Iris, columbines, lilacs, lupins, mountain bluet, celandine, lily of the vally, pinks, lady's mantle, (foxgloves are in bud).

Congratulations, Deb! There is nothing like the feeling of seeing what we started from seed bloom! Enjoy them.. and be proud! I gave up on columbines on account of leafminers. Will try them again in my next garden!

What's looking pretty?
sun groundcovers: cerastium (a white carpet) & saponaria ocymoides (a pink one)
Shade groundcovers: lamium (3 varieties)

other perennials: oriental poppies, irises, blue flax, geranium (several varieties), salvias (several varieties), oxalis, some campanula, some alliums --starting: sweet william, several penstemons, spiderwort, heuchera and kalmia (a lovely shrub). Soon.. my blue butterfly delphiniums. Love them all!

As for shasta daisies.. they can tease you, Deb.. buds do take their time to open. This is what I remember from last year, anyway.

Looking forward to meeting you at the exchange,
Anne-Marie

Hi Deb! We've got bearded iris, columbine, herbaceous peonies, delphinium (at least 6 ft tall!), baptisia, poppies, & clematis (Dr. Ruppel, Ramona, & Belle of Woking). There are some early blooms on the potted roses as well. The white siberian irises are coming soon...

Congrats on your columbines! In bloom now, I have Tiarella, various columbines, Atlas poppies, Baptisia, Iris (bearded, siberians, and blue flag), Dianthus (deltoides and gratianopolitanus), Corydalis, Ajuga, Primula (just finishing), Clematis, Heuchera, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Blue-eyed Grass, Alchemilla, Nepeta, various Geraniums, Salvias, Scabiosa, and Chrysoganum. Penstemon strictus just about to start. This sudden blast of hot weather has really got things moving! Now if we could just get some rain...

-Caroline

I've got beareded iris, blue-eyed grass, thrift, peonies, roses, columbine, rhododendron, tiarella, icelandic poppies, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily of the valley, heucherella, coral bells, coreopsis, clematis, geraniums, knautia, dianthus, primrose, japanese primrose, bleeding heart, peony tree, may apple, english daisies, dame's rocket, sweet william, lupine, and sweet woodruff. But with this heat, things are fading really fast.

Not a whole lot is blooming in my yard yet but I do have columbine, dames rocket, lupines, coral bells, bleeding hearts, coral honeysuckle, jacob's ladder and my hellebores which has been blooming for a month. Still waiting on sweet william, daisies, salvias and many many more.

Penny

An Elsa Spaeth& Nelly Moser clematis, several Iris, one with white and bright yellow trim, apricot rebloomers, deep purple, peonies just ready to pop next to goatsbeard, stella dora daylily, columbine, rugosa rose, texas daisy, geramiums, flowering chive, and forget-me-nots still going.

And seeing everyone else's listings, I realize I forgot to list Jacob's Ladder, chive, coral honeysuckle, Japanese Anenome, Canada Anenome, siberian bugloss, globeflower, goldenstar, and (doh!) forget-me-nots.

I have so much in bloom right now!! Several Iris varieties, Columbine, lilacs, baptisia, clematis, geum (from Anne Marie), hydrangea, phlox, verbascum, hardy geranium, and a few others that are escaping me at the moment! :)

Here are a few of the flowers I have in bloom right now...

{{gwi:1326305}}

{{gwi:1326306}}

{{gwi:1326307}}
Anne Marie's Geum

{{gwi:1326308}}

{{gwi:1326309}}

{{gwi:1326311}}

{{gwi:1326313}}

Tara

I've got a good amount of bloom, in spite of the lack of rain in May. So far:

peony 'Sarah Bernhardt'
salvia 'May Night'
rose 'Roseraie de l'Haye'
rose 'Betty Prior'
irises (all over - 'Edith Wolford,' 'Superstition,' 'Indian Chief,' 'Mischief,' 'Great Lakes,' and others)
pansies (from planting last fall)
forget-me-nots
fringed bleeding heart
variegated Solomon's seal
doublefile viburnum
lilacs (mostly done now - 'Ludwig Spaeth' lasted the longest)
simple wild daisies (they volunteered in a good spot, so I let them stay)
Centranthus ruber
geranium 'Brookside'
nectaroscordum siculum (one of my favorites)
chives
allium 'Purple Sensation'

I've got some things on the verge of blooming - the storm today dumped some good rain, and didn't blow over too much, so I'll be seeing knautia and scabiosa in a day or two, and my first clematis any time, and a few more peonies. I'm glad the plants appreciate the hothouse effect - my husband and I put in the a/c this weekend, much to my great relief. . . .

Laurelin

I've got primrose, oriental poppies, columbine, dame's rocket, foxglove, five spot, johnnie jump-ups(I know most people think they are weeds but they make me happy) and some shasta daisy (which I dug out, they remind me of weeds!)

Despite the lack of rain and the awful winds that went through here, I have a bunch of perennials blooming happily.

one lonely peony
nepeta "walker's low"
lavendar
salvia "may nights"
guara "siskiyou pink"
rebecca viola
vinca minor
lily of the valley (just finishing up)
elijah blue fescue (hey, grasses bloom, too!)
sweet woodruff

Some of my daylilies look like they're going to open in a week or so. Can't wait!!

Tracy

Here is a link that might be useful: My website

Wow, being in zone 4, my garden is late in blooming compared to all of yours! It is truly amazing how one zone can make such a big difference. My best friend, lnmp, lives in zone 5, although she's only 45 minutes south of me, and her plants are weeks and weeks ahead of mine growth-wise. Although we have many of the same plants, hers are big and in bloom, while mine are small and maybe have just a hint of some buds developing. Right, lnmp??

...but I DO have forget-me-nots, dianthus, flax, lilies of the valley, and painted daisies in bloom and I am thrilled with the contrast between the blues and pinks. My hostas are also getting really big ~ and that's after having survived all winter in the original garbage bags I put the hostas in when I dug them up from someone I worked with. She hated them ~ I didn't! Late October was definitely too late to plant them, so I tucked the six garbage bags next to the garage and covered them in piles and piles of leaves for protection. I then hoped for the best. To my great surprise, all 6 of them survived and are now 2 feet high. I never expected them to survive, let alone thrive. Go figure! LOL

I have lots of growth on some other perennials, and buds on some others, but now I just have to be patient and wait. A good portion of my garden blooms after July...

adkmountaingirl
Wilton, NY

Hi Gang,

Most of the plants I have blooming right now have already been mentioned like irises (siberian and bearded), painted daisies, bluets, blue flax, vinca, catmint, columbine, johnny jump ups, fern leaf bleeding heart, geranium sanguineum, geranium 'Samobor', chives, blue eyed grass, coral bells, soapwort, sweet woodruff, centaurea montana, spiderwort and lamium. I also have some natives blooming like solomon's seal, mayapple and celandine. There is also a few newcomers blooming like purple mullein (verbascum phoeniceum) and lavender mountain lily (Ixiolirion tataricum). I have already decided that they are keepers. Here are some pics of my newcomers for you to check out:

{{gwi:1326315}}

Pretty neat, huh?

-starmoon

Oh my goodness.....that lily is simply stunning Starmoon! I would say that is definitely a keeper!

A few of my indoor sown annuals are starting now....I've got some angel wings, 5 spot, chamomile and petunia blooms. My lupines are starting and I've got some lunaria blooms....boy are they tiny little suckers! My astilbe, daylilies and achillea have buds now too. Oh and my winter sown lavender alyssum has the teeniest little blooms. I hope these spread and get bigger....they are such a pretty color.

It sure is exciting seeing the garden come to life!

~Deb

Add to my list my perennial bachelor button and hyperion daylilies (at least, that's what I think they are!).

Starmoon: That lily is amazing. Love that color!

Bearded iris (yellow ones are phenomenal this year), lupines, cheddar pinks, mountain bluet, sweet williams (just beginning), some sedums just beginning to bud, bleeding hearts, violas, lily of the valley,columbine, lady's mantle is budding and some flanders field poppies. For a while I had nothing but purple in bloom. I started some seeds really late because it seemed to rain everytime I had a day off. Also, I'm still adding mulch and filling in holes with annuals. I went to our public market in Rochester this past weekend and found buddleia with the 3/$5 pots and a white bleeding heart, plus a 4" pot of delphinium 'giant blue' and Oriental poppy 'Allegro.'

Aquilegia, rhododendron, kalmia, Corydalis, dicentra, Chrysogonum, Geranium, Stylophorum, meconopsis, Ranunculus, Campanula, Sedum, Panax, Peony, Calycanthus, Digitalis, and probably a dozen more.

My pride and joy is the baptisia that bloomed for the first time this year! I planted it in 2003, and I have to say, it was well worth the wait!

Other perennials in bloom around my property right now: a low-growing Phlox, Dianthus, Wild Blue Lupine, Iris, gorgeous purple and white Spiderwort, Columbine, Sweet William, Salvia 'Blue Queen,' and the unidentified daisies that mysteriously made their appearance in my lawn a few years ago. Many other perennials are almost ready to bloom. Hope we'll get a good rain in the next few days!

Right now, I have delphiniums, shasta daisy, peonies, marigolds, vinca and coreopsis blooming. My short zinnias and snaps are starting to break open too. Also, sonata cosmos is just beginning to bloom. Many of my perennials are new this year, which I started from seed, so they may not bloom until next year.

Happy Hot Summer! My Crape Myrtles are all in full bloom-glorious to behold! :) Also Yellow and pink roses and balloon flowers and pentas and golden yellow daylilies and of course, my favs-the butterfly bushes! The Chaste trees are all decked out as well as the Desert Willows! The hardy Hibiscus are just starting to pop out in huge, bright reds and pinks! The bee balm, veronicas and salvias in their cool shades of blue are mixed in as well. And last but definitely not least, my Texas bluebells are delightful to behold! And the Lord looked at all He created and said "It is good."! Take time to smell the roses and enjoy the Lord's good works.