Friday, May 15, 2020

Bloomday, May 2020

It's Garden Blogger's Bloomday! And not just any Bloomday, but the one that falls in May. May is the namesake month for Carol and her blog May Dreams Gardens, our hostess for the monthly "show and tell" of what's blooming in our gardens. As I was out taking photos (in between rain-showers) I was thinking it was an extra florific May, but then a quick look at last year's offerings and I see that's not the case, May is always full of flowers. In fact there were a few flowers in 2019's post that I forgot to photograph for this one. Oh well! You can't get them all.

We'll start this tour in the front garden...

Above and below, Grevillea rivularis.

Lewisia NOID, a gift from a fellow Portlander years ago, it just keeps on blooming its heart out, every year.

And another gifted Lewisia that I don't have ID for. Maybe that's the secret to growing a great Lewisia: they have to be a gift, and you can't know exactly what they are?

Leucothoe fontanesiana 'rainbow'

Here's one of my blooming Echium wildpretii. If you read yesterday's blog post you know how excited I am to have a couple of these plants blooming.

Not as excited as the hummingbirds though.

If you've ever grown Euphorbia rigida you may shudder at this sight. I let seeds set. I cut the blooms off over half my plants, but didn't get back out to finish the job. There will be babies.

Grevillea x gaudichaudii

Such a bizarre flower!

Not quite open, Parahebe perfoliata.

We're walking around towards the back garden now, and stop to admire the last flower on my Paeonia 'Smith Opus'.

Flowers on the blackberry. I'd share raspberry flower photos too, but there are no petals left, just berries forming (yum!).

The Embothrium coccineum took a beating in the bad wind, branches are bent every which way and those bright blooms are all over the garden. Thank goodness there are still some left on the plant.

There's the Embothrium coccineum again, but  now I was really focused on the honeysuckle...

Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet'

Lots of blooms on the palm—Trachycarpus fortunei—this year. They're so high up now I can't reach them to cut them off once they dry up. Well, not without a ladder.

Saxifraga urbium 'Aureopunctata'

How fabulous is that flower? It's on a plant I purchased last year as Aporophyllum hybrid 'Shirley'. It was absolutely covered with buds then, but it's almost more exciting to know it will bloom for me without experiencing greenhouse conditions over the wintertime.

There is one other bud that should open in the coming days.

These freaky things are blooms on an astelia, the most flower-like shape I can find is just to the right of center, about half way down the photo.

Podophyllum pleianthum

Podophyllum 'Red Panda'

Thalictrum ichangense 'Evening Star'

This strange, almost tulip-shape, flower belongs to Scadoxus puniceus.

It's not quite finished becoming, but still beautiful in this stage.

Sophora prostrata 'Little Baby'

A Saracennia flower, I'm not sure which one.

Akebia longeracemosa 'Victor's Secret' (isn't it fabulous!?)

Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop'

Another Echium wildpretii, because why not?

And finally a couple of garden plants that were cut and taken in the house. Back in mid-April I trimmed several branches on my Lomatia tinctoria, and I think I must of cut off everything with flowering potential. However I stuck this branch, which showed no signs of even developing buds at that time, in a vase and month later and it's went from no buds, to flowers. Pretty cool. I keep hoping it will root but so far no luck with that.

And last, after a heavy rain the flowering stems of Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' were bent almost to breaking, so I cut them and now they're on the mantle, in a vase. I've missed not being able to pick up cheap bunches of cheery Alstroemeria at the grocery store, so this is my stand in for that. They're joined by a few stems of x Fatshedera lizei  ‘Annemieke’.

Weather Diary, May 14: Hi 58, Low 52/ Precip .17"

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

30 comments:

  1. I don't think anyone will come close to you in variety of unusual flowers today! Yes, I do think that akebia flower is fabulous.

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    1. I would love to have earrings made from that akebia flower...

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  2. Those are some weird flowers today! The Grevillea rivularis looks like a strange sort of caterpillar. I'd never seen Echium wildpretii before, and I am not sure what to think! The parahebe is beautiful. So, you found the secret to Lewisia! I need to find someone to gift me a color other than yellow, the only color I can keep alive. It's amazing you aren't too damp for them. I am in the Rogue Valley and had to take mine out of the ground and into a container to save the last one.

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    1. The hot pink Lewisia is in a container, but the others (I have several of the same) are all in the ground. I'm surprised the area they're in hasn't grown too shady for them to bloom.

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  3. You have such a wonderful mix of eclectic plans. The Scadoxus bloom is very cool. I grew one as a Christmas plant one year but don't remember the opening florescence looking like this. May is always a joy in the garden.

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    1. I don't ever remember enjoying May in the garden quite as much as I have this year. I guess it's not to hard to figure out why...

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  4. Great selection of flowers!

    Whilst not the most exotic of plants your Ajuga is in rude health and looks like it is thriving :)

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    1. Another gift plant! That must be why...

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  5. I love all that red! The Euphorbia is stunning. We don't grow things like that in Massachusetts. Happy Bloom Day!

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    1. Thank you for visiting and commenting!

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  6. You have a wonderful and diverse collection of May flowers! I didn't know that blackberries had such pretty flowers (not that I could grow blackberries here). I tried to get hold of a Lomatia a few years ago by mail order but failed - you've renewed my interest in reopening that quest, as well as affirming that I "need" an Akebia.

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    1. You definitely need an akebia! Perhaps that very plant...mine came from Cistus, and they do mail order...

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  7. Quite impressed with your Echiums in bloom! I have one that's like your other three: still a lovely silver puff ball. Maybe next year!

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  8. Such a garden of rare and unusual delights– the highlights for me are that stunning Echium, the Grevilleas (such a cool-looking flower I never tire of seeing) and the Scadoxus. May is a great month!

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    1. Thanks Eliza....and I agree about May!

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  9. Oh wow every bloom is quite stunning .I have always admired your choice of growing some unusual flowers in your garden .This post for me belongs to blooms of Echium they are eye catchy.I could only relate with growing Alestromea since it has its origin belonging to Indian roots.Happy blooms day.

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    1. Those echium, well at least the one in the front garden, have been quite popular with the neighborhood!

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  10. Always a joy to see all the Fab blooms in your garden!

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    1. I wish you could have seen them in person yesterday!

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  11. Happy congrats on the Echium towers. Scadoxus, fabulous, and 'Shirley', and...all of them, actually.

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  12. Absolutely gorgeous! I planted two of those tiny Thalictrums and one appears to have survived.

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    1. They are surprisingly tricky plants to get to survive, let alone thrive...

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  13. Good stuff. Paeonia 'Smith Opus' is lovely; you don't often see yellow peony.
    I'm finally state side and so excited to see my garden (in a few days) after almost 2.5 months, I could bubble over. I hope the Thalictrum ichangense 'Evening Star' that I purchased late last year survived winter and look half as good as yours.

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    1. OMG! I didn't realize all this time you still weren't back in the U.S. Welcome home! Fingers crossed for your garden...

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  14. That Echium is delicious!

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  15. As someone who is fighting ajuga for territory in both lawn and garden, I always am surprised when people who know better than me put it in their gardens on purpose :) It's a beautiful plant, but turn your back and you'll immediately lose ground. Literally XD

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    1. Not so fast! Here in my garden it's been in the ground since 2014. It's only slightly expanded and has been kept in check by other plants, shade and lack of water. Not all planting conditions are equal.

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