It’s a chilly, rainy weekend here – great for reading a book or visiting garden centres (I’m just back from visiting three in the area – no crowds at all which is very sad for them but nice for me) but not great for toodling about taking photos of pretty flowers. Happily, I was out Thursday and Friday morning to take a few shots when it was sunny and cheery. Here are six to join Jim again at Garden Ruminations for my Six on Saturday.
First up is a pair of Garland Spireas. They’re a cross of Spiraea multifora and Spiraea thunbergii, and are similar to the more common Bridalwreath Spirea except that they’re more compact, bloom earlier and. most importantly, rabbits leave them alone.
Another white flowering shrub now blooming is the Korean Spice Viburnum – V. carlesii. I think that in certain light the petals might have a tinge of pink, but most of the day they’re white. They’re also incredibly fragrant, smelling like cloves. This one is planted not far from a few lilac bushes, which are just starting to open – walking between them is quite a heady experience!
Also white, and also with a clove fragrance, are the last daffodils to bloom in my garden – Narcissus poeticus (aka N. recurvis).
On my run early this morning (before the rains…) I went by a house in the village where there’s always a fine display of flowers alongside the road – maybe three metres deep and ten metres long (approximately 10′ x 30′). A fine and keen gardener must live there because despite it being a very inhospitable piece of ground (covered in sandy snow piles all winter from a cross street) it’s filled with colour from April to October starting with a multitude of tulips and ending with a heap of Hylotelephium spectabile. All this to say that right now there’s a few hundred N. poeticus in bloom there and the scent carried me up the hill on wings.
I don’t plant many tulips, especially the smaller, species tulip, because of squirrels and chipmunks, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised the past few years to see a small patch of six or nine Tulipa saxatilis return every year. The stem is only about 15 cm (six”) tall.
Iris flowers are, to me, so incredibly exotic looking, and these standard dwarf bearded Iris ‘Blueberry Tart’ are no exception. They’re also incredibly prolific and, thanks to the muted colours that a camera lense loves, very photogenic.
Finally, from the kitchen garden because I harvested yesterday, here is my rhubarb (pie for lunch today!) and a clump of Egyptian walking onions. Tomatoes go in the ground next week, hopefully…have a great weekend everyone!
Lovely descriptions, Chris. I am sooo not a runner but that mass of daffs might inspire me. Enjoy your pie!
Thanks! I often just zone out when running, especially on long runs, but running by the Christmassy fragrance of that mass of daffs yesterday really woke me up!
Sounds wonderful.
A rhubarb pie 😋 yum… As for the walking onions, they’re perfect for you too! From 4 small onions, I now have 2 m2 filled with onions, summer and winter!
The pie is delicious – added orange zest and it makes a huge difference!
Amazing how everything is growing &
g r o w i n g ! The Iris are spectacular. I did a lot of planting today…hope it all grows well.
I hope your garden grows well too Alice! It’s quite wonderful to see the work one does in the spring take shape during the summer, isn’t it?
Rhubarb pie is a delicious childhood memory of mine. Egyptian walking onions do well for me here in Alabama.
I’m more accustomed to strawberry/rhubarb pies, but strawberries are a few weeks away yet and the plain rhubarb one with orange zest is equally delicious.
Rhubarb is excellent!
Indeed!
I just had Rhubarb pie for lunch, too. Yummy! Your Spireas are gorgeous, as are the Tulips and the Irises. Have a wonderful week!
Thanks Beth – you too!!
I haven’t had rhubarb pie in decades, and the only time I see it in the stores the stalks are soft and rubbery. I wondered if it could be grown here, and the answer is “yes, but…” The words most often used were ‘persistence’ and ‘diligence.’ The advice is to treat it as an annual and start it from seed. Maybe I’ll just order a jar of strawberry/rhubarb jam!
I grew up in a house surrounded by bridal wreath spirea. Its fragrance is one I still can recall, not to mention the ‘snow’ that covered the ground when the petals began to fall.
I can’t imagine starting rhubarb from seed…they;re sold as small roots/tubers here, or in pots already sprouted, and once it’s happily growing in the garden it’s extremely hard to kill. The mound just gets bigger every year… I noticed a few flower stalks yesterday starting to peek above the leaves. Traditionally, this means the leaf stalks (the part you eat) will become tough and not pleasant to eat, unless you cut off the flower stalk. I’ve not found that to be the case though, at least with the variety I have, and there should be fresh rhubarb all season. Unless there’s another drought, of course…
And I too have images in my memory of bridal wreath spirea ‘snow’…
The irises really are lovely Chris. Enjoy the rhubarb pie! (We had rhubarb crumble last week). 😄
Ha! Crumble today!
Amazing to have narcissi still in bloom whilst our gardens are in full summer mode. What a treat to have it all slowed down, it all goes too fast for me here. I love that dear little iris.
Yes, our cool spring has definitely helped the spring bulbs last a bit longer this year!
Lovely narcissi and dwarf iris!
😊😊
The dwarf iris are lovely! I also harvested rhubarb this morning, but went with simple rhubarb sauce for my oatmeal. I put in 3 san marzano and one “delicious” beefsteak type. Also bell peppers and jalapeno. No eggplants were yet available, so that must wait.
My bridal wreath spirea is in full bloom now. The Physocarpus flowers are beginning to open.
Nice! I forgot to get a beefsteak…oh well…another trip to the garden centre 🙃
what a lovely array of flowers. I love the Iris although I have never come across that particular variety before. Rhubarb pie sound delicious….Enjoy!
Thanks Cath – still eating it, and enjoying!
Glad to hear I wasn’t the only one hitting multiple garden centers while it was drizzling and gloomy last week hehehe. And then gloating when I drove off just as the influx of people were arriving around lunch time…
And those tiny bearded iris are so adorable and I love the color scheme. Must look for them now.
LOL – Yes! It was surprising and quite fabulous to have avoided the crowds!