It's already the middle of May and as she does on the fifteenth of each month, Carol at May Dreams Gardens is hosting Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. Be sure to click on over to her site to check out what's blooming in gardens all over the world! Here is some of what's blooming in my corner of the planet this month.
I've forgotten the name of this rhododendron. I got it because the foliage was so large and interesting. It wasn't until it had been in my garden for a few years that I saw it bloom. The individual flowers are about four inches across so you can see that the trusses are huge. It really brightens up a dark are of my shade garden in May.
Another NOID rhododendron that I planted years ago. It's really that vibrant.
Another rhododendron that I got for the cool foliage. The label said "A rhododendron for people who don't like rhododendrons." The blooms are pretty sweet!
Meconopsis cambrica or Welch Poppy
Crinodendron hookerianum is just starting to bloom. Many more buds promise many more blooms to come!
Corokia cotoneaster looking cheery.
The first tuberous begonia flower of the season. Let the intense color show begin!
Some early clematis.
Much more well behaved than the Clematis montana rubens that's trying to take over the planet or at least my side fence and an Acer palmatum.
Yup, this one's huge.
First rose of the season this year was 'Joseph's Coat' quickly followed by Rosa rugosa 'Yankee Lady'
And Don Juan.
First hardy fuchsias this season are these cute little pale pink and whie ones with long stamens. These diminutive ballerinas of spring will dance until December.
The Paulownia tomentosas in the side parking strip are in bloom. There's another to the left of this one but it's difficult to get them both in one picture.
Looking especially nice with the sun shining on them!
Lonicera all ready for the humming birds!
Scilla peruviana
One of the last of the spring magnolias.
Happy Bloom Day everyone!
Those are gorgeous! It's nice to see spring has finally arrived at your place.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shirley. With a couple of sunny and unseasonably warm weather (upper 70's and mid 80's) spring took a giant leap forward!
DeleteI wish we could grow rhododendrons easier here but it takes dedication. Love the red color on that begonia!
ReplyDeleteWe are very lucky that rhododendrons grow so easily here where we can just dig a hole, plant, and forget them. Nothing is quite as bright and gaudy as tuberous begonia flowers! Love them to bits!
DeleteI didn't realize Paulownia flowered so beautifully, and it looks like it flowers before it leafs out. Thanks for showing us your flowers. Those Clems are amazing, I love big ornate Clematis flowers. Actually I like the little dainty ones too.
ReplyDeleteOn warm days the fragrance of the Paulownia blooms wafts down to the enjoyment of those walking on the sidewalk beneath. Clematis are a pretty great group of plants!
DeleteIt's nice to see your blooms Peter! And so lucky to get Foxglove to flower for you this year. Our tries to but the buds often gets frosted away in the early spring hence we rarely see them here.
ReplyDeleteYour late snow and cool weather this spring probably frosted yours away this year! I wish you a warmer winter/spring next year!
DeleteOutlaw you have taken some stunning pictures here !
ReplyDeleteI love your rhodos and it makes me think of adding more .. that begonia's colour is outstanding ! .. you have so much in bloom , but we are catching up to you soon.
The warmer weather is starting up again and with what cooler weather and rain that we had lately .. it will be off to the races ! haha
I will have a lot of mail order plants arriving as well so I will be a very busy gardener and loving it : )
This is the time of year I really enjoy .. not too hot yet .. and we see such wonderful growth happening .. you have to love that right ?
Then I will start the moaning and groaning when the extreme heat and humidity start .. ahhh ! a gardener's life ;-)
Joy
Thanks! Because rhododendrons are easily grown here, we see them everywhere (fast food restaurants, gas stations, etc.) In this area our summer temperatures usually stay in the 65 - 80 degre (F) range and the humidity is usually very low so there is rarely a time when it's too uncomfortable to be outsde.
DeleteWhat a beautiful home and garden! Thanks for sharing your photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Liza! Your blooms are looking woderful too! Don't let the house deceive you, we bought it as a derelict and have done a lot of work on the outside but it still needs major work and we're running out of motvation to do house projects.
DeleteYou've reminded me to take a drive by a Paulownia tomentosa here in NE Portland...it's huge and the flowers are always amazing.
ReplyDelete(You're parking strip, with the first Paulownia, is looking so trimmed back, you've been busy!)
Um, not really so busy. My garden photography philosophy is similar to how I deal with my never-cleaned house: Just keep the lights low and maybe nobody will notice.
DeleteBeautiful blooms!!!!! I just planted a Don Juan at home- hope it ends up looking as pretty as your bloom photo!!! Happy GBBD!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kacky! I bet your Don Juan will look even better. This poor bloom is not the most attractive that the plant has ever produced but since it was this year's first, it got posted.
DeleteOh, those Welsh poppies! And your hell strip looks rad.
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather! Once you've got Welsh poppies, you'll find their seedlings everywhere.
DeleteYour garden is looking fabulous, Outlaw. Great photos and of course I love the Clems and roses.
ReplyDeleteAlso good to see a Chrinodendron hookerianum looking happy. Mine's a little scorched, but at least has some new foliage, so I'm hoping...
Happy GBBD!
I wish my roses looked half as good as yours but not enough to take care of them properly, so they're a nice splash of color from a distace.
DeleteChinodendron hookerianum doesn't get scorched in my garden in the summer but does get burned by cold weather. Fortunately, the last two winters have been relatively mild and I put these in a fairly sheltered position between two houses so they've looked great all winter.
Happy GBBD to you too!
What I usually love about corokia is its dark mood, but you're right: it's looking uncharacteristically cheery right now. That fuchsia is dynamite: so pale that I can overlook its pinkness.
ReplyDeleteMy friend has one with absolutely no pink tint simply white and chartreuse which you might find even more lovely. If memory serves, we got them both at Joy Creek last year or the year before.
DeleteGreat blooms. I especially love the clematis. For some reason, I seem to have a bad habit of placing mine in too much shade. I need to transplant them all! It would be worth it if they would bloom as big as yours! Those are humongous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly. I don't do anything special to my clematis, these are just big varieties that got photographed this bloom day.
DeleteI like your Welch Poppy, it reminds me of our Celandine poppy.
ReplyDeleteMy Celandine poppy blooms briefly and then is done although I've never dead heded it. The Welsh poppies will bloom until frost if they're kept from producing seed.
DeleteI'm thinking the orange and red rhody might be 'Sonata'. The rody for people who don't like rhodies might be R. orbiculare from what little I can see of it. How do you have fuchsias in bloom already? Mine won't bloom for another month!
ReplyDeleteDeirdre in Seattle
Wow Deidre, you really know Rhododendrons! You are absolutely right about R. orbiculare and 'Sonata' sounds familliar; it's been years since I planted it and the tag is long gone. That poor litte fuchsia stayed green all winter because it's growing beneath a bunch of stuff on arbors in a very sheltered location. I was pretty surprised to see blooms this early but there are a couple more under there that are all budded up!
DeleteA neighbor has the red and orange rhody. My husband likes it. Took a lot of looking on line to figure out what it probably is so I could get one for him. I used to spend a lot of time at the RSBG in Federal Way.
DeleteDeirdre
Love the Clematis...always will! I'm jealous of your Scilla peruviana...it's one of those plants I always plan on getting when I see it on other people's blogs, but then I forget about it until the next year rolls around again.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I kept putting off buying Scilla peruviana thinking that it would be smarter (less expensive) to just buy bulbs but when I saw pots of 3 - 4 blooming bulbs for ten bucks I decided to drag one home.
DeleteBeautiful! your roses are really nice. But I'm especially taken by the Paulownia tomentosas. At this time of the year it almost reminds me of jacaranda because they don't yet have their big foliage yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's the next best thing to a Jacaranda! Those silly Jacarandas don't seem to like our climate- silly things!
DeleteRhodies and Clems on steroids, oh my! I'm fascinated by the Paulownia though. I think they're hardy here but I've never seen one. More on the parking strip too. I love the idea of gardening on them and people don't bother here. Happy GBBD Peter!
ReplyDeleteHappy GBBD to you too Sue! Paulownia may not be popular there because it's not a particularly refined-looking tree. Huge heart-shaped, tropical-looking leaves are very nice but fall color is dirty yellow fading qickly to brown. I saw these popping up in warehouse areas of New York City. I was told that they used to use the sead pods or their contents as packing material is a country that exported to the U.S. and that's why the trees were so prevalent there. Probably someone having a fun game of pulling the tourist's leg but it's a fun story.
DeletePeter, your azaleas and rhododendrons are fantastic! I love this one that is for 'people who don't like rhododendrons'. How funny! It looks like pink bells. Mine are preparing to bloom with buds. Happy Blooming Day!
ReplyDeleteHappy Blooming Day to you too, Nadezda! The one that is for people who don't like rhododendrons also has beautiful foliage that doesn't look like typical rhododenron leaves.
DeleteAnyone in the area should go see the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, WA. There are LOTS of species rhododendrons that don't look like the typical garden rhodies.
ReplyDeleteDeirdre
You are absolutely right Deirdre! I've posted about RSG a couple of times. It's a great place!
Delete