Category Archives: gate bed

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2016

alley bed, backyard bed, bloom day, fence bed, gate bed, loki bed, perennials, pollinators, spring

A bright and sunny albeit wind-chilled day marks this season’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. Spring has been wonderful on the Lot this year with transplants having made it through the winter, insects already busily buzzing about, and a few new feathered friends visiting the garden.

Currently the South bed is empty of blooms, the tulips having recently passed. The sweet william in the bed has not quite opened yet. Only a bit of carpet phlox is left behind in the Southwest bed. However, on the East side of the Lot, a pretty vignette has brightened up the corner of the house near the gate.

May Flowers in Gate Bed

The labrador violets are still going, now joined by the purple spear-shaped blooms of bugleweed (Ajuga x ‘Chocolate Chip’). The rock foil (Saxifraga) is blooming like the phlox, but this ground-hugging perennial holds its clusters of white flowers above its mat of foliage. Also blooming in the bottom left of the photo is the pasque flower (Anemone patens). Here is a close-up of the flowers.

Pasque Flower

Next are the white blooms of the foam flower, or Tiarella, accompanied by the neighbor’s escapee bluebells.

Blooms in Fence Bed

Further down the fence, the cranesbill has seeded into the backyard from the two plants near the compost bin. Tucked around the Lot everywhere are forget-me-nots.

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Sharing the bed with the new cranesbill plant are the dwarf iris. I did some major shuffling around of this plant last season when I removed some tickseed. I’m glad to see the iris have seemed to adjust well.

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And here’s a busy bee on one of the irises.

051316_dwarfIrisBee

The brunnera is in bloom…

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…as well as the Jack in the Pulpit. Jack invited along some friends this year.

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The strawberries which ducked under the fence from the westside neighbor are blooming.

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And the same bed brings our second year of blooms from the Geum triflorum ‘Prairie Smoke.’

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Last season I divided the solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum Variegatum) in Loki’s bed. The plants seemed to have weathered the winter well and are currently blooming.

051316_varigatedSolomonsSeal

Here is the Mt Airy Fothergilla, looking quite stunning in the late afternoon light.

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The lilac is blooming near the alley bed.

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The Other Half is not the only one who enjoys sticking his nose in the lilacs.

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And the last Bloom Day photo is a patch of violas we are not responsible for planting last season, but have been enjoying nonetheless. The violas are an annual in our Zone 6a garden, but reseed for the following season. I’ve let the generations of the little plants wander about the garden for several years now. The recent cold snaps (we had a frost last night) do not bother them.

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That’s all for the Lot this month. Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens for links to many other May blooms.

Something is Stirring

backyard bed, bulbs, fence bed, front bed, gate bed, perennials, sidewalk bed, southwest bed, spring, the Lot

Yesterday I spent a nice chunk of the afternoon cutting back dead plant bits leftover from last growing season. As I worked on garden squats (yeah, the backside is burning today) and happily clipped away, I caught glimpses of plants emerging from the ground. It’s fun because you are busy clearing away hollowed stalks and crackling leaves when your fingers brush again something alive. While the Other Half and I have been cooped up inside bemoaning the fact Spring cannot arrive soon enough, these plants have been stirring. They’ve already begun their move toward the surface of the soil seeking sunlight.

So, I thought it would be fun to make a psuedo-First-Day-of-Spring (it was yesterday) post with photos of the first arriving plants on the Lot. This first grouping is of some Spring bulbs. Winter aconite and snowdrops have been open on the Lot for a few weeks now, but the tulips, daffodils, and remaining bulbs are queuing up in the wings.

Species Tulips Daffodil and Tulip Foilage Emerging Spring Bulb

In the South bed, sedum is already growing, as well as the bearded iris, bee balm, and coneflowers.

Emerging Sedum Emerging Iris Emerging Bee Balm Emerging Coneflower

Along the east bed, lady’s mantle and columbine are fanning out new growth.

Emerging Ladys Mantle Emerging Columbine

In the backyard along the fence bed, the tall garden flox is well on its way. The dwarf iris rhizomes are sprouting leaves and two poppies are racing ahead. Loosestrife is appearing as red spear-like columns.

032016_fdosPhlox 032016_fdosMiniIris 032016_fdosPoppyLoosestrife

Near the rain barrels, the snakeroot and brunnera are just emerging. The snakeroot seems to be pushing up a fiddle-head like shoot to break the soil surface.

Emerging Snakeroot Emerging Brunerra

In the backyard bed, the Himalayan cinquefoil has been well on its way for awhile now. There are little bits of frost bite around the edges of the leaves.

Emerging Cinquefoil

The weather forecast for the upcoming week is a bit more on the chilly side, with chances of frost during the evening. Because of this I left the layer of dead leaves the plants have been growing beneath. So begins my Spring routine of a quick, daily stroll about the Lot to check on the progress of the plants.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – August 2014

backyard bed, fence bed, front bed, gate bed, loki bed, native plants, pollinators

Today marks another Bloom Day as garden bloggers worldwide share what is blooming in their gardens. Our pleasantly cool summer has continued as I strolled around the Lot to see what was blooming here in Zone 6a. Looking back on the Bloom Day post for August of last year, I noticed many of the same plants are blooming.

Coral Bell

The coral bells in Loki’s bed are doing their August thing.

plumago-butterly-bush

This season there were some renovations and additions to the beds near the back of the Lot at the rain barrels.  Some chartreuse plumbago on the north side of the house was not receiving enough sun. I moved it to one of the rain barrel beds and now it really looks great with the cascade of blooms from  the butterfly bush.

Lobelia

Another addition to the same bed is a Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica), a blue counterpart to the traditionally red cardinal flower. This plant was purchased with others at a native plant sale this past April. It’s looking a bit peaked, though it still produced blooms. I’m wondering if the seasonally wet bed doesn’t have consistent enough moisture for it.

Hardy Mum

The mum in the backyard lot is larger than ever this year and in great need of being divided. It’s blocking a lot of light needed by the aster behind it.

blackeyedsusan-sage-plumago

And here is another one of those serendipitous seeds sowings Mother Nature provides. A sprig of black-eyed susans sprung up beside the plumbago and sage on the other side of the backyard bed. She has quite the eye.

coreopsis-sedum

In the fence bed, the coreopsis is looking pretty against the purple foilage of the sedum.

blackeyedsusan-savory

And more black-eyed susans are cozy with the winter savory that is in bloom.

hosta

The hosta in the shady gate bed is blooming.

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Around front in the south bed, many of the same plants are in bloom as last month. Though the monarda has passed, the coreopsis and cone flowers are still going strong. Joining them this month are (even more) black-eyed susans and the blanket flower.

081514_hibiscus

Also in the south bed is this lovely hibiscus. I’m not sure if there is enough moisture in this hot bed for the hibiscus. However, since it is just recovering from being moved so often, I’ll give it another season here and see how it does.

081514_summer-planter

Finally, I thought I’d include a snapshot of a container from the front porch. It’s just a simple combo of some annual lantana and pentas, providing a summer treat for pollinators. This container may or may not have been a result of my dear Other Half forgetting to water the petunias while I was away in Portland.

That is all for the Lot this month. Visit Carol’s August post at May Dreams Gardens for more photos on what is blooming in other gardens.