Garden Gems for May 2012

Sweet William, mini rose, well whatever the white stuff is, it's not bothering these roses

one of the vines(branches...whatever you want to call it) the tallest one, totally died, the whole thing is looking really bad :(

weird DG crashed for a minute there

Arabis snowcap, Nepeta starting, here come the Foxgloves and the Rose Campion, Allium

Love the markings on Midnight Rose Heuch
The Eye of the Tiger is really putting on a show this year

Which Clem is that Jen? My Crystal Fountain gets some wilt. And some of the blooms are a bit off color, the only one that does that. I recently added some food and compost to see if it does better.

'Rebecca' clem

Pirl says use 1 tbls epsom salts to a gallon of water.....although that clem looks like it may have had too much rain! Love the color on the allium.....

The Eofthe Tiger is definitely putting on a show. Is that the geum next to it. Love how it coordinates!

Jo, great job on the planters! Those are gonna look fantastic this summer.

Jen, I don't know what's going on with your clem. Looks like what happens to daylilies when thrips get to the buds. I have that happen with certain ones, but not with others. Maybe you have clematis wilt. Did the foliage on the one vine wilt first, then die? I get it all the time on mine. Very discouraging. Love your Eye of the Tiger!

Marilyn, is that epsom salt and water mix supposed to fight off wilt? If so, I will give it to all of my clems that get it, which is just about all of them.

Here are some from today. #1 Old watering cans in a front bed. #2 Hosta 'Lakeside Cha Cha'. #3 Hosta 'Abiqua Moonbeam' and a bird nest fern. #4 Nearly black columbines. #5 One more of those columbines.

Karen

I was going to guess too much rain too

Here are several shots of columbines. The last one is with a lupine just getting started.

Karen

Some shots of bearded irises.

Karen

Several more bearded iris shots. The white one is 'Immortality'. I can't think of the name of the broken color one, another that I got from Zebra Iris.

Karen

strange year if our Immortality are blooming at the same times Karen.. think you are usually ahead of me

2 more bearded iris shots, then one of Arasaema 'Sikokianum', a shot of Hosta 'Pilgrim' with H. 'Feather Boa' and miniature Solomon's Seal, and the last is of comfrey.

Karen

Allison, I think you're usually ahead of me, aren't you? Maybe not. I just noticed we are both in the same zone.

The first 2 pics here are Snowball Viberbum, Then 3 of a NOID oriental poppy. The SV does not have a lot of big flower balls this year, probably cause of our strange weather.

Karen

The first shot is of my 'Ogon' Dawn Redwood, then a pic of a big, metal pipe that I had bent and cemented into the ground to make an arch. I have visions of putting a white wisteria on either side. The 3rd pic of 'Nelly Moser' clem, already getting some wilt, I think, though I can't tell in this shot. Then I have a rhodie, which I think is 'Scintillation'. Last is 'Axeminster Gold' Symphytum.

That's it for tonight. Off to work.

Karen

I LOVE that poppy Karen!!!

WOW looking great there Karen

Yes, one vine got it and died off first

Lovely Karen.

Very nice Karen! Can't believe you have so much blooming. Maybe I better go take a walk and see if anything has popped up. I've been busy w/funerals and the weather has been dreary & wet so I haven't really gone out to look. Probably missing half my blooms!!

it's a good day for a stroll

Karen, I'm not sure if the epsom salts prevents wilt...makes the clem healthier to fight the wilt, perhaps....my clems look stronger since applying it....lovely blooms...the columbines are wonderful!

Looking very good, Karen!!!!

Stroll, stroll, Celeste.

mine for today
https://plus.google.com/photos/111926172330822213072/albums/5743474071165508241?authkey=CMuOnt3Zg_m8mwE

everyone has such nice blooms!

Things here look like they're going to bloom early (one of my elderberries has buds!), but very little so far. So it is nice to see everyone else's.

Beautiful Allison.

karen very nice and that bent pipe is pretty cool - not sure if wisteria is the way to go unless you get the small non-invasive one - i ripped out all of mine here last year, to much hassles to keep them trimmed and i found shoots popping up every where in the front yard.

pretty allison

yes that bent pipe is very cool!!!

the epsom salts can't hurt it though even if it maybe won't help, right?

Very nice!

It's alive! Ferns and some Solomon's Seal in my front yard, ranunculus, the leucothoe in bloom (about 2 weeks ago), and another shot of the front yard from the end of April. The azaleas look all spent and sad now :( I wish that flowering period lasted longer. I have too many of these shrubs in my landscape and I dislike them 90% of the year.

Awesome colors, Allison....your clems are just beautiful....Shea, glad you have blooms...your property looks very shady....azaleas bloom for a short time, but they are pretty....don't know what you could replace them with.....

Rose Campion, Digitalis opened, Jack in the Pulpit, rose 2 views

Chinese Forget Me Not

Thanks, everyone! I will still go with the wisteria. I saw a white one in full bloom today in Plymouth, and it sure was gorgeous. Even more so than the purple one. I know they do send up shoots. So does trumpet vine, which I have. I just remove the shoots when I find them. I can't think of any other vine to put on there that would look as pretty as wisteria.....

I have heard epsom salts are really good for daylilies, too.

Nice stuff, Allison, sheameister and Jen.

I love Azaleas, even though they only bloom for a short time. If you really think about it, though, how many trees are there that bloom for more than a short time? I suppose you could replace the azaleas with Japanese Maples, which don't have showy blooms, but are very pretty without blooms, all year long.

Karen

I have a wisteria in a pot that I'm still trying to figure out where to put it and what to use to train it up and came up with the idea to use a laundry hanging umbrella dryer, you know one of these http://www.holdnstorage.com/umbrella_clothes_dryer___40_ft-hcd_dry_01308-10050.htm
...I think that would look cool....wonder if I can find one at a garage sale?

That would be cool, Jen, but don't know if it would be sturdy enough for a wisteria. They are pretty strong and heavy and can take down a house if not kept in check.

Karen

I think if you keep pruning it it should be good, no? My umbrella drying rack is a super heavy duty one

I just really love the look of them trained into a standard....here's Teri's (Roses_R_Red) in front of her house, the pipe she used was heavy but not really thick

I just love this allium:Silver Spring
Pix of the garden too.

I love Teri's.. was cool.. nice pics JoAnn!