End of the Month View -May '10

Wisteria macrostachys 'Blue Moon'

Because I missed last month's end of the month garden views, I've decided to do a comparison post with similar scenes from the end of April and the end of May.

We'll start at the street.

The Physocarpus 'Monlo' (Diablo™) is just coming out of bloom, while Rose 'Carefree Beauty' is in full bloom.

Moving up the driveway:

We got the fountain up and running.

The containers which were empty and out front in April are now filled with plants and in their summer positions.

That's a Primula japonica blooming in the container. I'm tickled that it made it through the winter in the ground and bloomed in the container.

Here's the view from the other direction:

Looking down the path.

Halfway down the path, looking back:

I would have liked to have oriented the camera the same way for both, but the mosquitoes are so bad now, I'll take what I can get for a shot.

Out of the woodland garden, the Hellebore bed.

The southeast corner with the old reliable Peony, which I have tentatively identified as 'Mons. Jules Elie.'

Some people call it the Memorial Day Peony because it always seems to be in bloom on Memorial Day, regardless of the weather.

The view from behind the Peony.

Sorry it's so shadowy, but I can only take it for so long at dawn before the mosquitoes chase me in. Clematis 'Blue Fairy' (Crystal Fountain™) was fantastic this year in its first flush.

The view from above back towards the woodland garden:

The plant in the white pot is a purple-leaved cabbage.

And finally, the view from the patio:

Clematis 'Betty Corning' is growing like a jungle vine this year.

Thanks goes to Helen, the Patient Gardener, for suggesting posting photos of garden views at the end of every month.

Full Force Weather - a Minor Deluge

Squirrelhaven's new water feature.

Yesterday afternoon, it was beastly, unbearable hot. Then the heavens opened and poured down upon Squirrelhaven over 2 1/2 inches of rain in less than an hour. I can't recall the like, so I documented it. Pardon the inane commentary, but I was in a bit of a state of shock and I was talking to the kids.



This kind of flooding has happened only once before in the 17 years I've lived here (remember the rains of September 2008?), but never this quickly.

There was so much water and then the street drain got clogged with debris blown off the trees, so the water ran up over the curb. All that water had retreated by evening. In addition to the wild wind, there was pea-sized hail.

This morning I surveyed the aftermath. I was right about the Peony 'Fen Yu Nu.'

It's really a shame, as the flower is a lovely single, Japanese type.

While the Phlox pilosa 'Eco Happy Traveler' looked pretty bad this morning,

it perked up once it dried off. I wish I could say the same about the jack-in-the-pulpits.

Fortunately, not all of them look like they've gone on a bender.

There was minor breakage

and hail damage, and the wind cleared out a bit of deadwood from the trees.

My major concern is for the Chionanthus virginicus.

It's a single-stemmed tree form, and it's still badly listing. At least it didn't break, so it will recover, albeit with a bit more character.

Wildflower Wednesday: A Special Event

For the first time in five years, the yellowwood tree (Cladrastis ketukea, a/k/a Cladrastis lutea) is blooming. The lesson here is that, while Cladrastis is native to the United States, it's not native to the Chicago area and Northern Illinois. (As the name implies, it's from Kentucky, and also grows wild in Tennessee, Missouri and parts of North Carolina and Alabama.) There's a reason for that. Cladrastis generally blooms every other year, but in recent years, late frosts have zapped the buds. This year, it was lured out of dormancy early, and the new leaves got zapped.

Note the shriveled leaves on the right in the photo.

It put out more leaves and some buds. There was another frost, and those buds got zapped.

I kept looking at some newer buds that were teasing me with such promise, but not doing anything.


Yesterday, while wandering around outside, I noticed the flowers in bloom in the interior of the tree, where they must have been protected from the last frost by the leaves.

Clearly, this tree needs a more hospitable climate in which to bloom. I'm not saying it's not worth growing this far north, as it's a graceful tree with lovely yellow fall color and beautiful gray bark for winter interest. (It's called "yellowwood" because the heartwood is yellow.) Just be warned, if you garden in Zone 5a or Zone 4, you probably won't get to enjoy many flowers.

View of the tree with Phlox pilosa 'Eco Happy Traveler' in the background.

And now, a bonus:

The prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) is smokin'! Love those showy seedheads.

Bonus #2, Jack is back -

Can I get an "Amen"? Jack is in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and looking fine with his dark details. The darker forms seem to bloom later than the all green ones. This is just a natural variation that has arisen in my little population of jack-in-the-pulpits. His dark good looks are set off perfectly by the Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola.' I'd love to take credit for this, but he put himself there.

For more wildflower fun, visit Gail at Clay and Limestone.

Rainy Day Plants

During a 3.5" rain event, through the window on May 13, 2010

It's been raining a lot recently. Not just here in Chicagoland, but in Davis, California, at Leslie's place, in Idaho (Gardens of the Wild, Wild West), in Indiana at May Dreams Gardens, in Raleigh, where Helen Yoest gardens, in Oklahoma, where Dee has had tornadoes and hail, in Nashville, where Clay and Limestone nearly became flood and mud. Even Houston's gotten in on a bit of rain at My Corner of Katy and Nancy's Garden Spot.

When it's raining, or too wet to garden, I still have trouble staying in the house. I like to wander about the dripping garden, admiring the raindrops on the foliage. (I don't go out during thunderstorms.) When it stops dripping, but is still too wet to do much of anything, I go on a raindrop photo safari. It's almost as good as gardening.

I like raindrops better than dew drops. There's something about the ponderousness of the drops that creates garden magic. Not every plant is a good rainy day plant. The Lavender does nothing for me right now. But grassy things,

including the foliage of Allium sphaerocephalon, below,

hold the raindrops beautifully.

Rounder foliage also looks good with raindrops.

Cotinus 'Ancot' (Golden Spirit)


lettuce


Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle), which is second only to Sedum,

here Sedum/Hylotelephium 'Matrona,' for raindrop holding quality.

Other good foliage plants include:

Hellebores,

Hostas

Polygantum

Corydalis,

Aquilegia, and Peonies.

As the above photo shows, buds can also show off raindrops beautifully.

While rain makes a mush of the Peony flowers, it's stunning on the buds. Other good buds for rain include Maianthemum racemosum/Smilacina racemosa and Clematis.

There are blooms that looks lovely in the rain, such as Aquilegias


Thalictrum/Anemonella thalictroides:


and Trillium grandiflorum.


And let's not forget about seedheads.

Pulsatilla vulgaris

There can even be beauty in decay:

Tree Peony

Sing with me:

Raindrops keep falling on my head. But there's one thing I know, the blues they sent to meet me won't defeat me. It won't be long 'til happiness steps up to greet me. Raindrops keep falling on my head. But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red, crying's not for me, cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining. Because I'm free. Nothing's worrying me.

What are your favorite rainy day plants?

Picture This - Help Me Choose

I'm having a hard time with the theme of this month's Picture This photo competition at Gardening Gone Wild, Spring Fling, which "should evoke a sense of whimsy, fun and spontaneity."

Here is possibility #1, "Playtime for Stout"

Stout is my next-door neighbors' American Bull Terrier (fortunately, they are wonderful neighbors, unlike the infamous neighbor of Helen Yoest). Stout was having so much fun with his agility tunnel, but not in the prescribed way. I just love how he's smiling in the spring shade.

#2, "Embraceable You"

It looks like the Clematis tendrils are about to hug the bud of 'Silver Moon.'

#3, "Gimme Shelter'

The ant tries to avoid getting wet while still enjoying the sticky stuff from Peony 'Mons. Jules Elie.'

So what do you think, #1, #2, or #3 best fits the theme?