Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - May 2018

What an amazing month! I got back from looking at beautiful Austin, Texas gardens to find my garden had practically exploded with color. I just walked around the whole first day I was back saying "Wow!" and "Look!" and "Wow!" over and over.

Allow me to share some of the "wow" moments with you for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, as we do a color-wheel look at my blossoms, beginning with red.

Helianthemum 'Henfield Brilliant' is a show this month.

Abutilon megapotamicum has been blooming for months already.
Delosperma 'Firespinner'. I love this happy green groundcover most of the year, but when those fabulous orange and pink blossoms start up in spring - wow!

I bought a packet of California poppies years ago, in a mixture of colors from cream to orange. Guess which color seeds itself every year since?
 The crazy big blossoms of Trachycarpus fortunei.
Sisyrinchium striatum. Commonly called pale yellow-eyed grass, or Satin flower.

Halimiocistus wintonensis 'Merrist Woods Cream'. One of my favorites.
Rosa 'Sally Holmes'
Rosa 'Perle d'Or'. You have now seen my entire collection of two roses.

Lewisia longipetala 'Little Peach'.

Lewisia cotyledon 'Sunset Series'. This is the Lewisia's moment to shine.
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Sizzling Pink'.

Penstemon davidsonii.
The last few Camellia 'April Kiss' are hanging on into May.

Echium russicum is a happy self-seeder, poking out in front of a Catmint that's bent on world domination.

The silvery foliage of Lupinus sericatus is beautiful with no flowers, so the fun, grape-colored blossoms are a bonus.

The extreme color of Rhododendron 'Ahna Kruske' (with last year's unfortunate foliar notching I think we have successfully addressed now.)
This looks to me like Iris tenax, our lovely native Northwest iris, but I have moved the iris around too many times to be sure. If anyone can confirm or correct, I'd welcome the input.


Penstemon cardwellii responds to warmer, sunny days with a flush of bloom.

Scilla peruviana is hitting its stride.

Iris pallida is another plant I'd grow just for its variegated foliage; the flowers just add to the spring riot of color in the garden.

Ceanothus 'Joan Mirov'

Ceanothus 'Victoria' is still young, but firmly established. I'm looking forward to it working like its predecessor to screen our patio from the sidewalk.

It's already working for some of the garden residents.

On to the white flowers: Pyracantha x 'Mohave' gets fireblight every spring, but for a brief, shining moment, the flowers are lovely.

Saxifraga cotyledon 'Caterhamensis' forms a nice stiff mound with these surprisingly large flowers in spring.

The grassy flowers of Luzula nivea.
All of the volunteer Foxgloves in the Northwest Territory are white this year.

Cistus obtusifolius.

Pretty little  Lewisia columbiana var. rupicola.

That's a lot of flowers for my usually foliage-focused garden, but the lusty month of May will not be denied!

I'm joining with Carol at May Dreams Gardens to celebrate Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. Click over to check out more flowers from all over this month.

Happy Bloom Day!