Ledge and Gardens

Bloom Day - May 15, 2012

 

This May's Bloom Day finds the garden lush and green with many flowers blooming a couple of weeks ahead of their normal scheduled bloom. Certainly the green growth is weeks ahead and you can see from the overall picture above that green is the predominant color. The bleeding hearts are still blooming quite heavily and I don't tire of them as I do the daffodils and forsythia. Perhaps it is the color pink which is much more soothing than bright yellow of early spring. Or, perhaps, the leafing out of the trees softens the light in the garden.   The flowers are a bit jarring on the gold form but its yellow foliage brightens up the shady border. The tree peony is a rather soft yellow and the first of three buds has opened. They are sumptuous, seductive blooms and entice this gardener to want to plant more tree peonies. The tiarellas are blooming and while somewhat insignificant their blooms, en masse, do brighten a border and are an added bonus to the great foliage of the plant. Solomon's Seal is one of my favorite ground cover plants for dry shade. That would be the variegated form which grows about fifteen inches tall and covers quite a bit of ground in a season. It doesn't really misbehave as it is easily kept in check with division. Someone always wants a piece of this plant so if you come to visit, don't be afraid to ask for a division. The Exbury azalea languishes in my garden but has thrown forth two flower buds. I don't pay any attention to it and perhaps it retaliates by just surviving. I would love masses of orange blooms and these two may encourage me to give it a bit more care in the form of a shovelful of compost and a little mulch. The poison ivy twining around its base has warned me in the past to stay away. I think it is time to tempt fate with appropriate precautions. There are other interesting blooms this Bloom Day such as the small flowers on the Geranium phaeum. This plant does go astray if you let it go to seed. Seedlings come up everywhere. The foliage of this plant is pleasing as it has a green, rounded lobed leaf with a dark, blotchy maroon marking around the center of the leaf. Worth the trouble in my book.  These are just a few of the blooms in an effort to try not to repeat those of last year although the tree peony must always be shown. I must also feature the doublefile viburnum as it is in full glory. Its layered branching is a wonderful addition to any garden. Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams, whose month has finally arrived, for hosting another Bloom Day.  Thank you for visiting the blooms of my garden. I would love to visit yours so please leave a comment. Enjoy the day.

Bloom Day - January 15, 2012

Bloom Day in January means inside blooms here in Rhode Island. The temperatures are in the single digits today after a mild week. I even picked carrots two days ago. Things change fast this time of year. There are a few plants blooming with the pink cyclamen shown above leading the pack for number of blooms. I love this little seasonal plant and I don't stress over its short life span here. There is not enough room on the shelves to nurse it after all the blooms have faded so into the compost it will go. It was a gift and one I love. I have a few paperwhites blooming and these have little fragrance. I know some do not like that scent but they rarely spend the time to pot them up. Really, if I am going to the trouble of forcing a  paperwhite, anticipating the scent of spring with each new inch of foliage, with buds forming full of the promise of sweet fragrance and then...nothing, the disappointment is great and hugely out of proportion to the act of plunking a few bulbs in pebbles in a pot. This could be a sign of cabin fever. I need to get out more.  Here is a Phalaenopsis orchid blooming. This is one I have had for a while which speaks to its ease of re-bloom. I need to pick up a few more of these. The flowering maple has a few flowers and while this is a dismal shot taken in less than ideal light conditions, I love these scarlet bells. This variety is a bit gangly and loose. I will cut it hard next spring when it goes outside to summer on the patio. Summer is a long way off but the sun is rising earlier and setting later and that is very welcome. Many thanks to Carol over at May Dreams for hosting yet another Bloom Day. 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - December 15, 2011

It is not often that one finds flowers in New England on December 15th. This year, there are two here in the garden. The above calendula which is tattered but still holds color and this Helleborus foetidus.
This hellebore holds its lime green flower buds through the winter to open just around St. Patrick's Day. You have seen it before and you will see it again but I never tire of it. The deer do not eat it and the foliage is fabulous all year long. I am looking forward to seeing your December 15th blooms. Hop on over to May Dreams and thank Carol for another Bloom Day. They sustain my need for color at this time of year.

Bloom Day - November 15, 2011

Blooms are hard to find here in Rhode Island on this Bloom Day, courtesy of Carol, of May Dreams. Thank you again Carol for hosting so that I may view many more blooms than those in my garden. There is one last tattered bloom on the red Knock Out rose. I struggled to find it. I also found these few blooms left on the 'Sheffield Pink' mum. Many have been eaten by deer which browsed for food just after the snowstorm in October. There are virtually no acorns for them to eat this year so I imagine I will be seeing them suffer all winter. In the vegetable garden which is partially cleaned out, the calendula is blooming still. Impervious to all but the coldest of weather and frost, this one is flaunting its bright, school bus orange (not my favorite color) blooms. They are easier to take this time of year when there is little else in bloom. As I walked the dog this morning, I noticed that the native witch hazels were blooming. Hamamelis virginiana, the common witchhazel has the same flower as the hybrids which bloom in the spring. This native blooms in the fall and often before the leaves fall which hides the blooms from view. The roadside trees were bare of leaves but this one in the garden is retaining its leaves a bit longer.  On another note....today is my Mom's birthday and she is one of the best blooms in my life. Today she is 88 and last week she golfed nine holes with a score of 54 which is not bad and a score I often exceed. I hope she forgives me for sharing her age but it is a gift to reach such an age of wisdom when you are in good health and sound of mind. It is said that 'No one loves you like a mother'. I, my four sisters and one brother plus the extended family of grandchildren and in-laws, have been the recipients of the best this phrase has to offer. Here she is in the light green, on the right. Happy birthday, Mom. 

l-r: Sister Eileen,Daughter Emily, Mom

second row: Friend Joyce

top: Yours truly   

Bloom Day - October 15, 2011

Bloom Day in October is usually after a first frost but not this year. It has been warm here in southern New England. The dahlias are still blooming and the annuals, while showing the effects of lower light, continue to provide spots of color here and there.  Here is a collage of October bloomers. Click on picture to enlarge
A big thank you to Carol of May Dreams for hosting this monthly event. It is so much fun to see what is blooming in other gardens around the world.

Bloom Day - The Day After....August 15, 2011

This August Bloom Day was filled with torrential rain. Not just a shower but steady, heavy rain. Flowers bowed their heads in appreciation but the gardener, while thankful for the rain, had a hard time balancing an umbrella with a camera.  The garden in August is mostly texture with spots of color. The abundant bloom of June and July has given way to a more refined palette of green with the late blooms of hosta, daylilies and the ever blooming annuals. The Ligularia dentata 'Britt Marie Crawford' is lovely all season with the exception of now although the bright, school bus orange flowers glow in the garden on a rainy day.  They do start to bloom about the time the school bus starts to roll. I keep meaning to cut off these flowers but they show up from a distance and not everyone has my cringing reaction to their bright, neon orange color. The 'Limelight' hydrangea is a beacon in the garden and I must remember to plant a few more. Nothing in the garden says 'late summer' as much as the pale yellow blooms of the yellow wax bells, Kirengeshoma palmata. This is a large plant, four by four. It always elicits a comment from a visitor. Annuals add continuous color to any garden and while the marigold is considered by some as 'pedestrian', it is sturdy and pairs well with these petunias in a planter which has small soil volume. I am late to the table with Bloom Day. Thank you to Carol at May Dreams for hosting this monthly event. I hope to see the blooms in your garden, wherever that might be.   

Bloom Day - April 15, 2011

April can be stingy with blooms in New England.  The earliest bloomers, the snowdrops and winter aconites are on the wane but the blue chionodoxa are coming into full bloom along with hellebores.  The green are Helleborus foetidus and this double is a 'Kingston Cardinal'.  The quality of light in the morning is beautiful and the birds sing their agreement with spring trills.  A heavy rain yesterday pushed the grass to greener depths and fattened the buds on many of the trees.  One of my favorite spring blooms are the blooms on the red maple trees in the back field.  From a distance it is just a red haze.  Up close the flowers are complete and lovely.  I am trying to remember how old I was when I first really looked at these flowers.  I know I was well into adulthood.  I wonder what I am missing or have missed by just not paying attention and looking closely?  The tulips are coming up and the fall planted Greigii tulip, 'Fire of Love', has foliage every bit as lovely as any flower. I am waiting for the flower but really, who cares? The fat buds on the magnolia are swelling and showing a bit of pink and the buttercup winterhazel is about to ring with pale yellow bells.  There are other bits and pieces blooming here, some late crocus and the pulmonaria are beginning to show color but the above are favorites this year.  Many thanks to Carol, of May Dreams, for hosting yet another Bloom Day.  Now, show me what is blooming in your garden please.    

Bloom Day - March 15, 2011

This bloom day brings actual outside blooms.  Not many and this first bunch of snowdrops is resisting opening fully but I am counting them as blooms anyway.  Temperatures are still quite chilly although today was sunny.  I think the key temperature for fully opening of snowdrop blooms must be somewhere above 45F.  Thursday is supposed to be in the high fifties so perhaps that will push these white delights open to reveal their green chevron.  This hellebore is the only one in bloom although all of the others are budded up.  I love the pure white hellebores.  This one has had its foliage clipped but the bed has yet to be cleaned out.  There are still patches of snow here and there.  The stinking hellebore, Helleborus foetidus, is showing the green in time for St. Patrick's Day on Thursday. The winter aconites in this bed are starting to show color.  I have planted many but some are buried under snow and others are not yet showing growth.  There is one lone yellow crocus in a back bed which was planted over twenty years ago.  It neither dies out or spreads and I have come to look for its solitary bloom when the temperatures moderate.  The purple crocus in the front are still blooming although they were shut tight today given the temperature.  Inside, I have a blue plumbago which is blooming.  Baby blue is not a common flower color and I find this one quite a unique shade.  It will be a great outdoor container plant this season.  Also blooming is this phalaenopsis orchid.  Phalaenopsis orchids are relatively easy houseplants. I've only killed a couple in my life.   There is so much to do in the gardens at this time of year that it is difficult not to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the tasks.  The pups, Tucker and Cooper, are quite unconcerned though and posed for Bloom Day.  They know they are the biggest blooms in the garden.  Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams for sharing the blooms.  Even though I have just a few, I can visit gardens all over the world via her inspiration of Bloom Day.  That should satisfy the craving for blooms. 

Bloom Day - November 15, 2010

November is a gray month in New England.  Days are often overcast with gloomy clouds and drizzle.  We have had our first heavy frost and our first snowfall within a week of each other.  November is the beginning of the third act.  When the sun does shine, it is very, very bright in the sunlight and the shadows are dark.  Warm and cold. Light and dark. Short and long.  Short days and long nights. There is little left flowering as winter intermission arrives.  The show is over...well almost as here and there are a few bright spots of color.  The pink sheffield is the very last perennial to bloom profusely.  The flowers on this clump are looking quite bedraggled after snow last week.The bees are dragging their wings.  There is little danger of getting stung so getting close poses no threat.  This one is just interested in getting his last sip of nectar. 
The roses are almost bare but the last buds have struggled open on the warm days of Indian Summer which visited this past weekend. 
The foliage of Euphorbia 'Ascot' is pretty enough to be considered a bloom.  It seems to be thriving in this cool weather.   
Next to the front walkway, the entrance garden is hiding under a layer of leaves but there, amidst the debris, is this little bird's foot violet with its very small, white bloom. 
It really is the moss on the rocks in this garden  which first catches one's eye as it glows brightly with the low rays of sun shining through the trees highlighting the velvety softness of its surface.   There is one other bloom in my life for which I am eternally grateful.  This November Bloom Day coincides with Mom's birthday.  I have often said that 'No one loves you like your Mom'.  There are few that measure up to the high standards my Mom has set in this world. She has six grown children, eleven grandchildren, three great grandchildren (oops, four) and arms long enough and wide enough to hold us all. 
Happy Birthday Mom.

Bloom Day - 1 day late

Bloom Day in mid-October is usually filled with frost damaged plants and little in the way of flowers but not this year.  No frost has graced the garden yet which is not to say that everything looks pristine.  The leaves are turning and the containers are suffering from lack of light and lack of interest.  There is a rhythm to the seasons and Mother Nature is acting a bit off beat.  The Pink Sheffield chrysanthemums are blooming.  They are always the last to bloom and their peachy perfection is an annual delight.  This lovely Tricyrtus 'Tojen'  is in bloom.  It holds no candle to Gail's 'Empress' but still, it is pretty. It needs to be planted close to a pathway since the blooms are small and can easily be overlooked in a border.  The Mexican sunflower has finally given up some blooms.  Tucker, the Job Supervisor, is less than impressed. The wax begonias look better now than they did all summer although the bed is disheveled. 

I have a small rose bush which has put out an abundance of blooms for this day.  They are, most likely, the last roses of summer and they are much appreciated.  It is a lovely shade of apricot.  Note to self:  Find the tag on this one. The Anemone hupehensis is newly planted.  I have tried this plant many times in the past and the clumps have never established well.  It is such a winning fall flower with buds just as pretty.  I am trying once again. I am in good company.  Henry Mitchell wrote in his long ago Washington Post column, 'Earthman', that he had to plant it several times before he had 'a good clump going'.  Some plants are worth the effort don't you think. Many thanks to Carol of May Dreams for keeping the flowers blooming through her Bloom Day efforts.  What fun it is to visit gardeners from all parts of the globe for a peek into their gardens every 15th of the month.