Sunday, May 15, 2022

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - May 2022

The cold, wet spring continues at Longview Ranch. Everyone is hoping for a bit of warmth, but there's no denying the wet weather with its mountain snowpack will be a positive thing come summer. And the plants just keep growing, though some flowers are getting tattered by the rain. Here are some very moist examples.

I love the reliable Lewisia cotyledon 'Sunset Shades' in my garden. These cultivars of Pacific Northwest wildflowers are happy to grow if given sun and good drainage.




Scilla peruviana is an arresting sight and remarkably hardy in my zone 8b garden. It's hard to tell here but the blooms are up to five inches across.



It's the month for some intense blues; here's Ceanothus 'Joan Mirov' just getting started blooming.



This is the first time I have had any blooms on Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' reptans 'Mahogany' (thank you LL Garden for noticing my incorrect ID!)  It's getting more sun after we took out a big eucalyptus last spring and that's apparently what it was waiting for.



Iris tenax is, as I mentioned, struggling with the rain.


Our patch of Camassia leichtlineii is always a delight. The blues range from very deep to pale violet.



 

NOID Pacific Coast iris in a lovely golden shade.



Iris x pacifica 'Drives You Wild' is the most robust PCI I have.



I selected this white iris from a group of lovely Iris x pacifica 'Meadow Pastels' at Xera Plants.



Here's the first, brave California poppy, Eschscholzia californica.


And a few outliers: Lathyrus aureus, a gorgeous tangerine-colored pea flower, still waiting for its place in the garden.


 

The tiny flowers on Berberis verruculosa.


 

The filmy little flowers of Luzula nivea. This happy grass loves shade and manages with a modicum of water.


 

Finally, a couple of little native penstemon blooming this month in the Northwest Territory. Here is P. rupicola. davidsonii var menziesii. (Thank you, Tamara!)

And Penstemon davidsonii var menziesii. rupicola (and another hat-tip to Tamara for straightening me out!) Both are lovely little groundcovers.


May is our namesake sponsor's special month at May Dreams Gardens. Jump over there to see what else is blooming for Carol and other bloggers this Bloom Day.

Happy Bloom Day, all!