June Bloom Day: Roses, daylilies, & salvia

 

Welcome to my little corner of the earth!

I garden in Eastern Washington state, USA, zone 5b.

We have been having an unusually warm summer so far. My flowers haven't seemed to mind!

Now to just keep them watered.

 

I'll start out back:

 

Mockorange is loaded!

I love the height these lilies have added behind it, as well.

I'm pretty sure these are 'Rosellas's Dream.'

This is their 3rd summer, and the tallest they've gotten yet.

 

Continuing the pink and white theme back here at the moment, is this rapidly growing clump of hardy geraniums. I'm impressed how they are holding their own amongst everything else.

 

English rose 'Abraham Darby.'

To say I was excited to see this one blooming would be a vast understatement.

I just put it in a few months ago, and while it's only about 18" high, it has had 6 or 7 blooms on it this year! They smell fantastic. As it continues to grow, I'm planning to train it up a trellis.

 

Moving to the back slope:

I've got a couple of these pink lupines blooming!

I didn't expect them to this first year.

I put them in to help fill in this ugly dirt patch up at the top of the vegetable garden (courtesy of last summer's wall-building project.) May their seeds spread far and wide! 

 

Pink clover and wild lupines

 

2 shades of wild purple lupines.

I wouldn't mind if the whole slope was taken over by lupines.

I let every one grow up that I can.

In fact, there are 2 growing right now in amongst my vegetable garden. I'm going to let them get big, then transplant them up.

 

Front flowerbeds: 

Salvia, English rose 'William Shakespeare' about to bloom, and daylilies in front.

This salvia bush looks like a hybrid, with 2 colors. Actually, the pink in front is a volunteer from the other side of the flowerbed.

Asiatic daylilies and salvia.

Another 'William Shakespeare,' this one blooming already.

More daylilies, salvia, and catmint in the far background.

Oh, and one little miniature rose.

The blue delphiniums in back are new this year.

I hope they survive to grow tall for me next summer.

Up on the top terrace, hardy hydrangea buds are just starting to pop.

I really like how they open a few at a time.

 

As you may have noticed, I really love pinks and purples. :)

I hope you enjoyed this little tour.

Come again soon!

To see more beautiful blooms, visit: May Dreams Gardens.

Lupines and Liatris on the back slope

 

After all my plans of planting a dwarf willow in this ugly bare mud spot at the top of the garden terraces, my husband vetoed the idea. He pleaded for plants that were a) less expensive and b) not as deeply rooted in the soil. He has seen the Hill of Death claim too many of my shrubbery dreams in the past. Despite my reluctance to give up my plans, I could see his point.

 

So instead, I may have talked my neighbor into planting a dwarf willow on their side of the mud patch. Ha!  And I got to work filling in our not-so-charming patch with perennials that I know can take straight clay.

 

My first choice were lupines.

We have wild lupines that grow on the slope already, so I know they can take it.

At least, I'm hoping the cultivated ones have inherited some toughness from their genus. I bought 6, all pink. The wild ones are all purple. I have hopes that they will someday hybridize and give me lovely lupines in many shades of lavender. If they survive, I mean.

I am more determined than ever to let every lupine live that tries to grow.

The 2 little lupines on the bottom left in the picture above are wild. Yes!

 

The wild lupines come in two shades of purple, currently.

Some are lighter purple, like this (from last summer),

but there are a few that are deep purple as well (below, last summer.)

 

 

I also put in 2 clumps of liatris (one 6-inch pot divided in half).

This variety is Liatris spicata 'Floristan Violet.'

From what I've read, it is also supposed to take clay without flinching.

We shall see.

I refuse to get my hopes up too high.

 

I also transplanted some daisies earlier in the spring that still seem to be alive. As I mentioned in the last post, I will start moving Echinacea starts up there as time permits as well.

Hey, at least the transplants are free.