy.
They did and they do.
Behind it, against the fence is the winter-scarred Pacific Wax Myrtle. More on that later.

Rodgersia 'Bronze Peacock' is in its second year.
The leaves aren't very bronzy but there are no slug holes so it's all good.

Also in its second year, Syneilesis aconitifolia. Only three leaves. I'm so dang impatient. 
But at least it's healthy, right? 

The leaves on Parthenocissus henryana "Silver-Vein Creeper" make me sooooo happy. 
Because this guy is planted in a really shady spot, I wasn't sure if the "silver" veination 
would show up or if the whole leaf would look green. I needn't have worried. 

Brunnera macrophylla  ‘Jack Frost’ is another gift from Carol. Look at how robust it is this year. 

Beside the Brunnera is Hellebore 'Hot Flash' which I purchased for the foliage rather than the flower.
Underneath it is Oxalis crassipes.
Side note: The winter cold killed all my container plantings of Oxalis. (I had several.)
Fortunately the in-ground plantings were protected and survived. 

Sword and Lady Ferns, Fallopia (Polygonum cuspidatum ‘Variegata’)  and Lamium 'Ghost'
situated by my pond, under the Japanese maple tree. 

 Hosta 'Sum & Substance', Persicaria 'Red Dragon' and Aucuba japonica 'Gold Dust'
playing well together under the pear tree, with a few more pink Silene blossoms photo-bombing.  

Hosta 'Sum & Substance' looks better than ever this year.
This photo doesn't show how huge it is so you'll have to take my word for it.

Oh, almost forgot. 

Congrats to Eileen Hanley of Gatsby Gardens who is the winner of 

the random drawing for a copy of my book

Grace in the Garden. 

Thank you to all who entered.