Late May pops of color ...

Two pink peony with philadelphus blooming in the background.

A double bloom of Iris Sunny Glow. This variety is a little smaller than other bearded irises.

A large unknown pink peony. We moved two pomegranate trees and a large spirea this spring. This let in the sun and the peonies really put on a show. 

A group of large unknown white peony taken in the early morning light.

More unknown pink peony.

A double tall bearded purple iris.

We moved this Proteus clematis out from under a lilac because it wasn't getting enough sun. It was in a root cage so I just plopped it down next to our Scotch Broom and it went nuts.

Another unknown peony. I wish we had the names of our peonies.

Spikes of Veronica x spicata Tickled Pink grow to about 10 inches. Pollinators love 'em.

This is the second year for Rogersia aesculifolia and it bloomed! The flowers are small but fragrant. We planted four under a plum tree. This plant can reach 5 feet and clump in a nice group. When mature, the flowers are much larger. It must not dry out so moist to wet soil is best.

A large digitalis or foxglove grew in the Astilbe bed. It must have been a seed on the wind because we didn't sow them last season.

Another wild digitalis in the front yard.

Japanese Fleece Flower or Fallopia japonica “Variegata’ or Polygonatum cuspidatum ‘Variegata' or whatever they call this week is a real standout against the green foliage of its neighbors. We were walking over by Logan Circle in Washington DC and saw some very large and tall mounds.

Philadelphus in Maryland...

Mock Orange, Philadelphus x virginalis in full bloom. This is an excellent plant for hedges, along fences, lining a driveway, etc. The 2 inch flowers appear in May, are lightly fragrant a last about 2 to 3 weeks. Its a North American native, prefers average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. Make sure it gets supplemental water on the hottest summer days. It is not particular to soil type or pH. This was planted in mostly clay and performs well. It blooms on the previous years growth so prune immediately after blooming if needed. As for sun, this plant gets about 4 - 5 hours a day (morning to noon) and still does very well. 

This is Mock Orange Philadelphus x lemoinei. This cultivar grows to about 4 feet and the flowers are a little smaller than virginalis above. We've had this one for three years and it finally bloomed this season. It is planted in a clay compost mix and only gets about 2 hours of afternoon sun. We expect it to bloom heavily next season because it has a lot of new growth.

A triple whammy of Edith Wolford iris flowers.

A pair of Proteus clematis blooms. This variety is odd because it can have both single and double flowers on the same plant. Both of these are doubles.

This was the only patch of Baptisia australis or False Indigo that survived a direct hit by voles and bloomed.

Another casualty of voles this spring was the variegated Weigela. As the flowers age they turn from white to pink.

Variegated Fleece Flower or Fallopia japonica 'Variegata' has colorful foliage and small poofy flowers in the summer. We grow it for the foliage and red stems. As you see it stands out against the green. It prefers moist soil, mostly shade but can take some morning sun. It will burn in afternoon sun.

A close up of Variegated Fleece Flower or Fallopia japonica 'Variegata'.

It's the time of year for Irises

Sunny Glow Iris is just that; sunny, glowing, and bright. It stands out against the green.

Iris Edith Wolford is a striking variety.

A nice dark purple Iris germanica.

A bevy of White Hot iris. They really bloomed well this spring despite getting crowded out by a Dicentra.

Another unknown iris. The contrast on this one is vivid in the sun.

Our Cytisus scoparus (sold as Scotch Broom Lena) exploded this year with flowers. It reached about 5 feet after its second year. Give this one a sunny location and it will not disappoint.

The variegated Weigela in peak bloom. Lightly fragrant flowers draw hummingbirds and hummingbird moths. Plant with fragrant Abelia or Miss Kim lilac and they will be in bloom at the same time.

Another excellent companion to weigela, abelia and Miss Kim lilac is Philadelphus Mock Orange. Ours will peak next week but this display is already nice. As you can see, it has little white buds ready to burst. It stays in bloom for a few weeks making it a nice specimen panting or in mass as a 6 foot screen or hedge.

Korean Lilac Miss Kim is probably one of the latest blooming lilacs available. It has a spicier, less floral fragrance (like Korean spice viburnum) than other lilacs and carries very well on the breeze. The more sun the better as usual for lilac.

A closeup of Korean Lilac Miss Kim.

The flowers of sage. Yes, the one you cook with. Behind the sage in this image is spearmint. Fresh herbs are much more flavorful than dried.

Finding a path to peace in the garden.

Garden path on the way to zen mindfulness.

This is a gorgeous unknown variety of Iris we planted last season. I'll have to scan the Iris database and see if I can find a match. It might be a Mariposa Skies.

Same here. Unsure of its name but its absolutely beautiful. It might be a Braggadocio. The fragrance from the Iris garden this year is very nice; citrus, grapefruit-ish.

A carpet of Purple Mazus Reptans. It's a low growing ground cover that you can walk on without damaging. It grows quickly in sun and will choke out your lawn. It escaped the flower bed last year. We liked it so much in the yard that we transplanted a large patch into the lawn. We hope to have a large 10 x 10 "lawn" of it next spring.

A stunning Rosa Mardi Gras. Probably our favorite rose. This is an early bloom and a nice surprise.

Azalea Glenn Dale Buccaneer under the dogwood tree. Always showy and only gets a little morning sun. Gotta love Azaleas.

Our Variegated Weigela took a direct hit from the voles this spring. It survived and is blooming but is not as thickly branched as it should be. Lightly fragrant, they can reach about 5 feet high and the same across.

The perfect yin to Weigela's yang is fragrant Abelia mosanensis. Rivaling lilac, its a must have for its May perfume. It prefers full sun but will still perform in light shade. Left alone it can reach a leggy 8 feet.

An almost forgotten patch of pink Columbine. A few years ago when we planted the row of Oakleaf Alice hydrangeas, I thought it might be interesting to have an under-story planting of Columbine. This is the result of just scattering the seeds.

No, this is not a hydrangea. Its a Viburnum opulus (sold as Snowball bush or Pom Pom Viburnum). Its grows very fast and requires staking the first few seasons as the flowers are quite large and heavy. The more sun the better which is typical of viburnum. Sorry to say its not fragrant. It can reach 10 feet or more if happy. 

High Noon tree peony really performed well this spring. It produced 5 flowers this season.

Is chartreuse the new black? Variegated foliage and yellow add accents to the garden.

Heuchera Pistache is one of the brightest if not the brightest heuchera on the market. Ours reach about a foot high and the same across. I also believe they have larger leaves than others in this family.

This is a 3 foot Golden Spirit Smoke Bush (Cotinus coggygria). The foliage emerges lime green in the spring, matures to brilliant gold in the summer and then red and orange in the fall. They can reach about 8 feet when mature. Although native to drier regions of Europe eastward into China, it does well in our hot and muggy zone 7 summers. In Europe, smoke trees were used to dye cloth and leather to create the yellow fustic color. Apothecaries used it as a coagulant even though it has toxic sap.

Spiraea japonica Goldmound leaves emerge in early spring with a bright yellow color and slowly fade to a greenish yellow as the season progresses.  It has a bright pink fuzzy flower cluster in late May and reaches about 2 feet in height.

Liberty Hostas are our favorite. They are quite large (over a foot and half) when happy, provide a very bold contrast against darker hues and tolerate more sun than most. These hostas get hit with a solid shot of afternoon sun which would fry others. They are not cheap due to patents but come highly recommended.

This is Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum Golden Jubilee. It has minty edible leaves, is rather hardy, grows to about 3 feet and has contrasting purple spike flowers in the summer. A magnet for pollinators (as all hyssop are) it reseeds easily so you always have freebies next spring.

Hosta Guacamole was hosta of the Year in 2002. Its a medium to large hosta with fragrant flowers in summer. It can take morning and a little midday sun only. Its leaves are bright, ribbed and lined with darker green edges. Its one of the last to go dormant in the fall. 

Solomon's Seal is the 2013 perrienial of the year. Polygonatum odoratum Variegatum spreads by rhizomes underground to form colonies making a solid ground-cover. It reaches about 2 feet, has an upright, arching form with small white pendant flowers in spring. They can take some sun but must be kept moist. Do not plant in full sun.

This is Lysimachia nummularia Aurea Creeping Jenny. It has bright, golden-yellow leaves, growing low to the ground forming a dense mat. It will choke out small plants and weeds which is good and can be easily contained. It spreads pretty fast and adds a nice contrasting color. It can survive short periods of submersion so it works well around water or wet areas.

Oriental Limelight Wormwood Artemisia is used as an accent plant because the foliage is always changing. It grows to about 2 feet and starts a marbled white, yellow and green variegated dance. It seems to change all the time. Not sure it its an optical illusion or the leaves actually change. We plant it with iris and roses.

Houttuynia cordata Variegata or Variegated Chameleon Plant. The foliage is yellow, bronze, green and red. It has aromatic foliage that smells citrus-like when bruised. A very rapid grower that prefers moisture and reaches about a foot in height. Can be invasive if left alone.