Today is the first chance I've had in the past week or so to take more photos, as it's been cold and rainy.
First off,
Incarvillea delavayi, garden gloxinia. This is almost unheard of in my region, but it's a very cool plant. It's sitting outside of my coldframe waiting to be planted. As most websites list it as hardy to zone 5, I doubt it will survive here for long, but I'm gonna try! I don't have the space to store it over the winter because of my aroids, tender Cyps, Bletilla, Pleione, etc.
Next up is a yellow cultivar of
Iris pumila, dwarf bearded iris. I don't know what it's called, because I bought it at a flea market years ago and it was unlabeled. It's one of my favorite plants, and not just because of the pretty flowers. This started out maybe 5 years ago as a fairly small plant in a 6" pot. It spread into this giant clump very quickly and I've divided it twice since I planted it, and given pieces away. I now have a nice row of clumps at the front of one of my flower beds, and they all originated from that one plant. These reliably bloom in mid to late May, at least a week ahead of the standard bearded irises.
Solomon's seal,
Polygonatum commutatum, is another one of my favorite perennials. This particular plant I bought about 3 or 4 years ago at a garage sale, and it has now formed a nice clump. These are so aesthetically pleasing - I just cant get enough of those arching stems! That's my half-dead weeping juniper in the background
.
A yellow flower of Iceland poppy,
Papaver nudicaule. I think I mentioned before that these have been in the garden since I was a toddler. They seem to be short-lived, but they self-seed so readily that they never disappear. However, the white flowered ones have been absent for many years.
The classic pasqueflower,
Pulsatilla vulgaris. Love that royal purple! The fluffy seedheads provide nice interest afterwards as well. Mine isn't as nice as some, I suspect because I have it in some shade.
I LOVE peonies, and I especially love the species. This is
Paeonia brownii. It has a lovely fragrance. It's a shorter plant, about 18" tall, and it forms a dense clump of dark green, finely cut leaves. Very nice plant for rock gardens. I might take another photo when it has multiple flowers open. The species peonies bloom a couple weeks earlier than the hybrids. This one will soon be followed by
P. anomala, and possibly
P. tenuifolia 'Plena', if the latter decides to bloom - the bud looks like it may be aborted. It's a new planting as of last year, and they take 2-3 years (or more) to settle in.
Notice the ant on the anthers! Those guys sure love peonies too! People always tell me they don't want peonies because of the ants; to that I say "You're insane!".
A really unique and uncommon thyme is juniper thyme,
Thymus neiceffii. As the name suggests, the leaves look like juniper needles. Love the pink flowers and the aroma too.
Lily-of-the-valley,
Convallaria majalis, is one of the most overused garden plants, but I do like it. The flowers have a gorgeous fragrance, and this plant is very hard to kill. I planted a pink one somewhere...
And now, for a special sneak preview of some of my earlier Cyps!
Cyp. Emil (parviflorum x calceolus). This went from a single shoot in 2007 to five shoots and three flowers in 2008, to two shoots and one flower in 2009, to three shoots and two buds this year. Hoping for a full rebound next year!
Cyp. Aki Pastel (macranthos x pubescens). This had a single shoot and no flower last year. This year it has 3 shoots and one bud. Can't wait to see what it looks like! I'm hoping for an almost pure white, like many of the pics on the Net.
Cyp. Sebastian (parviflorum x montanum). This was a single shoot with one flower last year too. But it does seem to be tougher than montanum, and the flower looks a lot like x andrewsii. I still like montanum better though...
That's all for now, folks!
