Category Archives: loki bed

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2015

bloom day, fellow gardeners, fence bed, house bed, loki bed, sidewalk bed, the Lot

Today is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, a meme hosted by May Dreams Gardens in which gardeners worldwide share what is blooming in their gardens. May on the Lot is when the garden beds really kick it into gear and the plants take off. Though we’ve had less rains than previous Springs, everything is looking good and growing well.

In a northern backyard bed this Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) is coming back with a vengeance and just starting to bloom. It is beginning to gobble up the poor Coral Bell. The little Labrador Violets are have been blooming for awhile now.
051515_coralbell-sweet-william-violet

In one of the back alley beds Mt Airy Fothergilla is doing its Spring thing. It survived the winter with only a couple of snapped limbs.051515_mtairy

Blooming for its first time on the Lot is this dainty barrenwort (Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilafee’) along the Eastern side of the house. The crocus leaves illustrates the small size of the plant.051515_Epimedium-lilafee

Another barrenwort I brought home with me from the 2014 Portland Garden Bloggers’ Fling has reappeared and is right at home as well on the Eastern side. Where the previous plant’s blooms remind me of little sprites, these flowers look like small spiders or crabs.051515_Epimedium-Portland 051515_Epimedium-Portland2

The fuzzy pasque (Anemone patens) flower is in bloom, looking soggy here as I snapped photos between rain showers.051515_pasque-flower

The dwarf irises are blooming…051515_dward-iris

… as are the bluebells which snuck under the fence from the neighbor’s property. The foreground gives a glimpse of some of the Forget-me-nots (or rather “if you plant me once you’ll be rid of me nots”) blooming around the backyard.051515_bluebells

The foamflower (Tiarella) is in bloom.051515_fence-bed

The bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis alba) is as huge and beautiful as ever.051515_gate-bed

Both cranesbill plants are brightening up the pathway back to the compost bin.051515_cranesbill

The Sweet Tea Coral Bell is beginning to bloom. Hmm, I didn’t notice until this photo I forgot to clean up those old leaves at the base.051515_house-bed

The brunnera is blooming. I much prefer this well-behaved version of Forget-me-not.051515_brunnera

Huzzah! I did not kill the Jack-in-the-Pulpit I brought back from the 2014 Nursery Crawl. At the beginning of the season it received too much hot, afternoon sun. It seems happier here. 051515_jack-in-the-pulpit

By the way, this is Jack. He’s a pretty dapper fellow.051515_jack

This is a Geum triflorum ‘Prairie Smoke,’ the prize find of the 2014 Nursery Crawl. I picked it up when it was already done blooming, only able to enjoy the seed heads (which admittedly is why I purchased the plant). This season I am able to enjoy the blooms as well.051515_geum-prairie-smokeLoki’s bed is looking great with the lenten rose (Hellebores) and solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum Variegatum) blooming.051515_lokis-bed

Here is a brand new bloom for this season. Our west-side neighbors have a beautiful strawberry patch growing against the fence. I’m wondering what these stowaways will get up to on the Lot.051515_strawberry-bloomAnother shot of the Eastern side of the house shows the rock foil (Saxifraga) and the dwarf  bugleweed (Ajuga x ‘Chocolate Chip’) in bloom.051515_rock-garden 051515_dragons-blood-bugleweedAnd for the very first season in bloom is our lilac. This shrub was given to us by Miss A after she received it from the Arbor Day Foundation. We placed it in the ground as a mere twig. It was mowed over not once but twice by the neighbors (oh the challenges of urban gardening)! It smells heavenly.051515_lilac

The last of the tulips are fading, and the Sweet William is full of buds in the South bed. The carpet flox is still full of color in the Southwest bed. That is all for the Lot this May! What is blooming in your garden?

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – April 2015

front bed, house bed, loki bed, spring

On this Bloom Day I’ve noticed the Lot truly beginning to wake up from its winter slumber.  With a nice stretch of mid-fifty to sixty degree days, a majority of the perennials have pushed new shoots up through the soil. Here are some of the bloomers on the Lot that lead the way into spring.

Crocus

There are still crocus popping up in the lawn. This area happens to be more shady than others so these little ones are running behind the pack.

Snow Drops

The same applies to these snowdrop, while the snowdrops I photographed for last month’s Bloom Day have already faded.

Primrose

Sharing a bed with one huge privet is this little primrose. The edges of the new leaves and petals have been a bit frostbitten by our still cool nights.

041515_lenten-roseHere is the lenten rose, still not quite opened yet. It’s such an elegant plant and one of my favorites on the Lot!

041515_daffodilsAnd finally, putting on a show during April Bloom Day for the first time in two seasons, are the frilly daffodils up in the south bed.

Be sure to check out May Dreams Gardens and find out what else is blooming this month in gardens around the world.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – September 2014

backyard bed, fence bed, front bed, loki bed, sidewalk bed, southwest bed

Today is Bloom Day where gardeners worldwide share photos of what is blooming in their gardens. The cooler summer is beginning to transition into the beginning of this Fall. That hasn’t stopped the blooms on our Zone 6a Lot.

Sedum

The sedum in the south bed has begun blooming. This is the first of the sedum cultivars that blooms on the Lot. This could be due to the full sun the plant receives the majority of the day.

Cosmos

Here are some cosmos which found their way over to the Lot from the neighbor’s to the west side of us. Last season I had planted some annuals in her front flowerbed to welcome her to the neighborhood. Then Nature returned the favor this season. I had almost lost hope with this plant, believing I was mistaken and it was instead a weed, when it finally bloomed.

Potentilla

Also in the south bed, the Bush Cinquefoil – Happy Face® (Potentilla fruticosa) is still blooming. We planted this little shrub last season and it has adapted well. Potentilla is winter hardy, tolerates poor soil, and displays butterfly-friendly flowers from spring through early autumn.

Toad Lily

Fall means toad lilies on the Lot. This plant is situated in the east bed beside the foundation and is sending forth a lot of blooms. The flowers are small, but stunning nonetheless.

Sweet Autumn Clematis

This sweet autumn clematis is blooming for the first time since it was planted on the Lot. I had debated this past spring whether or not to add it. This month I found out I had already done so in a previous season. And that is why I should keep up more on this journal and new plant introductions to the Lot! Though considered an invasive in states south of here, this plant has not been placed on the invasive list for Michigan.

Mum

Though the black-eyed susans are fading in the backyard bed, the mum still blooming.

Fence-Bed

The phlox, coreopsis, wandflower, and black-eyed susans are blooming in the fence bed.

Pumpkin

And even though it is not in bloom form, I wanted to include this lovely pumpkin the pollinators and the volunteer pumpkin plant have provided us.

Other September Blooms include the coral bells in Loki’s bed, the plumbago in the backyard bed, and all forms of coreopsis, the blanket flower, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans in the south bed.

Visit May Dreams Gardens to view many more blooms for September.