Rolling On Into Summer

Peony bloomed May 21st 2020

The old fashioned peonies are blooming, my signature flower that the season has changed and moved on into summer. Why the reason for this particular plant? A couple of reasons actually. One is that in my hometown ( 340 miles north ) Peonies bloom middle to end of June- just in time for the first day of summer. The other is that once these bloom right on cue sticky summer-like air always seems to arrive right about when they start to bloom. Peonies are always something that's been in my garden, in fact all but 1 house I lived in had one somewhere. When first moving into this house there was a line of them out front. It wasn't quite the look I was going for so all but one was removed and given away. It sat pretty lonely in the lawn until the new garden that was added incorporated it right in.

Amsonia 5/27/2020

Baptisia as of 5/27/2020

Also in the garden with the peony is this amazing Baptisia also called False Indigo. I wish I remember the variety because I love it! There was another one of these up by my house which was my first Baptisia which is nice but the color is very muted. On this it is amazing and an intense dark blue. The bark blue one comes from Jenkins Garden Market in Carlisle. The Amsonia was from the same place, this is a fern-leaf type which I've noticed does much better then the other type. At least in my garden anyways.

Iris 'Dividing line'

Iris 'Stars and Stripes forever'

Just like always the Iris are in full glory right now which always happens right along with Peonies. Both of these were gifts from a co-worker and one Stars and Stripes forever has gotten quite large. I was a fan of the blue and white coloration. The other is a smaller Iris so the requested was made to get one. It's very nice but both are!

Salvia 'Color Spires Pink Dwan'

So something has to be made clear here, I am NOT a fan of the purple Salvia! Its something that has always passed up for other flowers because it just never interested me- not even a little. Then I saw this color type, I had to have it at first glace, the small blooms are larger and a pleasant light pink color. Another two-toned one was added near it this year. I'm hoping the stronger flower stalks will help with the issue of falling over which is very common with these. finger crossed!

Hosta varieties

Rhododendron 'Rosum Elegans' 5/27/2020

So another thing that was hard for me to get into was needle evergreens. there fine but feel they are more meant for northern climates which doesn't fit in a heartland area in my opinion. So what I do is add boardleaf evergreens. There are three types of Rhododendrons in my lawn this was is large-leaf type variety Rosum Elegans which is superior for hardiness because typically you would not see these in our region. The late blooms are nice surprise color going into the warm season a great shrub for a shaded space. Speaking of shaded space, My Hostas look downright fantastic this year! The "mild" spring and lack of heat has really brought out their color and nothing has faded yet as it typically does around this time of year. These have been filling in nicely and getting larger. The green one on the top of the hill is my favorite for its name, 'T-Rex'

Columbine in the woodland 5/27/2020

Prairie Garden 5/27/2020

The prairie garden doing its typical early summer fast growth and its filling in quite nicely. The bearded tongue is about to begin blooming. This garden has much of its color in the middle to late part of the season since all these plants are native and they tend to bloom out in the heat of summer. A plant blooming now though are the Columbine which are over in the woodland garden. They really look nice this year and they are starting to seed in other areas, which of course I want.

Woodland Garden 5/27/2020

While I'm showing off the Woodland Garden I must say how proud I am of how this garden is finally taking off! It took a couple years but finally everything is starting to fill in. This is an extremely dense shaded part of my lawn and not suitable for mowing so I planed lots of Pennsylvanian sedge which is a native grass that thrives in shade and fills out. I mixed Hosta into the violets which were already there and added a few other woodland natives. The two Dinosaurs in this photo that live in the Woodland Garden are Little Lucky the T-Rex and a new arrival to the garden Petra the Pterodactyl. The ferns really kick of this garden and give it that extra prehistoric look!