Happy Bloom Day! While I was away for a week in Florida, plants on the Lot grew by leaps and bounds. Many bloomed and some are already fading. Today was rainy, cool, and overcast, but I snapped a few photos anyway. The front, South bed is full of Star of Bethlehem right now, but the flowers are all closed up. They are a bulb that absolutely refuses to make an appearance unless the sun is shining on them. A more appropriate common name for the flower would be Starlets.
The little Fothergilla shrub I purchased on the 2009 Spring Nursery Crawl is in bloom. This plant makes me smile every time we pull into the back driveway. The bottlebrush-like blooms have a very faint, sweet scent. In the fall, the foliage turn a pretty rust color. The shrub should max out at 5’x5′. It seemed to be a good solution for adding a bit of height in front of the fence in the back alley. The area is partial shade, so those tufts of white really stand out.
Also blooming on the Lot for May are the Queen of the Night tulips and Bleeding Heart. The tulips are not as dark as I’d like, but they are a lovely blood red color. I wonder if since they receive sun almost all day long the petals are not as dark as they could be. I’m debating whether or not to move the tulip bulbs since they are bullying around that poor poppy.
The dwarf irises that share the bed with the above tulips just opened yesterday. Like the more traditional irises on the Lot, this variety seems to spread like crazy. They’ve easily doubled in area since last season.
Just behind the little irises, the columbine is on the verge of blooming. One blossom has opened already. To the left are both the Snow Angel Coral Bells and Sea Pink Thrift with buds. A few beds to the right, in the gate bed, the foam flower is blooming. Right outside the gate, the Labrador Violet has been blooming for a few weeks now.
Over in Loki’s bed, the Forget-Me-Nots have joined the Grape Hyacinth. The Solomon’s Seal purchased last season is back stronger than ever and in full bloom. And throughout the Lot, little violas and pansies that half self-sown are adding dabs of bright color here and there.
Thank you as always to May Dreams Gardens for hosting such a fun event! Now to go snoop around in the other gardens.
The Queen of the Night tulips that I have are a dark almost black purple. You may have gotten the wrong bulb, but they are very pretty anyway. It seems like the poppies will be good for covering the dying bulb foliage.
Ah-ha! That would explain why the tulips are not the right color. I didn’t think of the possibility of receiving the wrong bulbs. Now I’m tempted to order some more, but from a different company.
Nice selection! I could see Fothergilla being a pefect plant for along the driveway.
I love that Fothergilla! I think Carolyn might be right…I have Queen of the Night and it’s super dark purple (almost black).
Woo-hoo! Thank you for the reality check on the tulips. Can’t wait to try out the actual Queen of the Night. They will be on my wish list for fall shopping. I also did not think of the poppy covering up the tulip foliage. Brilliant! I thought the two would be competing, but I guess I was fretting over nothing. Thank you for the helpful feedback everyone.