Thursday 3 June 2021

Raindrop Walk About - June 3rd, 2021

 We had a lovely rain last night, and things were still very wet when I walked around with my phone late this morning. (Does anyone use a proper camera anymore?)


Our "lilac tree" (don't actually know the name of this, but we've had it for years and years) is coming into bloom and it smells heavenly. The bumble bees and butterflies enjoy it, and I've already seen a hummingbird moth hovering around it, too.


This purple bearded iris can be found here and there on the property in various beds. I've had it forever, dug it out, thrown it away, transplanted it, sold it at yard sales... it just keeps being dependable.


One of my favourite flowers is the Siberian iris. It was part of my wedding  bouquet many years ago. I appreciate perennials that behave themselves and on which you can depend, year after year. This is one of them.


I'm not a big hosta gardener. I honestly only know the name of one of them, this being 'Barbara Ann'. Any other hostas I grow were part of a fundraiser "mixed bag" that I purchased years ago and have divided and placed here and there, and don't know the names of any of them. But this hosta, with its pretty raindrops, is gorgeous and HUGE. I really should divide it more and use it in other locations.


This soft yellow bearded iris used to be a lot more prolific in my gardens, but I tired of it and tore a lot of it out (again, selling it in plastic grocery bags at yard sales for $2.00 a bag), so now I don't have much left. I always thought it was a rather insipid colour, but other yellow irises are too "bright", almost a dark, Laurentian pencil crayon yellow that doesn't work with anything else. 


Here are two of my big cast iron urns, sitting on the rarely used "front porch". They don't get a lot of constant sun, so I often plant them out with some coleus, which is the lime green, taller plant you see. These are just freshly planted, so not much to look at, but they will fill in and the trailing vinca will increase and soften the look at bit.


Here is my vegetable garden, laid out with string and rebar stakes. The two little plastic footstools and the kneeling pad indicate where the paths are. Until the vegetables germinate and fill in, I'll leave the string (as my own personal tripping hazard!). I waited until just recently to put my more tender plants in because of our nasty late May cold spell. 


Rhubarb, anyone? I don't understand people who say they can't get rhubarb to grow well. We've already had three desserts made with rhubarb and I have SO many bags of frozen rhubarb in the freezer. Since we don't really visit anyone, or have people over (provincial lockdown is over as of yesterday, but everything is still closed until Ford thinks we've hit another moving target), I'm stuck with this rhubarb and refuse to feel guilty about not cutting up and freezing more of it. (Lord, that was an awkward run-on sentence!)


I got a shovel full of this plant, centaurea Montana I think, probably twenty years ago from my mother. Since then I've divided it, given it away, and ripped it out (see a theme here?). The thing I love about it, though, is how it is almost iridescent in the light of the fading sun in the evenings. 


I was lucky enough to time this just right. to capture a busy honey bee.


As I was literally walking about, through the wet grass, I thought I should take a picture of the girls for those of you who enjoy them. Four eggs so far this morning.


I wish I could remember where I first got this bearded iris. I used to have a lot of it, and now, just a bit. I absolutely love this deep wine colour. This is a big, beefy iris that is gorgeous until it tips over under its own weight.


I have two of these in the pool shrub border. They are Miss Kim dwarf shrub lilacs and they have just opened up. They are gorgeous, but not particularly "dwarf"! They require no special care, which is perfect for my style of gardening.


The dappled willow recovered nicely from its severe cutting back and is now providing Gerald with a lovely backdrop. Beside it, the Red Prince weigela is just about ready to bloom. 

June is such a perfect month for colour. My peonies are not blooming yet, they are always a bit later in the month. I have one more bag of potting soil to purchase so I can finish my container planting. Thank you for coming with me on my walkabout.

33 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures. That Siberian Iris brought back such memories - at my first wedding (my marriage lasted 39 years) in 1952 I had Siberian Iris and White Carnations in my bouquet.

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  2. Your plants are gorgeous! I have those same pale yellow irises and I love them. Your kitty kat Murphy is soooo handsome! Such a cutie pie. I wish you much happiness and joy with him. Hugs, Edna B.

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  3. Wow, look at your lilac! We only have about three flower heads on ours this year.

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  4. Your garden walk was so enjoyable, thanks for taking us along. I like that pale lemony yellow iris. I use to have so many colour varieties but alas for what ever reason, there aren't too many surviving now. My bearded white iris, which sulked for years, has rewarded my patience with two stalks of about 6-8 flowers each.

    I am so confused about our provincial re-opening rules, I'm just staying home. I was annoyed with the potential/hinted at, free for all opening up 2nd jab appointments ... maybe I need to go walkabout in my garden. ... Mary-Lou =^[..]^=

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  5. Your garden is looking lovely!
    It's not too clear, but the first "lilac" could be Wegelia?

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  6. Here it is a desert climate, iris don't survive. Your lilacs are amazing. I have some Mediterranean lilacs that do well here in S. California. Your lilacs grow up in the mountain areas. Lovely garden!

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  7. A very colourful and profligate garden you have, Jenn. Looking forward to the next growth spurt and the veggies.

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  8. I have a big patch of Siberian iris, but you may have inspired me to add some new varieties!

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  9. Where I live, here in central Minnesota, we call centaurea Montana a bachelor's button. I got a plant from my mother-in-law last year and it has bloomed already this year. So pretty! I love all of your iris's. It seems like a great year for them to bloom. One of my first flowers to bloom this year was the Harmony Dwarf Iris, blue petals with yellow and white markings. Really pretty. I have a Miss Kim lilac too. I'm not sure I like the smell of this lilac but it sure is beautiful when it blooms. Should be some time this week it looks like to me.

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  10. The flowers always are perfect in late spring, after a rain.

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  11. You have an outstanding garden with many beautiful and robust plantings. Iris is a favorite and yours look very prolific. Your Miss Kim lilac is amazing and definitely not dwarf. You must have excellent soil. Your garden blocks and path arrangement looks excellent. A nice departure from garden rows. Thanks for the tour.

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  12. I love all lilacs and irises! My Rare One's rhubarb is ready too so next week I plan to make a rhubarb/strawberry crisp, the first of the summer!

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  13. Thank you for taking us on a tour around your lovely garden. So colourful

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  14. I'm impressed by the strings and your organisation in the vegetable garden. Hope another photo soon shows it green and thriving.
    Of course I'm also impressed by that 'head'. Nothing like my piddly rabbits and tortoise. I like garden statuary.
    I'm envious of the rhubarb. Wish we could grow it here. Too hot I think.

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  15. Wonderful tour. Love the variety of iris. Your mention of the need to divide your hosta plant reminds that I will need to do the same with some of mine later this year...including a couple that are more than three feet wide.

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  16. Love your garden very pretty. Really enjoyed seeing the girls.

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  17. Lovely gardens I have been digging and pulling things out this year too. I have mostly shade so I have lots of different hostas at first I didn't like them but now I appreciate their beauty and toughness.
    nice walk about
    cahty

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  18. Your garden is fabulous. Just fabulous. I wish I'd been around for your sale and picked up some of those yellow iris. Irises -- any color -- are a favorite of mine. I'm really impressed with your enormous veggie garden and can't wait to see its yield. I should get a rhubarb plant -- I love it but rarely have it! What a wonderful post -- you will be very busy in your retirement caring for all this!

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  19. Beautiful garden! I love perennials that do their own thing without a whole lot of intervention required. I've been in this house for almost 11 years and my perennial is finally starting to look decent. It faces north and is in shade all day so has taken a long time to fill in.

    I really love the wine color of the bearded iris. Very pretty!

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  20. Lovely garden. I’ve got some irises but I think I need more. I’ve got some of that Centauri Montana only I know it as perennial cornflower. I need more of that too. My patch is down to about 3 plants. Nice veg garden too

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  21. You have a beautiful garden! I love the deep wine colored iris, too.

    We have a decent size garden, but are one of those who failed three times to keep a stand of rhubarb alive. We'll be trying again next year!

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  22. This is the second Iris blogpost I read today! The other spoke of the red iris having near-mythic status - yours is gorgeous. And hello to your chickens!

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  23. That wine colored Iris is absolutely beautiful! All your flowers are so pretty. Laughed about your string being your own personal tripping hazard. That's exactly what I would do, and trip over it. Your little Murphy is so cute. I was just looking at your last post. It's hard to tell about bunnies too.

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  24. I so enjoyed your walkabout! I enjoyed the stories with the plants. To me that's the fun of gardening. I have the same 'Montana' plant and agree it's colors are amazing in the right light. Thank you for the tour.

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  25. I am envious of your iris collection. I have scads of pale mauve ones that I just can't get rid of.

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  26. Everything looks so lush and colourful! I just love this time of year.

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  27. What a beautiful 'walk around'! You have some lovely blooming things. That Gerald is a super accent piece! I agree with you on the yellow iris. I have a few of them, and they are anti-climactic, to say the least!

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  28. Your flowers are absolutely gorgeous! Such beauty in Nature. (With a lot of help from Jenn.) Thanks for the tour. Sending a hello to Gerald. ;o)

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  29. I am mad-jealous about the vegetable garden, but you can keep the water on everything. Where I live, if the humidity gets above 10% we get chest pains.

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  30. Thanks for the lovely garden tour, love the flowers! After many years I got the idea to split my hostas and put them in a shady area under trees where the grass would not do well. They are thriving.

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  31. Love all the Iris! Beautiful yard and tolerant of a change of heart gardener. I love mixing it up a bit. I remember as a young girl when folks moved into a home the landscape was pretty much lawn and perennials. Let us not forget the box bushes a lot of people used as a privacy fence.

    I enjoy what I call “surprise” gardens/yard. Never know what will turn up.

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  32. I love Iris and they have seemed to bloom overnight here in Toronto! I actually love the soft yellow ones but they do look better against a backdrop of the deep purple or almost blue ones - something many gardeners seem to have done this year. My friend and I drove to Oakville when "Stay at Home" ended last week and down at the harbour (behind the little museum) there is an amazing garden that tumbles all the way down the hill and it was full of Iris, along with many other gorgeous plantings. The gardener who looks after this spot has a great eye and must have very strong knees in order to be able to work on such a steep slope!

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