Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has become an international hit on the fifteenth of each month; created and hosted by Carol; May Dreams Gardens.
Double Delight, a fragrant passalong from Lori, Gardener of Good and Evil, gave me double the fun for bloom day.
The Bicolor Iris is getting going, and should last through June.
The Butterfly Iris have had a few more blooms than this, but nothing spectacular really. I may end up taking them out.
So far, 2 of my new daylily purchases have bloomed. After agonizing for weeks over what to purchase so that I would have a variety of colors, so far everything looks just alike. Pretty, but not much difference really.
Here’s Byzantine Beauty:
and the slightly pinker, Princess Ellen. Both are very large blooms, which is nice.
The Pink Sunburst Canna is starting to bloom in the bed. I hope it continues all summer, I love it.
I’m beginning to love geraniums. They are one of the few dramatic flowers that really like the dappled shade of my yard.
A new purchase, Clerodendron Ugandense, also known as Butterfly Bush, has a spectacular bloom in mostly shade here. It’s a tender perennial, and supposedly I can cut it back in the fall and mulch over it for winter protection.
Citrus Splash, a passalong from Pam/Digging has given me several blooms in this first year. They start with yellow streaks in orangish-pink, then fade to an all-rosy color. Quite fun!
Moss Verbena is hardy and happy in several places in the garden.
And I have several colors of yarrow, another plant I’m loving. I’ve heard it’s very aggressive, but so far it isn’t in my garden. Once it blooms, I can cut off the stalks and it leaves a hardy, yet fern-like, groundcover that attracts beneficial insects.
And here’s the red yarrow. I didn’t picture the white.
A neighbor gave me a passalong 5-gallon Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant. Hers have been in her yard for years, and are spectacular every spring. This one looked a better a couple of weeks ago, but here’s the last blooms.
Stella D’Oro Daylily, with Molly Ivans Salvia Coccinea in the background.
Why is Copper Canyon Daisy blooming now? It’s normally a fall bloomer.
I like how this shade container is turning out. Annual impatiens give bright color in the shade, and this is the first time I’ve used Spotted Dead Nettle as a trailing plant. I don’t know how it will fare through the summer heat, but I’ll let you know.
I like the bright red of this Salvia Greggii against the white rattan.
Persian Shield isn’t a bloom, but I love the purple color in the deep shade. If it were in brighter shade, the purple is almost neon bright and gorgeous.
Other blooms, not pictured, are Verbena in various colors, Purple Heart, Lantana in various colors, Bulbine, dwarf Pomegranite, Bottlebrush, Pink Salvia, Oxalis, Pink Turks Cap, Petunias, Nemesia, Begonias and Society Garlic.
Getting Grounded 