Roses Part 1

We've had a week of heavy downpours and flooding here - over 14 inches of rain in a five day period, at a time when the ground was already saturated with previous rains. Amazingly, the garden is mostly intact and many plants, although battered, are blooming bravely on. Here is part one of my roses for this year.

The first to come into bloom was my damask rose 'Ispahan':

Rosa damascena 'Ispahan'

You can see that there is some insect damage to the leaves. That has been a major problem on my damask and alba roses this year. I'm not sure what else to do except hand-pick the little green larvae which are apparently causing the problem.

Rosa damascena 'Ispahan'

The blooms are initially bright pink, fading to a softer shade over time. The have a bit of a shaggy, informal shape. The perfume is strong and sweet. Damask rose petals are used for making attar of roses because of their strong perfume.

Here is a shot of the whole bush. This is only the second year for this rose in my garden so it is still quite small. Eventually it should become a large 6'x6' shrub.

Damask rose with Campanula 'Freya' and lemon thyme

Next up is a pink alba rose, 'Felicite Parmentier'. It is a gentle pink color with exquisitely formed quartered blooms. This rose has not enjoyed the wet conditions this year and some of the petals and buds have been a bit gummy from the wet. It is blooming profusely though, and the fragrance of this rose is probably my favorite of all. It is sweet but not heavy - almost citrusy.

Rosa alba 'Felicite Parmentier'

Now for something a bit brighter: 'Sophy's Rose' is a David Austin English rose which should (unlike the above two old garden roses) rebloom throughout the summer.

Austin rose 'Sophy's Rose'

The color of this one is unusual. It starts out a deep reddish-purplish pink, then fades to dark fuchsia. This is a smaller plant with not overly large blooms (unlike some Austins which seem out of scale to me). The fragrance is medium strength but extremely pleasing - a classic "tea rose" scent.

Austin rose 'Sophy's Rose'

I have three of these planted in my new rose garden with lady's mantle and blue geraniums. This is their first year and so far they are small but doing well. This edge of the rose garden is a bit shadier than I had thought - I am hoping they will get enough sun to flourish.

New plantings of 'Sophy's Rose', Geranium 'Nimbus', and Lady's Mantle

More roses to come next week!

Herbaceous Peonies

My herbaceous peonies are blooming now. This is their second year and they are still small, but starting to fill out a bit.

Peony 'Myrtle Gentry'

'Myrtle Gentry' is a soft pink with creamy white interior petals. The fragrance is intense and sweet. This one is my most floriferous so far.

Peony 'Paul M. Wild'

'Paul M. Wild' is my favorite for color. It's a deep raspberry red that does not fade. Not as fragrant as Myrtle though.

Peony 'Vivid Rose'

 Here is 'Vivid Rose', also a big fat double and a wonderfully vibrant shade of mid-pink. It is one of the latest-blooming peonies, about a week later than the above two.

Here is my peony bed last week, before 'Vivid Rose' joined in:

Peonies, Dwarf pine, and penstemon

And here the dark pink one has joined the show:

Peonies 'Vivid Rose' and 'Myrtle Gentry'

The flowers are enormous and heavy. The flowers are nearly on the ground and it hasn't even rained!
I obviously need to figure out a better support system for next year. How do you support your peonies?

Peony flopping

Peonies 'Vivid Rose' and 'Myrtle Gentry'

June Blooms

Things are still behind schedule this year. My old garden roses have buds that are just beginning to open. Normally they would be blooming by early June. You'll have to check back next week to see some roses!

Rosa damascena 'Ispahan' - bud

My mid/late-season herbaceous peonies are also just beginning to open. The late one has not even begun yet. Again, about two weeks behind.

Peony 'Paul M. Wild' with penstemon

Peony 'Myrtle Gentry'

My blue penstemon is looking great right now. The color is really electric.

Penstemon 'Riding Hood Blue'

This is the first year of bloom for my yellow foxgloves. I started them from seed last year. Supposedly this type will be perennial... I sure hope so because I love it!

Digitalis grandiflora (Yellow Foxglove)

Astrantia is also just getting started, not at its peak yet.

Astrantia 'Roma'

Thymes are blooming here and there, like this one at the foot of some rocks.

Thyme and Sedum 'Angelina'

Some things have been blooming for a while. This polemonium, for example, has been going for several weeks now.

Polemonium caeruleum  (Jacob's Ladder) 'Blue Pearl'

And the Lady's Mantle.

Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle)

Several geraniums, including 'Johnson's Blue' and 'Biokovo'.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

Geranium 'Biokovo'

A new crop of blue tradescantia flowers opens each morning, and the foliage still looks fresh at this point in the summer.

Tradescantia 'Blue Stone'

Corydalis lutea is an all-summer blooming machine.

Corydalis lutea

The plant that takes the prize for longest-blooming in my garden is this lamium. It was one of the first to begin and will continue to bloom until frost.

Lamium 'Orchid Frost'

Bleeding hearts are past their prime, but a few blooms still dangle from the huge mass of foliage, complementing the nearby sprays of pink heuchera.

Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Hearts) with ferns, heuchera, polygonatum

Finally, the Lamb's Ears I winter-sowed last year are starting to bloom. The flowers are not attractive, but the plant makes nice edger in this hot driveway border.

Stachys byzantina (Lamb's Ears)

Check out Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more of what's blooming across the world today: June 2013 Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Peony 'Coral Sunset'

My peony 'Coral Sunset' is blooming. She is beautiful!

Peony 'Coral Sunset'

The semi-double flowers are a lovely coral pink, with bright yellow stamens in the interior. This herbaceous peony is a hybrid of the Chinese species paeonia lactiflora with a cultivar of the European paeonia officinalis. The officinalis heritage lends it the unusual bright coloration, as well as early bloom time. It blooms together with or just after Japanese tree peonies, before the regular lactifloras have started. There are a variety of coral cultivars (Coral 'n Gold, Coral Charm, Pink Hawaiian Coral, ...) with similar coloring. 'Coral Sunset' is distinguished by having very large flower petals. All are, in my opinion, among the most beautiful herbaceous peonies out there.

Peony 'Coral Sunset'

'Coral Sunset' has a great plant habit, holding its flowers tall and proud, no flopping, even after heavy rain. My plant is just a tiny one-year old - it will get larger and have more blooms with time. It is said to be slightly fragrant, but I can't detect anything worth mentioning.

The deep coral cup-shaped buds are lovely too:

Peony 'Coral Sunset'

As the flower ages, it fades through a progression of soft beigey yellow and cream.

Peony 'Coral Sunset' - slightly sun-faded flower

Peony 'Coral Sunset' - very faded flower

 I think it looks lovely in all its color stages!

Filipendula hexapetala and peony 'Coral Sunset'

Early June Stroll

It's early June and summer-blooming perennials are kicking in. Here is a stroll around the garden...

Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Ladder) with Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle)

In my front entry border, blue-flowered Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's Ladder) is blooming together with Lady's Mantle. The polemonium has been blooming for a couple weeks now, and the Lady's Mantle is just getting started. Still to come later in this area are martagon lilies and yellow foxgloves. The neighboring white alba rose, which was supposed to bloom in a grand yellow-blue-white concert with the others, was damaged severely over the winter by rabbits, and is bouncing back behind a protective cage for now.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

In the patio border, geranium 'Johnson's Blue' is looking nice. It is a bit loose-habited and sprawly, but the finely cut foliage is nice and the large blue flowers are fantastic. I have heard reports that this plant is difficult to grow, especially in areas with hot, humid summers. This is its first year here, so we'll see how it does.

Filipendula hexapetala 'Flore Pleno' (Meadowsweet) with Peony 'Coral Sunset'

Also in this border, filipendula is blooming near my coral peony. I had hoped they would bloom together! The creamy yellow filipendula flowers with their pink buds really complement the peony well. Both are slow-growing, long-lived plants - hopefully the display will increase in magnitude with time as they mature. They peony is already a goddess - a post dedicated all to her is coming soon!

Rosa damascena 'Ispahan', Lemon thyme, Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

One more view of the patio bed. This area was just planted last year, but it is starting to fill in somewhat. The roses have lots of buds on them!

Tradescantia 'Blue Stone', Sedum 'Angelina'

Across from the patio bed is this raised bed lined with boulders. The deep blue tradescantia has begun blooming here, highlighted by the yellow foliage of the creeping sedum. Some thyme is also blooming on the ground. The large leaved plant on the trellis is a shrubby clematis, which will add starry blue flowers in July.

Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'

Quite a few geraniums are blooming throughout the garden. Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' is a soft shell pink color in the shade garden. The Strawberry foxgloves behind it should bloom later in the summer.

Geranium macrorrhizum (Bigroot Geranium) 'Bevan's Variety'

Bigroot geranium is blooming under my lilac. This one is the bright magenta 'Bevan's Variety'.

Last of the Tree Peonies

My tree peonies are just winding down. This year the bright 'Luoyang Hong' bloomed first (see my post from last week):

Tree peony 'Luoyang Hong'

About a week later my white and dark red ones began blooming. I was hoping they would all bloom together in one glorious tree peony symphony, but oh well. The white one, 'Xiang Yu' (Fragrant Jade) did at least bloom with this lovely dwarf crested iris by its side:

Tree peony 'Xiang Yu' and iris cristata

In this next photo you can see the red-violet carpels and filaments in the interior of 'Xiang Yu' a bit better. When the plant is older, the flowers will supposedly be fully double, which I guess means the interior will not be as visible. That actually makes me somewhat sad as I think the red and gold center is so striking.

Tree peony 'Xiang Yu'

Just as the dark red tree peony began to open, we had several successive days of heavy rain. The petals got a bit gummy and some of the flowers had trouble opening. Here are some photos I managed to take between rainshowers:

Tree peony 'Wu Jin Yao Hui' (Glittering Black Gold)

I love the deep maroon color of this one, contrasted wtih the gold stamens in the interior.

Tree peony 'Wu Jin Yao Hui'

Farewell until next year, tree peonies! Next it is the herbaceous peonies' turn to bloom...