More Roses

Another pic of the rose called First Edition. I'm hoping that it will produce more bloom now that Gate took away some of the branches of the Chestnut tree that were blocking the sun from it.



The last of the first bloom on the John Boerner floribunda. Since I took this, I cut off all the spent blooms and its already preparing to do it all over again.




The floribunda Nicole that I was sure was dead has proven me wrong. These two pics are of the same bloom three days apart and at different times of the day. The first is a lat evening shot, and the second is early morning. The quality of light sure makes a difference in how the pictures turn out. In the early morning one the colors are more true. The colors are somewhat faded compared to last year where the edges of the petals were more a true red than the pink they are this year.

Musk mallow madness

These are incredibly hardy perenials that seem to grow, if not thrive, under any and all conditions. The first year that I planted it, I overfertilized and they grew to be over four feet tall. In an area with no fertilizer they gew only one foot tall. Apparently under the correct conditions they will grow from two to three feet tall. Whatever the conditions, they bloom profusely from the end of June right up to the hardest frost. I really like their fern like leaves, and the flowers look like very tiny hollyhocks to me (not surprising since they belong to the same family which includes the hollyhocks, the malvas (of which the musk mallow is one), the mallows and the hibiscus, and most surprisinly the vegetable okra).

More Roses

Here are a couple of more pictures of the white climber as promised. I took these this morning just before the downpour started. It's too bad its raining so hard. It will make things uncomfortable for those who are attending the celebrations for Quebec City's four hundredth. I hope it stops raining before the fireworks are scheduled to start this evening.




This pink is another one that belonged to Gate's mother. I found it growing in the lawn where a flower bed used to be. It was a sad looking little thing when I moved it, and I later found two more in the same area. Each of them is now over four feet tall. They produce huge numbers of buds each spring, but I've never seen an actual bloom. they seem to be particularly susceptible to some sort of fungus that destroys the buds before they open. It looks like they're actually going to bloom this year. I was seriously thinking about getting rid of them if they didn't produce some bloom this year. In spite of the healthy looking bloom, they still seem to be affected by rust but a little sulphur dust seems to be taking care of that. I just have to keep dusting because the rain keeps washing it off.

Here's the first (and perhaps the only) bud on the First Edition. It should open fully in the next day or so if we get another couple of sunny days. If it fulfills its promise I'll post another pic of it in a few days.

All the pretty flowers

The first of the Gallardia blossoms. I feel blessed by their cheer. I was told that it would be best to treat these as an annual because they bloom so profusely that they exhaust themselves and don't normally come up the second year even though they are sold as perennials. They did look quite worn out last fall, but I treated them like all the other perennials just in case. That is, I mowed them down and covered their shorn heads with burlap. I was quite pleased to see them sprouting a bit of green when I uncovered them in May. They're going to put on quite a show this summer, and since they bloom right through the most killing frosts the show will last a long, long time.



The first of the Campanula Carpatica. These too should bloom through the summer. They appear to have doubled in size since I put them in last spring. I have a few more places I'd like to put them so I'll probably be separating some of them at some point. They are perfect rock garden plants.


The white Campanula Persicafolia are so pretty. They look so delicate in their dance with the wind. It was difficult to get a clear picture because they dance with the slightest breeze.

The Spanish sea grass is another of those exceedingly perky rock garden plants. I quite like the pink, though the white is rather too plain for my taste. I think I'll move the white ones in among the red dianthus where they'll stand out a bit more. If the move is successful I'll post a pic or two.

First roses

As with all else this year the roses too are late. Normally the wild roses begin blooming at the end of May, and here it is July first (Happy Canada Day everyone) and they're just beginning to bloom. For all that they're late, they are putting on a spectacular show and as long as we have a few more days of full sun the show should only get better. It's too bad they only bloom for a week or so. I'd love to see them bloom all summer, and I could easily put up with the cinnamony scent they give off.



These miniature roses are among the seven that I just put in this spring. For all that they are less than 10 inches tall they're going to put on quite a show. They're supposed to bloom all summer too so that's an added bonus. In addition to the reds and the oranges, there are a yellow and a couple of pinks as well that haven't started blooming yet.




This is the first blossom of the year on the white climber that belonged to Gate's mother. It's not a very clear picture. I'll try to get another, clearer, shot over the next couple of days. This one, too, usually blooms earlier, but even though the winter was really hard on it (alot of branches broke under the weight of the snow), it looks like it will have masses of bloom. Again, its too bad it doesn't bloom longer. It usually only blooms for a couple of weeks, then its done for the year. I think I'll look for a companion for it that will bloom through the summer.

The grandiflora "Pink Parfait" that I put in last spring is covered in masses of blooms. Tthey're a little smaller than they were last year, but I think thats due to the fact that all the fertiizer I laid in around it was washed away by the constant rain we've been having.

The buds on the floribunda "Gene Boerner" are only just beginning to open. I'll post a few pics as they begin to open. The orange floribunda "First Edition" has put up only a single bud for now. Its in a very shady spot, so I may have to remove a lower branch or two on the chestnut tree to give it more sun. The floribunda "Nicole" that I thought had died is putting up new shoots so it appears to have resurrected itself. The purple floribunda "Intrigue" was comming on strong, but it appears to have been attacked by some small creature that nibbled off each and every bud. I suspect slugs, those creepy critters that looks like snails without the shell. Looks like I may have to take action to reduce their numbers in that area. I don't mind sharing, but they could have left me at least one bud.

The first of the poppies

These were planted last year. The first flowers on each (the pink and the orange which was supposed to be a red) are almost the size of sandwich plates. I'm hoping for some seed so their tribes will increase.



This is the first of the day lilies to bloom. It's rather short this year, I don't know why. It could be because I changed fertilizer part way through last summer. I've gone back to my usual and I hope that I'll get better results as the summer wears on.

Its hard to believe that this chive plant was a 99 cent herb just three years ago. It's come a long way since then.

The last of the irises

Well its the second day of summer, and the spring blooms are almost done. The last of the irises are blooming and we won't see anything more of them till next spring. I guess these ones that belonged to Gate's mother will need some separating because they've managed to fill the space where they are. In a week or two I'll move some of them to a sunny spot on the south side of the house at the back where they'll form the start of a new flower bed.



These can stay as they are for a couple of more years. They have plenty of space to fill for now. The little red spots in the background are some dianthus that I put in just this spring. I put in a scarlet, a crimson, a couple of coral and a white. Once they start to spread out a bit they'll look superb against the rocks that hold the soil in this area.

These little yellow ones just started blooming. They're much shorter than most of the others and always bloom a little later. I have two small patches of them (my mother sent them to me from Manitoba), and hope they increase at the same pace as the ones above. It's rained pretty much every day for three weeks (it seems we'll get as much rain as we did snow) and these really perk up the spirits. The old stump behind them is getting pretty tired. In a year or two I'll be able to dig up what's left of it and put in another flower, but for now it offers a good backdrop for these irises.

This peach colored one is the last of the ones I put in last spring to bloom. I had lost the tag for it and had no idea what color it was going to be. I must say was pleasantly surprised. It only put up a single flower stalk, but in a year or two I hope to be able to divide it and spread its elegant beauty around the rest of the yard. I'd like to see a bed of these combined with the bronze and white ones that I posted last week.