May Color Play

Here are a few more pictures from May.  It has been fun to see various color schemes come and go as plants come in and out of bloom.  Above purple 'Globemaster' Alliums bloomed next to the maroon leaves of my 'Red Dragon' contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Red Dragon').  A clump of 'Caesar's Brother' Siberian iris is shown in the upper left corner.

I'm still working on filling the edges of the pathway with low plants.  Above 'Firestorm' Geum and 'Dusseldorf Pride' thrift (Armeria) added color to the west curve of the backyard path.  This combo will be even better next year as I recently added several 'Dicksen's Gold' bellflowers (Campanula) with chartreuse leaves.  Magenta, golden-orange and chartreuse are so vibrant together.

The deep maroon leaves of my 'Royal Purple' smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) played off the blooms of the 'Kopper Kettle' Itoh peony.  You can't see in this shot, but the base of the peony blooms showed maroon streaks that perfectly echoed the color of the smoke bush . . . it's a match made in heaven.

A combo of different colors and forms appeared on the east side of the house.  Fluffy chartreuse lady's mantle (Alchimella mollis) danced below linear 'June to Remember' Siberian iris while a 'Glboemaster' Allium joined the mix.

Here is the east garden area a couple of weeks prior to the previous shot, when pink creeping Phlox, 'Gladiator' Alliums and chartreuse leaves of an 'Ogon' (or Mellow Yellow) Spirea and 'Lime Rickey' Heucheras provided the color.

In the white garden a 'Snow Queen' Siberian iris bloomed behind a 'June Bride' Heuchera.  

There has been a lot of cleanup work to be done lately as the tulip and other bulb foliage turned yellow and various perennials finished blooming and needed deadheading or trimming back to the ground.  Today I'm happy that steady rain is giving me a good excuse to take a break.