Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for May 2022

  I'm always relieved when Bloom Day falls on a weekend --no need to fit it into a work week especially if one buys stuff for a living during these times of supply chain hell. I picked the right year to retire ! 

 Since I had to order a new battery charger for my camera (that will not arrive til Tuesday) I hereby present several images taken in haste with one red bar flashing insistently, admonishing me to change the battery or else. Plenty of out of focus photos in this post. Still, there's nothing like being out in the garden at 6:30am on a perfect spring Sunday when no one else in the neighborhood is up yet.

 The first flower to open on Laurens Grape was still sporting it's sepal chapeau. This poppy reseeds reliably and energetically. I was much more diligent this year with thinning-they would be more than happy to overwhelm my small front garden.

 

 

 Silene uniflora 'Druetts Variegated'.

 

 Eryngium 'Blaukappe' will be blueing up in the next few days . A favorite flower at any stage, and another reseeder. 

  

 

Geum 'Totally Tangerine'. The photo above is Euphorbia 'Silver Swan' I rooted a few cuttings of this first rate plant in fall and have given it the coveted Repeated Element award. Blogger however did not want me to insert any text above its' photo. I will not be defeated !

 

The excellent Clematis 'Arabella'

 

David Austin rose 'Happy Child'

 

Phlomis 'Amazone' . Looks like the snails were up to no good on this one.

 

Lysimachia atropurpurea 'Beaujolais' . I had this plant several years ago , and don't remember if it just fizzled out or if it was a victim of one of my many garden renovations. It does look better when it's not blurry.

Best year ever for Sideritas cypria. I always seem to be plagued by what I call Lambs Ear Syndrome-foliage turning that  particularly pallid shade of beige. None of that so far and I even have a couple of seedlings from last year. Great in bouquets and indifferent to water and heat. Maybe it's time to try Sideritas scardica.

Due to the stellar performance of Geum coccineum 'Totally Tangerine' I decided to try Geum chiloense 'Sunrise' . I planted 2 last fall and they are earning their keep so far . No flopping and that is always a win.

 

 Yucca 'Color Guard' . The blooms are not open yet, but I love how the stalk echoes the colors in the foliage below.

 

 This is by far the most exciting development in my garden so far this year. I really never imagined I would be able to grow a Leucospemum in my climate much less one that would actually bloom . This is L. 'Helena' which I bought 2 years ago in a what-the-hell moment and planted in a large pot to keep it from having to endure any standing water during our rainy winter-if we have a rainy winter. Much to my surprise it sailed through many frosty mornings last year and this year, for no rain means more frost.  In late winter I saw what I was pretty sure were flowers buds forming.Unfortunately in February we had a pre-sunrise morning low of 20 degrees and the buds stopped developing. I was pretty disappointed - we rarely have temps that cold in February. You can see one of the frost damaged flowers right at the base of the pending flower. To my surprise a few weeks later the plant pushed out more blooms and I have 6 more nearing this stage and a few just forming.

 The relentless winds this spring made a mess of my bespoke trellising system for my sweet peas. The whole thing became dis-attached and flopped in half. I might have to rethink my support options. Still, I haven't grown sweet peas in years so it was fun to have them again and I probably got a good six weeks out of them before the damn thing collapsed.

Sombrueil , a beast of a climber .

 Last year I decided to up the inventory on the Penstemons in my garden -this one is 'Hidecote Pink' from the late great Joy Creek Nursery.

 

Dianthus 'Key Lime Pie'

 

Feijoa sellowiana , now Aca sellowiana' .

 

 This is Penstemon pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow' which I thought was never going to bloom for me. It just sat and and did nothing for all of 2021 and it finally has been redeemed itself this spring.

 

David Austin rose 'Molineaux' , never stops blooming, never gets blackspot or rust.

 

Erigeron 'Wayne Roderick'

 

'Lady Emma Hamilton' reclines on Alstromeria 'Indian Summer'

 The rest will have to keep til next month when I will have a solid supply of charged camera batteries. Perhaps there will be less out of focus images !  Be sure to stop by May Dreams Garden where Carol hosts the monthly lineup of flowers .