What's in full bloom now? MAY 16th - MAY 31st

Love the pond and the curbside bed! That curbside bed transmits a happy feeling.
Here is a new one this year: Iris versicolor. I picked it up at the Seattle Flower and Garden show last year from Edelweiss. This is the first bloom.

And I like this little cape daisy. I put in many of these this year, all grown from seed I got at the seed swap at my house in January! They are all growing like crazy, but this is the first bloom. I was lucky this turned out to be orange and goes so well with the euphorbia. Just lucky on that.

I love those together. The little red centers on the Euphorbia is way cute.

Well, it's a cute euphorbia! I can't remember if it's Humpty Dumpty or not, but I have that one, for the name if not for the plant! LOL!

Oooh, love both of those Pixy. And thanks for the kind words Willow... I do love color combinations in the garden. That orange next to the Euphorbia is right up my alley :)

Mine, too, Kymmco. I like matching plants way better than matching clothes any time. I just love color combinations in the garden, or texture and color, etc. It gets the blood going, and chartreuse and orange is an excellent combination in my book. The plants must have known they would look good together because I just planted them willy nilly, since they were not in bloom yet.
Love the pink with that bluish green hosta. Very soothing.

OOOOOOH! AAAAAAH!

Beautiful pics everyone. I love that Iris versicolor. It is very elegant.

I tried to take a few photos this morning but the close-ups didn't turn out. And it's not the camera - it's me! I guess I will have to read the camera instructions. :-

The little purple flowers are so pretty but I don't know what they are. Actually, I don't know what a lot of my plants are. I've given up on learning their names and try to just enjoy them.

My cat chewing the ornamental grass that I just put in the ground. She owns it now.

The shrub on the right is starting to bloom. My neighbor told me the name of it but I've forgotten. The hostas are happy in the rain!

These columbines are making a bright spot!

Behind the climbing rose is a very wet clematis that used to climb up the deck railing but is now stooping under the weight of the water. I planted the Social Climber rose last year and I'm hoping it gets big enough to climb up the column that supports the overhang.

My snowball viburnum is in full bloom and I just took it out of the pot and put it in the ground (not the best timing I know). Hope it continues to live! I seem to kill everything by putting it in the ground.

Katye, you seem to have a lot of clems! What's a good white and a good red (as in red red)? Looking for lots and lots of blooms over the longest period of time. Also a good place to buy cheap and healthy clems?

Hey - Gwen, this spring we had a Clematis thread that showed what everyone was buying this year.

Good sources are Silverstarvinery.com, Simplyclems.com, and Brushwood. All of them will work with you to get exactly the right Clematis for your spot. You'll want to figure out how much sun the spots get and how good the drainage is. You'll also want to consider the length of the clematis you need. They do vary.

Kathy

Judi, can't tell what the purple flower is from here, maybe hardy geranium? Love the blue cage and the mossy rock. Pretty garden.

The blooms are really starting now despite the cold wet! So many pretty pictures from everybody... I love the virtual walk through everyone's garden. There are so many creative people here that my head just pops with new ideas every time I look at the pictures. Just wish the darn weather would cooperate so I could implement them before they escape my already too full mind!

Willow, I remember how much I enjoyed your rhodie pictures last year, and am doing the same again now. You have so many beauties, and I just love how sculpted they are. I will have to say that September Morn really caught my eye as well.

Kymm, I enjoyed all of your pictures and your combos are wonderful, but your snapdragons darn near made my eyes pop. What a fantastic color! And it is placed so well with the milder colors in the background. If you happen to be a seed collector, I would LOVE to have some seeds from that one!

Bea, I can't believe how much color your yard sports. It is just a riot of beauty, and as always... drooling over your pond.

Pixy, your iris is very cute, and I love the daisy/euphorbia combo! If you got the cape daisy seeds from me... forwarning... it gets kind of big! I will never be without them in my garden now because I love the color, but they are kind of tall floppy creatures without a lot of sun.

Judy, I am so excited to be able to see more of your gardens. Your world is just lovely, even when it is soggy! I love the different forms and textures.

Judi, your garden is lovely! It seems to completely 'go' with your house. What a peaceful spot. My cat would destroy all of my ornamental grasses if I let him.

I have a native grass here that grows in a nice clump and the animals love it over anything else. Maybe I should save a clump or two for everyone, then each animal could have it's own bit.

This is from the back: Exbury yak, Hoppy, Doc, Sleepy and Bashful.

This message was edited May 25, 2010 6:47 PM

Wow all the pics brighten up a gloomy day for sure!
Kymm= fabulous snapdragon!! I've never seen that color.

Willow, that's lovely! Can you post a photo of the native grass your cats eat? I'd like to know what it is.

Willow, that's very pretty!

I'd like to know the name of the cat-pleasing as well. Keep the critters happy!

Cats & Dogs seem to prefer Calamagrostis, Miscanthus, Hakonechloa & Molinias.
For those that have dogs in the garden, my advice is to plant these next to the paths. The dogs can graze from that position without entering the bed & trampling your other lovelies.

My lovely little Podophyllum Peltatum - Mayapple. I found out today that these are fragrant. Just one more reason to love this plant . . .

My polygonatum is giant this year. I got this clump a couple of years ago from Kate and this is the "leap" year.

Rodgersia -also from Kate. I can hardly wait to smell this . . .

In know it's not a blossom, but these leaves are outrageous.

I have a few bleeding hearts that are growing like crazy. I guess they like this weather. 59, I like those big leaves. 59 - sounds like you're a spy.

Agent 59. That's me. :-) Rodgersia is pretty easy to grow in our climate in part shade . . .

Agent 59.... I like it!

Nice stuff! That Rodgersia is fantastic.... looks huge! How big is it?

The mature leaves on this one are 1.5 - 2ft across. I think different cultivars are different sizes. I'll post a picture of it up against a fern that's behind it so you can get a perspective. It's ephemeral - goes away in the fall and comes up in the spring. It spreads underground, but slowly. I haven't seen too much slug damage - don't know why. I definitely recommend it for the garden.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=rodgersia&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=RG_9S4mSL5OkNYDcwN4H&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDsQsAQwAw

I planted one of those. At least I'm pretty sure I did. Still waiting for it to take off. I didn't list it in my plant database so I don't know when I planted it. Either last year or the year before.

Gwen - it should be up by now. Are you seeing any shoots coming up?

Oh, yes. But it's just teeny still! I'll go out later when it's not raining and take a photo and you can tell me if it's rodgersia. Or maybe I'll dig down and find the tag.

OK. Don't get yourself wet on my account. :-) Just wanted you to know that the Rodgersia, if it survived, would be up by now. Did you get yours at Chocolate Flower Farms? I'd love this one . . .

http://www.chocolateflowerfarm.com/inc/sdetail/1381

That's what it looks like. But I sincerely doubt I paid $18 for it. I'm too cheap. I do buy a lot of stuff from her, so maybe she had a couple she was selling off for less. Now I'm really curious. I'm gonna have to go out and look. But still in pj's. I just got up an hour ago. I didn't go to bed til about 4:30 am. Then Jim thoughtfully woke me up three times between then and 5:30. Just so everyone knows why I'm crabby today...

Gwen - you have every right to be crabby with 1 INTERRUPTED hour of sleep.
I would be spitting nails & blood would shoot from my eyes.
Sleep is precious...

Thanks for the chocolate katie. It's on my favorites now.

Willow - I cannot find the post/thread/my mind where we spoke about Patty the not so plum.
Patty popped the day before yesterday, so I have a photo for you. I will be digging no matter what - let me know if you want her.
She starts out in the right colour, but.....does this smoky lavender colour which doesn't work in her current location. Anyone else?

Thanks Katye. I would love to have one.