West Side Garden 15 May 2012

Along the west side of the house (once home to horrible little pebbles) is coming up with colourful perennials planted late last summer. Everybody is returning as imagined, healthy but small. In addition to Campanula (Bell Flowers) and Sweet Woodruff are: 

Astilbe x arendsii
False Spirea
'Fanal'

Aruncus aethusifolius
Dwarf Goat's Beard

foam flower 'Black Snowflake'

Tiarella

Saxifragaceae

transplanted divided irises
hardy geranium endressii
'Wargrave's Pink'
hosta

hosta May 15

Morden Blush
Parkland  Rose
still so small :)

frontyardovich morning 11 May 2012

Pulmonaria officinalis
Lungwort

It dazzles me every year. One of the first to bloom, it starts every garden season with fantastic camera fodder. I probably have more photos of this plant than any other.

Also returning happily are cornflowers

astilbes

and St. John's Wort

The ferns too, of course - which R wants to thin and give away (Gerry's garden?) which will allow some space for me to add some wackydoodle plants I've been eyeing at the greenhouse, high maintenance things like Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' (Red Banana), & Colocasia esculenta (Elephant Ear) ('Black Magic' and another baby leaf one)...so interesting.. :)

They'll have to be lifted before the frost returns and stored in the cellar for the winter. I've been generally lazy about this sort of gardening in the past, but I'm ready to commit.  

 Colocasia esculenta 'Black Beauty' & Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'

Garden Mysteries: Bellflowers

I believe this is the dwarf Bellflower, "Birch Hybrid", mislabeled from the nursery but not unwelcome at all. I expected the much taller and larger blooms of the "Hakone Blue" Balloon Flower - but not so. I only added them (x 2) last year to the front garden, but am just seeing the blooms now. Definitely not the double balloons of blue, but I just love them. The delicate little blue/purple flowers tuck in and out of the one of the Astilbes, ferns, and hostas - and make up some of the many (many) blue blooms of the front garden.