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.