This Week in the Garden – June 1

Starting around late April, I have been in the garden taking pictures almost everyday. I have taken so many, I have actually filled up my iphone’s storage capacity with pictures of the garden. And yet, most of them are just sitting in my computer. I almost don’t know where to start with categorizing and storing them. I keep meaning to post pictures since the mid-spring garden tour, but frankly there’s just so much going on out there I think I got a little overwhelmed.

So to start feeling like I’m actually accomplishing something with all these photos, I’m going to try an summarize once in a while. I know myself better than to actually promise a post every week- and there may be weeks where nothing changes in the garden- but so far that hasn’t happened. Practically every day something new is coming up or blooming. There’s still so much I don’t know, but I am at least trying to learn about what I have.

Early last week a new-to-me flower started blooming in the front bed by the Japanese Maple tree- Missouri Evening Primrose.

Missouri Evening Primrose Blooming

What a pretty shot of yellow to this otherwise mostly green bed. Just a few lonely flowers popped open, and within a few days, there were bunches of them.

Also in the front, but closer to the mailbox, I found this Coreopsis just starting to show some buds.

Coreopsis Zagreb

I also finally figured out (for sure) what this plant was in the front, on the other side of the driveway- it’s Asclepias tuberosa, or Butterfly Weed.

Butterfly Weed

Some of the blooms are almost neon orange in color. No wonder butterflies are attracted to it! I’ve got plenty of volunteers coming up as well, and the more food and shelter for butterflies, the better. So far, I haven’t seen but a few and most of them were moths I think. With all the bright blooming flowers we have, we hoped to be buzzing with bees and butterflies, but unfortunately there just aren’t that many of them…

Also by the mail box, the peonies have faded now, but the roses (presumably some knockout variety) and Salvia (I think) are lasting.

Roses and Salvia

Down the side bed, a pretty Annabelle Hydrangea is blooming along side some small roses.

Roses and Hydrangea

The taller plant behind the hydrangea is a smoke tree. You can also see some daylily leaves, and I think garden phlox in front.

The rose are tiny, but so pretty and delicate compared to the other varieties I have blooming.

Roses

In the veggie bed, there is a beautiful deep dark purple clematis blooming, as well as more knockout roses.

Clematis and Roses

On the other side of the bed, but I don’t have a picture in this post- I have a great foxglove blooming. I’m so glad one came up because I love how striking they look. Towards the front of this bed, the first daylily of the year opened up! It’s really pretty and even though I have notes about the locations of the different varieties, I’m not 100% sure which one this is, but I think it may be Siloam Jandee.

First Daylily of the year

A few days later, this gigantic head popped open in the lower garden.

Huge Daylily

It looks really similar, but it’s definitely different. The outer edges of the petals are not ruffled, and the interior is more orange. It’s also a larger head, probably at least 4″ across.

Coming down into the lower garden via the stone steps, you have this view with more Annabelle hydrangea blossoming.

View of Lower Garden Steps

If you look carefully, you can see another azalea just starting to bloom behind the bench. The big daylily is just beyond the bench.

But those hydrangeas are just so lovely! And they go for quite a while too.

Annabelle Hydrangea

I am going to have to trim this back a little bit at some point, because both it and the leucothoe are jutting into the stairs right at the same place. The leucothoe is getting a haircut as well, and several new stems have already emerged.

As spring turns to summer, I already see where I will need to make some decisions about the overall direction of the garden and which plants are growing out of control. So far, it’s been easier for me to focus on smaller areas at a time.

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