Sunday, May 15, 2011

May Bloom Day: Slow-Motion Spring

After a beautiful week of summer temperatures we're back to chilly, cloudy, early spring weather. A lot of plants have been in slow motion thanks to the delayed onset of spring, but nevertheless here's what's blooming...

...bleeding heart with a bumblebee and the first tentative blooms of yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)...


...I had to search under the foliage to find the flowers of these wild ginger (Asarum canadense). Definitely worth it! They're unique little blooms with red reflexed petals. These flowers lay on the ground sheltered under the large leaves.


Woodland phlox (P. divaricata) is blooming for the first time! I had kind of failed to get this groundcover happily established and spreading, but since the clumps are blooming that means they get to stay at least another year. Maybe it's a sign of good things to come from these plants!


Also making a strong performance is the prairie smoke (Geum triflorum). These buds are not fully in bloom yet but they're still so cool to see bobbing above the foliage. I can't wait for them to make it to the seed-head stage, which creates the real "smoke" looking part of their name.


All of my zizias (Z. aurea) are now in bloom. These water-loving plants have been very happy with all the rain this spring.


And what would May be without tulips? After a rocky start, my border of tulips has been lovely with a mix of yellow, purple and orange. I'm growing (foreground to back) 'Dordogne', 'Negrita', 'Rembrandt's Favorite', one 'El Cid' which returned from last year, and an un-named yellow variety.

The 'Dordognes' are a little more orange than I would have liked, but when you look close you can see gorgeous brush strokes of pink and apricot:


Even the inside of these tulips is artistic:


To enjoy more flowers visit Carol at May Dreams Garden, who hosts Garden Blogger's Bloom Day every month.

Also blooming but not pictured: hellebores, variegated Solomon's seal, violets, un-named tulips.

9 comments:

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Be patient with the Phlox divaricata, and move it if you need to. It look quite a while for mine to take off, although some cultivars are not as strong as others. While I admit that I don't like orange, I can appreciate it, and your 'Dordogne' tulips are lovely and really pop against the purple 'Negritas'. Looking at such a tulip, one can begin to understand Tulipomania.

Sissy said...

another vote for the Negrita tulip. So striking!

Nell Jean said...

Spring is lovely at your place. Children used to call wild ginger blooms 'little brown jugs' or 'pigs.'

garden girl said...

Very nice Rose! My Phlox divaricata has only bloomed once in the six years it's been here, so I'm a little jealous of yours!

Your tulips are all fantastic. I just admire them in other people's gardens, as the rabbits eat them here just as the buds are starting to open.

Rose said...

Your tulip border looks lovely, Rose! Funny how a few miles south can make such a difference--most of my tulips are long gone now. You've reminded me of two plants I have been wanting to add for awhile--the golden alexanders and the prairie smoke. Every time I see the prairie smoke in bloom, I kick myself for not planting one earlier.

Christine @ The Gardening Blog said...

Gorgeous Tulips!! Love the tulip border. Happy GBBD :)

Ramble on Rose said...

MMD-I'm pleased the phloxes are blooming so hopefully they'll continue to flourish. Maybe I'll need to add more to get a more robust groundcover effect. And yes I love the way the Dordognes look with the purple. I usually prefer yellow and purple but these ones work too!

Sissy-Thanks! I really like it too!

NJ-I didn't know that! Those are cute and accurate common names!

GG-I think all the rain really helped the phloxes this year. It's usually really dry in that border.

Rose-Yes, go for both of those! Just as a head's up, prairie smoke likes dry soil, no wet feet.

Christine-Thank you!

scottweberpdx said...

Love those little ginger blooms! I'm so jealous of your Prairie Smoke...I need to find some for my garden too!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Looking good! My prairie smoke geums only had a few blooms this year.

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