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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day June 2014


How can it be the middle of June already?  It's the fifteenth of the month and time to join with Carol at May Dreams Gardens and garden bloggers all over the world to post what's blooming in our gardens.  Follow the link to Carol's site to see what's blooming all over the planet right now.

Here are a few of the plants blooming in my garden at present.  It's that time of year when there are too many flowers to photograph!

Begonias are starting their summer-long season of bloom!

Fuchsias make me smile and the humming birds swoon.

Notice how the marking of Pelargonium 'Indian Princess' leaves is close to that of the petals of Fuchsia 'Blackie'  and the cordyline picks up both the colors of the sepals and petals.

Alstroemeria 'Rock 'n' Roll' also has foliage of which both slugs and I are very fond.  

Random alstroemeria.
Of Dianthus 'Rainbow Lovliness,' Rosemary Verey (1910 - 2001) writes, "The fragrance is unlike any other dianthus"  (The Scented Garden)  This fragrance is sweeter, like a perfume for women.  Allthough Allwood came up with this before the second world war, this is my first year to have it.  Because of the amazing scent, it certainly won't be the last!




This has ben a good year for blooms on my kalmias.  I love the cute little buds that look like sea creatures of some sort!

Here's the inherited NOID camellia japonica that puts out blooms all summer instead of making one big show earlier in the year with all of it's friends.
 Martagon lily from Far Reaches has sent up two bloom stalks this year.  Sweet.

Rogersia blooming for the first time since I planted it 3 years ago.  I grow it for the foliage but the blooms are nice.

Acontium or monks hood.  There was a nice clump of these standing straight and tall just a couple of days ago then came the wind and rain.  I held this one up for the shot.

The Meconopsis cambricas continue their cheerful show. 

Impatiens niamniamensis

As I was taking photographs of flowers, I noticed a rather strong smell and thought that an animal had died in my garden.  There's no mistaking the odor of rotting flesh.  Instead, it was just one of many inherited Dracunculus vulgaris in bloom.  Fortunately the "fragrance" only lasts for a day or two when the flower first opens. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of these in different places in my garden which don't all open at once.  Fortunately, their bloom season is short.

The last of the flowers of Kolkwitzia amabilis  are blooming now but the the seed pods are also gorgeous.

 Sinocalycanthus chinensis (formerly Calycanthus chinesis is a Chinese (as the name states) close relative of our native Calycanthus floridus.

Zantedeschia  A.K.A. calla lilies  Survived their late winter transplant well.  Although not yet as tall as they were last year, they are every bit as floriferous!

Echium candicans variegata.

Yes, I too fell victim to the charms of the belle of the ball this year, Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame.' 

Sometimes combinations suggest themselves like this purple tradescantia with an orange abutilon with matching purple calyxes.

Weigela looymansii Aurea This image doesn't show how gloriously gold the foliage is!


Deutzia


Sarracenias


Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day all and thanks again Carol for hosting the party!

36 comments:

  1. Wow! You have some amazing plants and as usual fantastic photos. I love the Sarracenias. Are they difficult? I have the frilly Dianthus and I can ' t remember its name. The words above the photo show up as blank spaces on my tablet. Can you tell me what it is called please?.
    Funny that you had the same experience as me with your Dracunculus, thinking something had died and was rotting. It really is a vile smell but it looks so exotic.
    I am very jealous of your Sinocalycanthus. I tried it and failed. Yours is stunning.

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    1. Thanks Chloris! I've found Sarracnias quite easy to grow in an equal mix of peat, perlite and sand, no fertilizer and water up to just below the surface of the soil. They are fine outside all winter but you can also protect them from frost damage and they'll look nicer sooner in the spring. I fixed the blank box - It's Dianthus 'Rainbow Loveliness' or sometimes just 'Loveliness' heavenly fragrance!

      The Sinocalycanthus has grown despite my best efforts (poor soil in that area, little summer water)

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  2. I love that combination of the purple tradescantia with the orange abutilon, magic! And that blooming echium, is that the one you bought at Cistus?

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    1. That combo is in a red pot which picks up the red of the abutilon petals. That is the echium that I got at Cistus!

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  3. I cut my Alstroemeria 'Rock and Roll' back to the soil when I repotted it and now it's sending up a brand new flush of growth. Like Loree, I think my favorite here is the Orange Abutilon with the purple Tradescantia. So glad the Dracunculus that we passed near in your garden yesterday is far enough along to not smell anymore. Happy GBBD!

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    1. I got another one at Windmill when I saw them there and am trying one in the ground and will repot the other. We'll see what next spring brings! My Dracunculus are trained to stink only for me and spare visitors the experience of their stench.

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  4. Nice selection as always, and so many to choose from! Funny enough when I was taking photos earlier of what's in bloom in our garden I was relatively struggling to find a good selection to highlight when I know everyone else won't. But it's a mainly foliage garden after all :)

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    1. I think of my garden as a mainly foliage garden as well but somehow those seductive flowers keep creeping in.

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  5. The Begonia and Fuchsias at the start of your post made me miss my former shady (and well-irrigated) garden. The Sarracenia is new to me and very intriguing but I'm glad to admire the Dracunculus from afar. At least I can also grow the Digiplexis! I may steal that Abutilon-Tradescantia combination at some point. Happy GBBD, Peter!

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    1. Funny, with all of my trees and bushes, my agaves and I envy your sunny, well drained garden! Feel free to steal away!

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  6. Yes that Dracula is vulgar! Everything else is sweet though.

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    1. It's nice to have something vulgar in the garden for contrast, right? Once the smell goes away, the deep purple color is really lovely.

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  7. I love the combos of Blackie/Indian Princess and the tradescantia/abutilon. I miss my Fuchsia 'Blackie'. It died in my parents' unheated, uninsulated garage this winter, like 'Autumnale' before it. Is it that hard to bring a couple baskets in? I know they watch the weather forecast. Gripe, gripe, gripe, me, me, me. Back to your lovely flowers! A camellia that blooms sporadically all summer sounds fantastic! I love your Glumicalyx at the end. That one is high on my wishlist.

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    1. Autumnale has proven hardy in the ground for me and would look stunning spilling over a wall. It is painfully late to emerge in the spring but does arrive and bloom each year! Thanks for reminding me of the name of Glumicalyx! I got it several years ago, & I think it was grown by Xera.

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  8. My martagon album is blooming right now. The first time. I love it! You really have a great selection of blooms this Bloom day. I really like your fuchsia combo.

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    1. Those little lilies are sweet aren't they? It always surprises me that there are so many flowers in my garden when I usually buy plants for their foliage.

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  9. Nice June Bloom. I love the Dracunculus. We had one a couple of years ago but it wasn't well drained and is now gone. We had a guest over to see our garden one year and she arrived just as it was blooming. We had to explain - fortunately she was plant friendly. Our martagon also didn't make it.

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    1. Oh my, sorry to hear about your losses but your story about your guest is funny!

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  10. Beautiful bloom celebration as always, but like so many others, I go all aflutter over that tradescantia/abutilon combo. So swelteringly hot... And the Sarracenias are so intriguing - I have never seen their likes before. Happy GBB Day!

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    1. That combination really pleased me as well. Sometimes you just have two plants hanging around that work really well together.

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  11. I had never heard of Meconopsis before I started reading your blog. Now it seems like every month you show me another one that I need to add. Do you intentionally plant for those color echoes or is it a happy accident? Your combinations are so good!

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    1. When you're a plant hoarder, there are lots of plants hanging around that you can play with so nifty combinations sometimes suggest themselves. Glad you like the combos!

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  12. Since I visited the Seattle Aquarium yesterday, I can vouch that the kalmia indeed resembles tiny sea creatures in a coral reef, as do the flowers of the Echium candicans, which is new plant to me. I also purchased a Digiplexis and sadly found out the flowers are sterile. I had ambitions of reseeding this beauty. I should just be happy if it comes back next year, right?

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    1. I didn't know about the sterility thing; that must be why they last so long. We've all got our fingers crossed that it'll be perennial in our climate!

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  13. Your deutzia looks like my old 'Magicien.' You northerners with your meconopsis and martagon lilies! Wonderful June garden, Peter.

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    1. Thanks Denise! Always nice to hear from an agave-in-the-ground, cacti-not-rotting southerner!

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  14. Never saw Dianthus with flowers like that - love it. Blue Echium also very cool.

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  15. You have both ends of the odor spectrum: sweet Dianthus 'Rainbow', whose shaggy flowers i LOVE and foul smelling Dranunculus, whose dramatic flowers are well worth any olfactory discomfort. Happy Bloom Day!

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    1. Our gardens do dish up a large helping of sensory stimulation! Happy GBBD to you!

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  16. As a fragrance fanatic, I'm really thinking I need to find that lovely Dianthus. Great post.

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    1. Oh Grace, you do! It's incredible and wafts nicely. Every garden needs a field of it!

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  17. I think last time I tried to leave a message it vanished into the ether!
    You really have an amazing variety of flowers in your garden this month, which is a wonderful month for perfumed flowers.I will certainly keep an eye out for your gorgeous Dianthus.

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    1. Sorry that your comment vanished! Thompson & Morgan has both seeds and plants. http://search.thompson-morgan.com/search#w=Dianthus%20'Rainbow%20Loveliness'&asug=

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.