Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2020

One of the many joys of creating a garden is cutting flowers to display indoors. This week's simple arrangement shows some of what is blooming on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. A peony takes center stage surrounded by the green and yellow seeds of allium, blue bearded iris, Peucedanum, and the tiny white flowers of multiflora rose. The leaves of smokebush complete the bouquet. When I got up this morning and looked through the den window, I could see the peonies are beginning to fade while the roses are coming into their own. Before starting this posting, I looked at what I had posted on this day the last few years; I don't want to keep posting the same thing. It is obvious, however, that there are significant differences. Take my roses, for example. Last year I wrote, "The roses are NOT doing well this year -- after the brutal winter weather and then the excessive rain." Today, my roses are gorgeous.

Peonies are fading as roses come into bloom.

Pink Knock Out® Rose

Miniature Rose, Coat of Many Colors™

Lichfield Angel is doing particularly well this year. I chose this rose for it's name which brings back happy memories. I attended Lichfield Friary High School for Girls (that's right, there were no boys) in the beautiful English city of Lichfield.  And my maternal grandmother was born in Lichfield. I have loved Lichfield Cathedral since during my high school years we frequently went there to worship. Back then the limestone angel, after which David Austin named the rose, was not to be seen. It was broken and buried for centuries - until, during excavation work in 2003, three pieces forming the 'Lichfield Angel' were found under the cathedral floor.

David Austin's Lichfield Angel

Another Knock Out® with the purple spikes of Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'

Rosa 'Improved Blaze' is not climbing the trellis this year; I gave it a rejuvenating cut down to the ground

Deer pruned all the buds off the Peace rose.

Some changes, bloom-wise, are the dark purple delphiniums in the cottage garden. I placed a color-coordinating  hanging basket of petunias nearby.

It's fun to see what's early or late each year. This year, the water lilies are extremely early.

Froggy Pond with early-blooming water lilies

New to the Horseshoe Garden are the sweet blooms of yellow allium gifted to me last fall by my friend, Katharine. They like this spot with its morning sun and afternoon shade.

Yellow allium moly Jeannine

My wild columbine grew extremely tall this year. I read that it can grow from six inches to four feet; that fence is four feet high. Technically a perennial herb, Aquilegia canadensis is our native species. Hummingbirds love it. My friend, Bill, gave me the tiny plant five years ago. He grew it from seeds he collected at a nearby historic site. 

Native columbine Aquilegia canadensis

First time blooming in the rain garden is the native iris.

Blue flag Iris versicolor

Finally, in the Kitchen Garden the marigolds are coming into bloom. I have had considerable wild animal damage this year in addition to deer munching my roses and other flowers. Something ate the peas and cabbages when they were about an inch high -- may have been a groundhog. There is a family of chipmunks living under the potting shed; they dug up various seeds, leaving the seedlings for dead and scattering seed shell husks. I was devastated when they did this to the sunflowers that I sowed. The last sunflowers I grew got a stem borer so I waited a few years to be sure I was rid of the pest. I sowed a good sized stand last month and they were coming up nicely, but now I have only three left. I was so disappointed that I picked up a sunflower plant from the garden center. I would have bought more than one but they were $15 each. Compare that to the cost of a packet of seeds! Darn those chipmunks.

Marigolds coming into bloom

My fifteen dollar sunflower

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day everyone! Be sure to visit our host, Carol, at May Dreams Gardens. I'll echo Carol in asking, What's blooming in your garden today?

Stay safe everyone as our country begins to open up.

Best,

Pamela x

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