The Garden in the first days of June

A thunder storm rolled into Huttonville just before dawn. 

To me, there is nothing more luxurious than lying snuggled under the covers, watching the flashes of light, and listening to the rain on the roof. 

The dogs were less thrilled with the light show than I was though. Refusing to be comforted, Rusty nervously paced the floor. Buddy wouldn't stop barking, until he was invited up onto the safety of our bed. Scrap was cowering someplace unknown.

The arrival of rain was perfect. After days of sun, the garden was grateful. 

At the moment, the garden is largely a sea of green. In amongst the green though, there is a scattering of blooms. 

So, let's take a closer look:

This was an impulse purchase. It is called 'Carefree Beauty'. I hope that it lives up to its name.

The currant star of the front garden is the indigo colored 'Baptisia' and paler 'Blue Star'.

In the back garden, the bleeding hearts are almost finished.

At their feet, little white anemones and tiny yellow fumitory have come into bloom.

  

As you pass through the arbor, the first of the Siberian irises are in bloom. 

In dappled shade, the main border is primarily green, but there are a few things starting to flower.

The bees are loving the tiny burgundy geraniums.

I have found that many perennial geraniums put up with less than ideal sunlight.

I planted this shrub in the days long before I ever thought of garden blogging and have lost the plant tag. I believe it is a a variety of Viburnum.

This is Blacksnake Root, which self-seeds in the shade. It has beautiful fern-like 

foliage that is burgundy in color.

The color purple is everywhere in the back garden. Dam'e Rocket is a biennal that has self-seeded itself throughout the garden.  After it flowers, I leave just enough to reseed the garden for next spring. I rip the rest out, as the plants are prone to mildew.

As weeds go, I think this is pretty.

With most of the work being confined to weekends, the new vegetable beds are progressing slowly. I hope to have a progress report shortly. ( I think this post is already way too long anyway!)

For today, I end with one final picture of new favourite rose. I look forward to seeing what is blooming in you gardens.

Temptation

With spring so late this year, there is not a blessed, bloody thing blooming in my garden, but a few diminutive crocus. There are no pretty daffodils, no colorful tulips. Even my magnolia has refused to open in the cool weather.

I figure, that if I was to present pictures of my pretty, but oh-so-common crocuses for GBBD, you would probably roll your eyes, while struggling for the words to write in a comment about blooms that are so profoundly unexciting. So, in search of a more interesting post, I made my first foray to the local nursery to see what was blooming there.

Money for new garden flowers is in short supply this spring and I want to try to stay within a very limited budget. I am determined to stick to the spring wish list I have drawn up. (We will see how long that lasts!)

So when I arrived at the nursery, I quickly walked by the displays of Easter flowers, so as not to get distracted. 

Okay-I got a little distracted! I stopped for a second to admire the paper thin blooms of some Ranunculus bulbs in flower.

I have been admiring all the hellebores in everybody's blog posts and really would like to have some in my garden. The selection available at this nursery however was disappointing however, so it wasn't hard to pass them by. (My favorites have been dark plum hellebores.)

The first plant to wink at me was this Jacob's Ladder. What is not most striking about this plant is not the flowers which are a soft blue, but rather the foliage, which is a soft green, with a rose colored accents.

Jacob's Ladder Polemonium "Stairway to Heaven' (Blue flowers May to July. Full sun to partial shade in well drained soil.I have always wanted a Brunnera. Next, I wandered over the the Brunnera. It has been on my list for a few years. I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive! The flowers are nothing to right home about, but the leaves are very handsome.  And Brunnera likes shade, which I have in abundance in the back yard. There were many varieties to choose from:That is Brunnera 'King's Ransom' on the left and Brunnera 'Emerald Mist' on the right.

That is 'Brunnera marophylia varirgata' on the left and the more commonly available Brunnera 'Jack Frost' on the right.

In the end, I decided it was a toss up between 'Jack Frost' and this variety called 'Looking glass'(shown above). I couldn't make a decision, so I decided to wait and get one on my next visit.

White Bleeding Heart 'Dicentra spectabilis alba'

I so pleased with my white and pink bleeding hearts, that I want to add one of the more unusual varieties to my collection. Sadly, I have tried these smaller varieties in the past, with limited success. I am not at all sure where I have gone wrong.

At my garden clubs monthly meeting, we had David Tomlinson as a guest speaker. He has the most amazing garden (called Merlin's Hollow) in Aurora, Ontario and is a plantsman with years and years of experience. David grows most of his perennials from seed. 

When he does buy plants at a nursery, he takes them home and washes all the soil from the roots. He is convinced that the perlite, in the growing medium that most plants are potted up, with is hugely detrimental to the new plants chances of over wintering. Apparently, the perlite encourages air pockets to form and that puts the young plant's roots at risk when the ground freezes. After he washes the roots, David re-pots the plant in good soil and allows it to recover, before planting it in the garden.

This is the first I have ever heard of this, but I wonder if he is not correct.

Dicentra Formosa 'Adrian Bloom'

I really liked the deep rose color of this variety called "King of Hearts', but in the end, I decided on the variety named 'Luxuriant'. Given my poor success rate with these varieties in the past, I wonder if I should I re-pot it as David Tomlinson suggests.

Foam Flower Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice'

Here is a pretty temptress. Foam flower is great plant for shade. I have had limited success with it because it is so dry here in late summer, but if you have a shaded, consistently moist spot, it is real charmer.

I saved a visit to the vast display of pansies for last. Who can resist their happy faces? I bought several colors for my urns and window boxes.

Next month, I hope to have some blooms in my own garden to show you. Many thanks to Carol for hosting GBBD. To see other gardens have in bloom click here.

Have a great weekend!

Color Essay #8: Pretty in Pink

Pink can be dramatic...

and it can be subtle.

Dahlia in the field at Butt's Berry and Flower Farm, Rockwood Ontario.

It ranges in intensity from almost red to...

Buckets of lilies at the Kingston Farmer's Market.

soft pastel shades.

Farmer's Market flowers gathered into a white pitcher

Pink can stand all on its own.... 

The Garnet Garden, Oakville, Ontario. (see the garden here)

and it plays well with others.

Have you ever noticed someone at a garden center or nursery, standing in line with an odd or unusual purchase?

I remember seeing this well dressed couple, with a cart filled with rhododendrons and azaleas in full bloom, waiting to complete their purchase at the sales counter. I swear that they must have strolled down the nursery isle and randomly selected bushes that just happened to catch their eye, rather like they might have done if they were shopping for shoes or clothing. I am sure that their purchase decision was fueled primarily by the visual appeal of the bushes in full flower. Rhododendrons and azalea are spectacularly beautiful, after all! 

The azaleas, in particular, would be a challange to grow sucessfully here in Ontario. Our winters are harsh and our summers are hot and dry. Though I have not had great success with rhododendrons myself and am therefore no expert, I at least know from my failings, that rhododendrons need soil amendments to prosper. The fact that there was nothing in the cart, but the bushes themselves, lead me to think that the happy couple were complete novices about to make a potentially expensive mistake.

Not only novices fall prey to the allure of a flower in bloom. I have come home from the nursery, on more then one occasion, with an impulse purchase having been enticed by the arresting face of some winsome blossom who called out to me, "Buy me, I am so pretty!" 

I have been burned by these beauties so many times however, that I am a bit more cautious these days. I consult plant tags and consider growing conditions. If for instance, the plant needs lots of moisture, I give it a pass, no matter how attractive it is. 

I am also am more than little wary of unknown plants that could turn into nasty, hard-to-eradicate, garden invader. When in doubt, I consult one of the nursery personnel or pass altogether, until I have checked out a plant's references.

In today's post I have gathered pretty pink flowers from my own garden and elsewhere as noted, beautiful temptresses all.

The first pink flowers in my garden are bleeding hearts. (Dicentra spectabilis)

Another early summer beauty. Columbine (Clementine "Rose" Aquilegia)

Hollyhocks in the Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden in Norval, Ontario (see the garden here)

Bee Balm (Monarda 'Marshall's Delight') One of my favorite Bee Balms in my 

garden is this pretty pink variety.

Perennial Sweet Pea or Everlasting Sweet Pea (L. latifolius)

Everyone knows annual sweet peas. Well, this is the perennial version. I used to have it in my first ever garden and definitely want to add it to my current garden. 

Now, to be honest, perennial sweet pea can get a bit messy looking, and so it is a good idea to watch it carefully in spring and make sure that it is neatly restrained by its supporting trellis. Like the annual flower, it likes full sun. Unlike its annual cousin, it does not have a scent. I have read that it can self seed prolifically, but I have never had a problem with it. 

Lavatera in a Georgetown, Ontario garden (see the garden here)

My Mum used to grow this old fashioned annual. Last summer, I saw it growing in a private garden in the nearby Georgetown, and I was reminded just how pretty it is.  A cousin to Hibiscus and Hollyhocks, Lavatera has dark green foliage, and large blooms, that put on a great show all summer.

This is one of my prettiest daylilies.

(Papaver orientale)

I already have red oriental poppies, but I like these even better. I saw this soft pink variety at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and think that they are stunning.

Oriental Lilies in my front garden.

A Rose of Sharon helps to keep pink going all summer long in this private garden in Kingston, Ontario.

Deep pink sedum flowers in my back garden.

In early fall, this Burning Bush initially became hot pink in color.

This is the third of my Stylish Blogger Award posts. This one goes out with my thanks to the blog Elly's Tuin. Elly gardens in the Netherlands, and though I am only just getting to know her, I think that she is someone who appreciates the soft beauty of the color pink.