Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day June 2017

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is hosted on the fifteenth of each month by the fabulous Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  Click here to see what's blooming all over the world this month.

June in pacific northwest gardens is a floral fiesta!  Here's some of what I saw when I went out on Wednesday morning to snap some pictures.

"Oh my luve's like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June" goes the Robert Burns poem and, although I'm not much of a rosarian, there seem to be a number of them blooming in my garden right now.  Following are just some of them.  I've forgotten most of their names.

'Betty Boop'

Blurry 'Fragrant Cloud' is really more orange. than what the picture shows. 

'Zephirine Drouhin'

'Westerland'

Knock Out 

Double impatiens.  Love these as they happily winter in the greenhouse and root easily from cuttings. They're also darned cute.

Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'

One of the several abutilons that spent the winter in the greenhouse fighting off whitefly and aphids.

Crinodendron hookerianum of which I can never get a good picture. 

The last of the Bleeding Hearts for this season. 

Martagon lily

A native lily that likes growing in damp places.  

Clematis

Martha Washington Geranium (a pelargonum of some sort.)

You may be wondering about all of those begonias crowded into the little glass room.  The season's first blooms have started.

Another Pelargonum (Geranium) with interesting flowers. 

Parahebe perfoliata

Meconopsis somethingorother

Fuchsia

First Calla lily with Calycanthus floridus 'Hartlage wine'.  The Sinocalycanthus chinensis above is also blooming.

Kolkwitzia amabilis now has a new name - Linnaea amabilis

 Lonicera periclymenum  'Sweet Tea' 

Abutilon vitifolium is hardy in the ground here which is fortunate as it's already about 15 feet tall. 

Magnolia macrophylla

Bunch of stuff in the parking strip.

Fremontodendron 

Why, oh why did I ever let this set up shop in the parking strip?  Chamerion angustifolium is native and requires no care other than to pull it up where you don't want it.  It likes to spread everywhere.

Argyrocytisus battandieri (Pineapple Broom) really does smell like pineapple.

Symphytum × uplandicum 'Axminster Gold'

Amsonia

Aesculus indica or Indian Horse Chestnut.  The flowers are a bit more pink and the green bit around the conkers is smooth, resembling figs.

Artemisia sort of thing that came from Dig via Xera.  Lovely little blooms and the buds are adorable.

Penstemon  'Electric Blue'

Kalmia latifolia

Deutzia 'Monzia'

Threatening to take over.

Carpenteria californica

Thanks, Carol for hosting the monthly florapalooza!  

Wednesday Vignette

Wednesday Vignette is hosted by my  vivacious and talented friend Anna at Flutter and Hum.   Click here to join in the fun!

Gardening past and present.

Both images came from Joy Creek Nursery where our host happened to be working on the day I visited.

Revisiting The Garden of Camille and Dirk Paulsen

One of my favorite things about blogging is the many special people who've come into my life because of this activity.  Camille is one of those special gardeners and  I got to tour her garden with another, my blogging pal Alison (Bonney Lassie.)  Camille's garden reflects her ebullient spirit, eye for design, attention to detail, and above all, her love of plants.  (Did I mention a lot of hard work?)  I first had the pleasure of meeting Camille and seeing her garden and gorgeous home in October of last year. Come see what's happening this spring!

Look, fresh mulch.  (Does throwing the contents of my Monday vases out the back door at one of the beds count as mulch?)

Everything looks so happy and healthy. 

So far this is just the view from the road out front. 

Camille places her plants thoughtfully and the contrasts she creates with foliage both deciduous and evergreen are fabulous; her collection of unusual conifers inspiring. This area was previously a front lawn.  How can you not love someone who rips out grass in favor of such an interesting array of plants?

The former front lawn facing away from the house. 

It's difficult to show this but the waterfall cascades down the back of of the hill as well.  Very clever.

I have a bit of a crush on Camellia Vestito Rosso 'MonBella' not only for the formal red late winter flowers but also for the stunning new burgundy foliage which contrasts so nicely with the older green growth.  Here it was, in all it's glory, in Camille's garden.  She sent me an update photo a couple of days ago and the foliage hasn't started fading to green yet.

This area has been totally reworked since fall. 

The addition of this large Buddha head really ties the Asian garden together nicely. Notice the tree fern behind and the Cardiocrinum giganteum on the left getting ready to bloom. 

 Perfect placement of the hosta!

Which way to turn?  

Singing the blues.

I can't explain my fascination with  Victorian gazebos but they thrill me as much as the sight of the gorgeous Acer palmatum "Ukigumo"  (Floating Clouds) on the right.

From another angle. 

The larger pond in the back garden.

What a clever hummingbird feeder!  

This is the "Island of Misfit Plants." Oh that my pot ghetto looked so handsome.

Another new addition. Every inch of this garden is so well coiffed and tidy. 

The wisteria-filled stained glass windows in the kitchen (not visible here) overlook the real thing in bloom.

The view of the Orting Valley and Mt. Rainier is breathtaking.

From the deck overlooking what the Beverly Hillbillies call "The Cement Pond."

 Another delightful foliage contrast. 

Our garden host just wishes you'd pat her or go away!

"I'm serious, put the camera down and play with me and nobody gets hurt."

Sorry, no further pictures are available at this time.  The camera will be returned "When I'm good and ready."   Thanks, Camille and Dirk, for once again opening your garden for our enjoyment!  Kitty, the catnip is in the mail per your instructions.

In A Vase On Monday - More Prunings

Many thanks to Cathy of Rambling in the Garden, the host of In A Vase On Monday, for challenging us to bring something from our gardens or scavenged nearby inside to brighten our week.

A few times a year, the non gardener gets a bee in his bonnet about trimming the Argyrocytisus battandieri (Pineapple Broom) away from the stop sign in one of the parking strips.  The once-blooming huge climbing rose (I brought a division from my former garden where it had been for years.  My gardening pal Vickie told me the name of it once but I've forgotten.) on the back fence blooms so heavily in June that  the canes flop out into the alley and must be tied up or pruned back to allow passage.  The guilt of throwing perfectly pretty and fragrant flowers into the yard waste bin overcame me so there are several vases chock full of roses perfuming the house and still quite a few in the yard waste bin.  This vase combines both of these  with some blue blooms of Parahebe perfoliata.

Beautiful weather meant that working outside was a joy.   The vase is one that came from the Glass Eye Studio sidewalk sale, from one of the affiliated artist's display.

This vase was chosen as the colors echo those of the flowers.  

Joining the explosion of color  are three concrete spheres made locally.  

There's really no reason for the spheres other than to add a bit of gravity to the froofy vase lest the whole thing float away.   Maybe there are three because yesterday was Trinity Sunday?

What have you  put in a vase to enjoy this week?