Like Bonnie, I figured the Gardens in June thread would be about flowers, but since there are already a lot of posts over there about veggies, I’m gonna start a separate thread for the flower reports! I spent most of today downloading and titling over 160 pictures that I took during May, and since I never got them done in time to post on the May thread, look out RMG—here they come!

Here’s a cute little Aubrieta that I wintersowed in ‘07 that’s blooming for the first time this year. Next year it should be really great!

Here are the Iceland poppies that I also wintersowed in ‘07 — seeds from Stevation. This is the only color that bloomed this year, and I really need to get some more of the seeds started! I think the colors of the Iceland poppies are SO pretty!

Here’s one for you, Bonnie! This is the orange creeping wallflower I bought a small plant of last year. This one, too, should be big and beautiful by next year. I’ve put the Latin names of the plants on all the pictures, but you need to click on it to get to the album to be able to read the titles.

These two pics are for you too, Bonnie! Since you took the couple little Euphorbias home that I brought to the swap! The first is what it looks like when it starts growing back after winter, and the second is a recent one of it "blooming." I know I told you it has insignificant flowers! When it’s done blooming, I cut it all the way down so it’ll grow new, compact foliage for over summer (which will be green over summer), and if you cut it in early fall and it has time to start growing back again, it’ll have the red foliage over winter. I didn’t get mine cut back early enough last fall since the swap was here, so it didn’t start growing back till early spring this year.

Here’s a couple pics of the Allium ‘Star of Persia’ I got from somebody at the Fall Swap last year, and I can’t remember who it was, and I’d really like to know—so, whoever you are, please let me know!

This is the blue flax I got from somebody at the Spring Swap in ‘07—our first one!

This is Anacyclus, mat daisy/Mt. Atlas daisy. I bought this one last year, but planted it under one of the junipers, and it was constantly covered with all the "droppings" from the juniper and never really did anything. I moved it late last fall, and it looked more dead than alive all winter (it’s evergreen and it just looked TOTALLY wilted!) so I wasn’t sure how it would do, but it’s doing great now that it’s not constantly buried under all that crud! I love the red reverse on the petals of this one, and they close when the sun’s not out, so then you see the red.

For all of you who got starts of Anemone sylvestris at the Spring Swap, here are some pics so you’ll know what to expect in a couple years. Mine was started as a small plant I brought with me when I moved in here (5 years now).

And, Jennifer, here’s what the Coreopsis auriculata ‘Nana’ will look like in a couple years. I don’t know if I’m gonna have time to keep it deadheaded or not this year, but if you do, it blooms for a long, long time!

Here’s a recent pic of the center part of my main perennial bed. I am so happy, finally, with my perennials this year. And I’m so glad I decided to dig some of them out that were getting too big but weren’t looking that great because of the shade from the neighbor’s cottonwoods! More revising yet to do—this year if I have time, or next year for sure! More plants for the swaps!

There are so many more things starting to bloom! I’m going to need to take more pictures, but I got an inch of rain last nite and today! The rain bent over some things! My Thalictrum is mostly open now, and was bent all the way down to the ground! I went out when it stopped raining and staked it to be sure the stems don’t break! It’s looking really good this year. And I tied up a few other things too. Needless to say I was soaked and COLD when I came back in! A nice warm rain it was NOT! But the, do we ever get "warm" rain out here! I think not!

What does everyone else have blooming?

Skybird

Thank you for the creeping wallflower photo, very lovely! I also think that Iceland poppy is gorgeous! How tall are they?

The Anacyclus would be cute interplanted with those Anemones, and maybe some of the Delosperma congestum creeping around at the base!

We got more rain again last night, so everything is lush and green this morning. I have tons of things getting ready to bloom, so I should have more photos to post in the next few days.

Bonnie

Bonnie, if you’d like to try the Euphorbia again, when I was pulling out seedlings a week ago, the roots were coming out with them, and I couldn’t stand to throw them all away, so I stuck them in 6 pots—at least 6 seedlings in each pot. So far they’re looking good, and assuming I can keep them alive in small pots all summer with my comings and goings, I’ll have them to give away at the Fall Swap! If anything will make it (I’ve already stuck a couple other little thing in pots), the Euphorbia will! They can take almost any conditions once they get going, including, seemingly, completely dry! So I’ll just need to be careful to not keep them too wet—which I tend to do when I know I’m leaving for 3 or 4 days! Once they’re in the ground and somewhat established, BTW, they can take wet or dry or just about anything! Your polychroma is very different, so they wouldn’t even seem like the same plant! With your polychroma, I also recommend cutting it ALL the way down when it’s done blooming (not this year if it’s a seedling!) It’ll grow pretty new foliage which may turn red in fall, depending on the weather, and will possibly look good all winter.

The stuff I brought to the swap this year had been potted up shortly before the swap so it hadn’t had time to root out in the pots! Usually I try to get stuff in the pots early enough that they have time to root out to the bottom—the same as if you were buying it somewhere, but just couldn’t get it done this time. I was afraid some of them wouldn’t make it. I hope the shastas made if for everybody! All the plantlets had at least some roots, and that’s why I stuck 3 of them in each pot—so even if one died, there would still be a plant! By fall I can always do a few more if somebody’s didn’t survive!

The Iceland poppies can be put just about anywhere! The foliage is short and the flowers are about a foot above the foliage on wirey stems so it looks like the flowers are just floating above them. They’re short lived, but they reseed easily, or you can save the seed and stick them where you want them.

This is the area where I dug out the hardy pampas grass last year!

Who else has pictures?

Skybird

Anyway, I took a few more pictures today, but the sun was out, so they aren't the best quality.

Gaillardia 'Oranges & Lemons' 1st bloom of the season

Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum'

Okay, I know everyone's probably sick of looking at my 'Coppertina', but this is it's third year, and the first time I've gotten to see it bloom, so I'm just excited about it! Notice the honeybee? It is just covered with pollinators.

These next two were taken of the herb bed, and for those of you that know me, the purple may come as a shock, but that seems to be the color most herbs bloom! Notice they aren't allowed to mingle with all of the reds, yellows, and oranges that are in the flower beds, but are stuck at the back of the house by themselves, LOL! From front to back its chives, lavender (not in bloom yet), thyme, and sage. Oh, and look at the plant at the top right. That is French tarragon. I had no idea it would get that tall!

Tricolor sage

That's all for now, but I'm sure there'll be plenty more blooming soon!

Bonnie

Ajuga - chocolate chip

Creeping baby's breath

Snow in summer - looking a bit ragged since I dug some up from the back for a neighbor

Sweet Woodruff

Osteospernum

Dianthus

Delphinium Black Knight (it's more purple IRL than it shows in the pics) and Salvia

One little flower on the cranesbill

Daphne Dale, Wynnson, Amanda's Intrigue and Elizabeth's Magic Lily's from CatLadysGarden are sending up flower stalks; Yarrow and Daisies are setting buds, and the roses have buds, but none are blooming quite yet.

Here's a shot of the front yard from the house, it looks more filled in from this angle :-)

Dafy

Here’s an update on the things I have and have had blooming since I last posted.

Thalictrum aquilegiafolium — wish this stuff bloomed longer — it only blooms for about 3 weeks!

Campanula persicifolia, Peachleaf Bellflower with Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ on the right

Geum chiloense ‘Mrs. Bradshaw’. These are planted in too much shade (the seed I started was for Lychnis chalcedonica so I planted it in part shade, but it turned out to be Geum, and I haven’t gotten around to moving it yet!) so the plants don’t look very good, but the flowers are sure pretty!

Aquilegia chrysantha with Penstemon strictus, Rocky Mountain Penstemon

The columbine and penstemon with Dianthus barbatus, Sweet William. The Sweet Williams were tiny little seedlings last year that I winter sowed in winter ‘07/‘08.

The Sweet Williams with one lone Iceland poppy blooming now! (Bonnie, you mentioned on another thread that you’d like seed for the poppy, and I was able to get a little bit, so it’s for you!)

Some more Sweet Williams. Have I mentioned how much I love these things!

Iris sibirica ‘Ceasar’s Brother’ Siberian Iris

Gypsophila repens ‘Rosea’ — another one I winter sowed in ‘07/‘08.

This is the view down the side of my deck with lots of the yellow columbine on the left and an Angelica on the right. I was gonna dig up the Angelica this spring because it stinks, but I didn’t get around to it! When I look at this now I can hardly believe that three years ago it was still all rock mulch!

And I finally got a Heuchera sanguinea ‘Firefly’ planted in a shady enough place that it’s not burning up—and it’s finally blooming!

And one more! My Trollius europaeus, Globeflower, which only blooms for a couple weeks, has come and gone!

What all do the rest of you have blooming?

Skybird

:)
Charlene

I have been very slow getting started on my front flower garden so I have a growing number of little plants on my front porch and sidewalk. As more seeds sprout (I've had mixed results with wintersowing. I just re-planted several jugs) I'm transplanting them to 8 oz yogurt cups or 2" pots. I have about 100 tiny plants on my front walk right now. I also have 3 Jostaberries plus the Sprirea and Viburnum I got on clearance at Lowe's yesterday. I really need to get going on this project. I'm not doing well planning the garden so I guess I just need to just do it.

Speaking of Iris, whoever took the Iris I brought to the swap (it was in the coffee bag) that came from my neighbor's house- turns out her Iris are white, not blue. Just thought you might want to know...sorry 'bout that.

Just do it, Bean! Plant them where you think they’ll look good—and you can always move them later if you don’t like them there when they start to grow up. Most of them will probably be glad to get out of their pots and into the ground.

The tiny, tiny, tiny little ‘May Night’ Salvia I just got from Amester at the Spring Swap has two tiny, tiny, tiny little flowers on it! They’re just opening, and I need to get a picture to post!

Skybird

Lots of roses. Here's one. They all came with the house, so I have no idea what varieties they are.

And in the herb bed, I have salvia, thyme, penstemon blooming, with echinacea budded and lavender just beginning to open.

And I'm still planting out the new perennials I got from the sales. It keeps raining, so I can't dig most days!

Close up of the same plant.

Achillea 'Anthea' with Delosperma kelaidis 'Mesa Verde', which was already starting to close up for the night.

Blue Oat Grass in bloom with Coreopsis 'Sunburst' behind it.

Close up of the Coreopsis 'Sunburst'

Gaillardia 'Goblin'

Penstemon pinifolius with Gaillardia 'Burgundy'

Rudbeckia 'Irish Eyes'. The sprouts came from the plant swap last spring, I'm thinking they were from Dafygardenut, but I might be wrong about that. The plants are twice the size of last year, close to 3' and covered in blooms. The bloom wasn't quite open all of the way. I should have waited until this morning to take that shot.

Asclepias tuberosa 'Gay Butterflies' with Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum'

... and last, but not least, Aquilegia chrysantha, wintersown in '07 from Skybird's seeds

The daylilies are just starting to bloom, and the echinaceas are close too, so I should have more pictures soon.

Bonnie

It's still June and I finally have blooms, so I'll add photos before the month ends...