Monday, June 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2009

Another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day has rolled around. I looked back at last year's bloom day and we are a little behind in blooms. I still have peonies in bloom which is wonderful. Last year we had a heat wave in June. This year is has been cloudy and cool. Last year I had cucumbers and zucchini blossoms. This year they don't even have their second true leaf yet, much less blossoms, but still having peonies is a little bit of a consolation.

Many plants are the same as last year because these plants bloom for so long. As always the star of my June garden is my Korean dogwood. Its blooms stay open for about three weeks. Well the bracts stay pretty that long which is good enough for me.

The dianthus is another favorite of mine. I love it for its long period of bloom in the spring and for its wonderful scent. It doesn't hit you over the head like lilacs do, but it has a nice subtle clove like scent. You walk in to the garden in the morning and think how wonderful it all smells before you realize that you are smelling a flower.

The geraniums are such cheery flowers, all dressed in blue.

The Johnny-jump-ups were my only flower for April's bloom day. They are still growing strong. This one is giving my chocolate mint a run for its money. It has just about taken over the mint's pot. I'm not worried though. I know mints and it will be just fine.

And the last but not least of my purely decorative flowers is my one and only foxglove. I adore foxgloves. They seem like such magical flowers to me. But they don't like growing here. The first year the perennial border was put in I got a beautiful showing of annual foxgloves, but I wanted the typical perennial or biennial varieties to naturalize here. I try every year and every year I fail. Last year I put in five plants. Only one survived. Sigh. Foxgloves must hate the clay soil or maybe it is the Norway maple that is way too close.

But I have flowers in my garden that pull their weight too. The cilantro is a power house. I get cilantro in the spring and coriander in the fall. Then in the middle when the flowers bloom it bring in all sorts of beneficial insects to the garden. My favorite part is all the bees and small wasps that love to drink its nectar. I've never seen such a variety of insects on any other flower. These ones haven't opened very far yet but they will.

Yesterday I picked my first few peas. Last year's peas had showier flowers. They were purple. This years peas, all three varieties, are white.

The pepper flowers are shy and point down so you can't see under their skirts, but once they set they want to flaunt it and some stick right up into the air. These are my serranos.

And what would a garden be without tomatoes? These are one of the little F2 Sungolds that I was talking about yesterday. When the sun shines through them they are very striking.

If you wish to join Garden Bloggers Bloom Day visit Carol over at May Dream Gardens.

17 comments:

  1. I enjoyed seeing your photos! love your foxglove and that dogwood looks incredible! I have two dogwood trees, they are doing ok in hot,dry Utah (in shady spots). great photos!

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  2. Hi Daphne, your foxgloves and geraniums are beautiful. I love that you included the veggie blooms too. Happy GBBD to you!

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  3. What lovely blooms, and yes those tomato flowers look amazing! Always adds to the anticipation.

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  4. Just beautiful!!!

    Next year I hope to add some color to my landscape... you're an inspiration Daphne!

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  5. Lovely flower display Daphne. The peony is stunning, that's a flower that doesn't really grow well here.

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  6. That foxglove is lovely, and I understand your frustration with them. I've never had good luck, and I can't see paying $10 apiece for plants every year when I want at least 20 . . . .

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  7. The MQS and tatsoi are pretty enough to put in the bouquet with your flowers! Most of my lettuce has bolted, so I'm building a new greens bed that will be easy to shade, and have a few plants started in soil blocks. I have good intentions of doing succession planting of the lettuce, but you know what happens to good intentions. I'm having to pull up perfectly beautiful nasturtium plants that are growing over the tops of my peppers. Bummer.

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  8. I envy you that one Foxglove. I've never had any success with them overwintering or reseeding here. Same clay soil I guess. It's nice to see all the ornamental as well as edible blooms going on in your garden today! :)

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  9. Love that Korean Dogwood- beautiful! How big is it?

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  10. Daphne your gardens are magnificent. I am amazed...you are so far ahead of me and you are north of me.
    I am in Pa. and our weather has been cool and rainy. My plants are growing but yours are amazing!
    I really enjoy your blog!

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  11. Nice blooms. The foxglove photo is stunning.

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  12. If you are knowledgeable about foxgloves, I wish you would visit my site and tell me what is going on with mine (click on ricki's blog at the bottom of any page). Wish I could give you some...they grow like weeds along the roadsides here (Portland OR).

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  13. You take great pictures! You even make vegetable flowers look like precious specimens!

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  14. Thanks so much everyone.

    Tessa, it is full sized - maybe 15' tall. I planted it 17 years ago when I first moved in. It took three years before it grew even a foot then it took off. Then it took even longer before it started to bloom, but not it is just spectacular.

    Ricki, I haven't a clue as to what is happening to your foxglove. I think if I were knowledgeable I'd be able to get them to grow for me. It is pretty though.

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  15. That Korean Dogwood is stunning! BTW, yes we stole your sun... and we're not giving it back! Hee hee hee. Seriously, we're dumbfounded by all this sunshine and warm temps.

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  16. Love those Korean Dogwood flowers. How tall is that plant? Your flowers are very pretty. Enjoyed your blooms.

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  17. Curmudgeon, well at least we have a good lettuce and pea crop without the sun.

    Teresa, the plant is about 16' tall. It is a nice little tree.

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