June in Full Swing

Every day I find something in the garden that catches my eye and while I had every intent to share those findings on a regular basis, I must admit that it's alot easier to make the mental note than it is to photograph, document and relay the findings in a concise paragraph or two... or three.
Needless to say, my initial concern with keeping a running dialog during the busy, short growing season has already proven to be a bit of a challenge as it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post and as many notable showings as deer flies.
But here I am, ready to play catch-up...

Last week the gobeflower was in full bloom.

Trollius ‘Alabaster’

This is Trollius 'Alabaster'.
I love the light creamy white color and the way the cup shaped blooms sit atop straight stems.   The plant itself is very neat and undemanding.  The foliage is deeply chiseled and grows in an attractive clump.
No fuss, no muss and an absolutely beautiful show stopper of a perennial makes this one of my favorite spring bloomers.
My goal is to continue to divide the plant and have it growing en masse.
Sometimes more is better :)

Campanula glomerata

At the base of the trollius is this clustered bellflower.
Deep purple blooms in good sized clusters that last for about 2 weeks, this plant is very attractive in bloom but the plant gets a bit messy afterwards and usually requires some cutting back. 




Meanwhile, the honeysuckle vine is full of those lovely trumpet shaped blossoms.  This super - hardy vine blooms almost all season  and the

Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet'

 orange blossoms and blue green foliage really speaks to me.
Whenever I'm near this plant working in the garden I hear the familiar 'buzz' of the hummingbirds that are all over this fragrant wonder.

This vine is growing up a wooden post that supports an old bird feeder that is now completely encased with tendrils of honeysuckle.
Last year a Robin found it to be the perfect place for her nest.  I wonder what Mrs. Robin thought about all those hummingbirds buzzing about.

Actinidia kolomikta

The foliage of this vine looks like some weird powdery mildew until you find out that this is it's normal variegated state and what makes this plant so highly desirable.
This is Arctic Beauty Kiwi Vine.  Yes, this is actually a fruited vine requiring both a male and female plant in order to produce the grape sized, sweet kiwi fruit.
But I grow it for the foliage.  As the leaves emerge in spring, they're green; but they soon pick up splotches of white. As an encore, some leaves then develop pink tips.
This is an extremely vigorous woody twining vine that requires regular 'slashing' back.   One year I was actually out of state for the entire season (oh my poor gardens) and upon my return, the kiwi vine had reached across the deck and completely wrapped itself around the picnic table.  A freaky site... I loved it.


Remember the magical poppy fields of the Wizard of Oz?
Well, I don't have an entire field of poppies but every time I pass by my little clump of orange poppies I can't help but do my best Wicked Witch of the West, "Poppies, poppies will put them to sleep".

In folklore, poppies symbolize sleep as well as death, and peering into the black center of a red poppy is a folk remedy for insomnia.
Lucky for me, I don't have any trouble sleeping and lucky for you, you'll probably never be within earshot to hear my Judy Garland version of 'Over the Rainbow'.   It's just my personal side effect to poppies.  :)
That's it for today.
Just remember to follow the yellow brick road.