Garden Bloggers Bloom Day


One of the great things about the Fling - I've said this many times, but it's worth repeating - is all the amazing people that you connect with and get to know.  Each time I've been, a few new faces are added to my list of blogging friends and this year, Carol Michel from May Dreams Gardens was one of them.

I had heard of Carol's "Garden Bloggers Bloom Day" but, being a veggie girl, I never thought to participate.  But hey - I have blooms in my garden too - so I made a promise to her that I would join in....and here I am.

Buzzy bee enjoying the blooming spirea

I'm a couple of days late for Carol's bloom day and these photos were taken early in the week - I would have posted them sooner but I've been delayed...the details of this delay will be in my next post 😊.

As many of you know, I inherited many of the shrubs and perennials in my garden from the previous owners and, in most cases, I have no idea what the variety names are.  But that doesn't make them any less soothing to the soul.

We have a couple of Bleeding Hearts blooming by our front door - from what Jason said about the differences between the natives and the imports, I'm thinking these understated guys are natives.


In addition to the standard pink, I also have a white bloomer which, I must say, is my favourite.


Although the bleeding hearts do bloom, they don't seem to be flourishing in this spot which is in between the front steps and a dwarf spruce, so they are on the list of plants that I'll be moving in the near future.
Also on the moving list are the columbines that are being shaded out by the plants around them - they would definitely benefit from a bit more breathing space.


This one popped up in the garden a couple of years ago and I have no idea where it came from - but I love it!


Up next is the Diablo Ninebark.  With it's gorgeous leaves, blooms and seed pods, it's one of my season-long favourites.

Diable Ninebark - about to burst into bloom

While the ninebark is just starting to bloom, one of my other favourites, the weigelas, are nearing the finish line:

Still pretty, but fading fast

Also inherited were a few irises - there are several clumps lining our front walkway and in the front garden beds.  The walkway irises are in desperate need of division - perhaps a task for this fall, if I can squeeze it in.


Then there was a surprise iris that popped up in the driveway bed this year.  This area was dominated by a few massively overgrown potentillas, which I removed last year.  Although I've seen iris leaves pop up in the past, we've never had a bloom....until now.


We also have a few unnamed roses, two of which are in bloom right now:



We have two peonies - the one on a south facing wall, not-surprisingly, blooms first:


The second is somewhat shaded by an amur maple in our front garden and generally blooms a couple of weeks later.

I'm also enjoying some colour from the annuals I have in pots (I know - pots!) including this gorgeous calibrachoa:

Proven Winners Superbells® Doublette Love Swept Calibrachoa

This year, I'm looking forward to a floriferous vegetable area.  I've planted numerous annuals around the border of the veg garden, many of them from seed including tithonia, alyssum, calendula, cosmos and zinnias.   Most of these are on their way but it will be a few weeks until we see some blooms...can't wait!

Comments

  1. I think you've got plenty enough flowers to join in with bloom day, and don't forget, many vegetable flowers are just as pretty too. I really like your surprise iris, that's such a pretty colour.

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    1. Thanks Jo - It really was quite the surprise. There are several more irises in that spot but they were only leaves this year. If they don't bloom by next year, I'll likely move them to a sunnier spot.

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  2. You have some lovely flowers! And that surprise iris is a real looker. Our place came with loads of unnamed and neglected irises, and it has been fun dividing them and watching them bloom.

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    1. Thanks Dave - I think I'll be moving a bunch more this fall as there are many scattered all over the place that either need dividing or are shaded and don't bloom very well. It's so much fun rejuvenating/dividing a plant and then watching it flourish!

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  3. Lovely flowers. I’ve never heard of the last one.

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    1. I'd not heard of Calibrachoa either, but it sure is a lovely bloomer especially in a pot as it cascades down the sides.

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  4. Fabulous blooms, Margaret! I love those roses! And the Ninebark! I added a Physocarpus 'Tiny Wine Gold' last year, so it's a totally different color, but still cute. I hope it will bloom next year. Your Peonies and Irises are really pretty, too. :)

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    1. Thanks Beth! I'm quite looking forward to seeing the new plantings in the west border flourish (hopefully) - it's so exciting when you plant a tiny perennial or shrub and you watch it take off after a year or two.

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  5. You have a lot of blooms along with your veggie garden. I wish we could have chosen the bushes they put in our front yard. I love the weigela bush. Also love flowering almond. Love Peonies but have not grown them much. No doubt you will continue to post on the flower blog! Nancy

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    1. That's too bad that you were not able to choose your front yard shrubs - there are just so many types of shrubs you can pick from, I would be rather annoyed if I had no choice in the matter. I'm glad that you have been able to indulge your gardener self in your courtyard!

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  6. A nice collection of flowers. I love columbine, so many different shades and shapes.

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    1. Thank you Penny - I'm creating a new ornamental border and am really looking forward to many more blooms in the future :)

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  7. I like your roses and irises! I have to get back into the habit of participating in bloom day. Thanks for the link.

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    1. Oh, thanks Jason - I think I'll be participating much more in the future, especially now with the new border as I'll actually know what the plantings are!

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  8. From your intro to this post, I thought you were going to show veggie blossoms, but you dazzled us with your inherited blooms! I do love bleeding heart, too. From its foliage, I would have guessed your pink bleeding heart was a cultivar, but as you observed in your comment on my BD post, our climates are so different. It's lovely, whether it's native or a cultivar. So, also, are those deep blue Irises. That color gets me every time!

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    1. You may very well be right, Jane - the cultivars are larger and showier (which mine are not) than the natives but mine don't have the ferny foliage so perhaps it's the location that's keeping them on the subdued side. Always learning, I am :)

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  9. I'm a veggie girl at heart myself, Margaret, but wouldn't be without my blooms. I have that same aquilegia, they're really good shade plants. Your second aquilegia looks like Nora Barlow; like foxgloves, they can self seed a very long distance on a breezy day! Only two of my irises flowered this year so I have to divide this autumn as well. Can't wait to see photos of your veggie garden in full bloom as well!

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    1. I love the deep purple of that aquilegia - thanks for the ID! I hope it self seeds as I only have two rather small ones. Maybe I'll help it along :)

      I'm rather excited to see the iris show once I divide them - I've not touched them since we moved here years ago so I have a feeling it will make a huge difference.

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