Monday, June 28, 2021

June is the best month for flowers

First come the self-seeding foxgloves pooping up all over my garden in early June.
Then the roses which usually peak in mid June. I haven’t had a great deal of success with roses. After losing many, many rose bushes, I finally settled on David Austin roses as the most reliable, combining something of the fragrance and disease resistance of old-fashioned roses with the repeat blooming of hybrid teas. For me the most reliable and most beautiful of all is Don Juan:
Like roses, Clemstis with their thin brittle stems area challenge to grow. I've lost a lot of clems over the years , but I will never give up on these beauties. One of the most reliable and long lasting is Niobe.
Then in late June the Queen of the garden: the regal lilies with their powerful fragrance:
The Asiatic lilies also bloom in late June. Their large glossy flowers make up for their lack of fragrance:
And the most fragrant lilies are yet to come--the orientals of mid July

Friday, June 4, 2021

Allium and Iris --the stars of my late May and early June garden

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Late May and early June is allium and iris time. Bearded iris have always been at the top of my list. The fragrance is intoxicating and compensates for their heart-breakingly brief season of bloom and unfortunate vulnerability to Botrytis Rhizome rot. This year I finally gave my Iris what they crave—full sun and good air circulation thanks to well-spaced planting. One of my great sins as a gardener is a tendency to cram too many plants into my garden beds. I’m finally breaking that bad habit.

Last year allium rose to the top of my list of most loved plants. When I returned home from a week in hell at Chestnut Hill hospital for major surgery, my garden never looked so beautiful. I was so happy to be home in my garden with Rick. It was allium time and I think I’ll always associate allium with that magical day.
After the allium and bearded iris have wrought their magic, it’s time for the Siberians.

They are tough, require little coddling and are very effective in a mass planting. The only downside is they have no fragrance, but then you can't have everything in one plant.