Poppy, Iris, Allium & Sage in the June Garden

Making the northwest corner of our backyard into something beautiful has taken several years (since 2013) and plenty of false starts and transplanting.   But this year it's finally looking good to me.  Alliums have been the stars for the past couple of months.  First 'Purple Sensation,' then 'Globemaster,' then 'Ambassador' (the tallest ones blooming above), then Allium christophiii and Allium schubertii.  'Millenium' alliums are just starting to open this week to continue the allium show into July.

In this side view of the main NW bed, short A. christophii are blooming at front.  One spike of a 'Masterpiece' lupine is on the right.  I need more - the color and longevity of this Westcountry hybrid are amazing!  The 'Royal Purple' smokebush leaves echo the lupine to provide sharp contrast to all the shades of green foliage.

Here is a closer shot of a 'Masterpiece' lupine as it finished its long bloom cycle.  'April Night' salvia blooms at left of the photo.  Obviously the salvia didn't bloom in April.  This spring was an odd one.  After a mild early winter, snow covered the ground from the first of February to the middle of March.  The early-blooming perennials that would have started growing in slightly less cold March temperatures waited until the snow melted.  Then a few warm days started the June-blooming perennials growing until May and June flowers all bloomed together instead of in a long procession.

Another side view of the front of the NW bed.  The firework-esque flowers of A. schubertii are at front left, while purple-tinged leaves of a 'Berry Awesome' hibiscus are opening just behind.  Spikes of 'Caradonna' salvia stretch upward at right.

I can't remember if these iris are 'Mer du Sud' or 'Rippling River,' but they smell amazing and need support so the sprinklers don't topple them.  I like the way the little 'Boulder Blue' fescue grasses look with the blue-violet iris above.  A hosta planted near the tree at the back of the photo died over the winter, but that left room to set a bench there.  It's a great spot to sit and admire the rest of the garden.   A baby 'Harlem' poppy shows its first flower at right of center.

Here is another view of that 'Harlem' poppy bloom with A. christophii at front.  I love pink poppies!

Perennial 'Medallion' poppies bloom on the backside of the NW corner with more 'Caradonna' salvia and 'Totally Tangerine' geum. 

Oriental poppies are kind of fussy, as their leaves go dormant after blooming and leave a bare spot in the garden.  But their giant tissue-paper petals are so lovely while open.

In this view looking back toward the gate, a 'Kansas' peony is about to pop open at front.  Matching 'Dusseldorf Pride' armeria bloom along the path.  And those lovely bearded iris are at center.

A quick photo of the NE corner sports an interesting color scheme with cobalt 'Venice Blue' veronica and chartreuse leaves from a 'Neptune's Gold' eryngium, 'Diane's Gold' brunnera, and a chlorotic foxglove.  The sweet soft yellow flowers of 'Banana Daquiri' geum are finishing up their bloom time at right. 

The view from the SE corner looking north looks lush and green.

The east backyard garden is fluffy with leaves and a chartreuse froth of lady's mantle flowers.  This morning I set up a black metal arch over the path in this area.  It matches our black metal birdbaths, benches and obelisks.  I'll share photos later.  It will look better when the clematis grows over the top, but I love it already! 

Scenes from the May Garden

We're well past tulips by now, but I'm finally getting these May shots posted.  Above are 'Shirley Double' tulips with blue 'Jack Frost' brunnera and 'June' hosta in the background in the east backyard garden.

The color combinations in this area were fun this spring.  In this view you can also see the 'Negrita' purple tulips and lilac colored creeping phlox.

One more picture of the east side here.  This was right as the 'Spring Snow' crabapple trees were losing their white petals all over the path.  I planted a contorted filbert at the end of the path a few years ago and it's growing large enough to make a pretty spot for the eye to stop as you look down the path.

This little spot of the white garden holds a 'Peppermint Ice' hellebore with a 'Vestal' wood anemone at its base.

'Black Hero' tulips returned this year along with fall-planted 'Double Maureen' and 'Spring Green' white tulips.

Here is a broader view of the white garden.  This year I planted fuzzy silver 'Big Ears' Stachys byzantia in the broken pedestal fountain.  If the plants in the fountain don't make it through the winter, I can just get more divisions from my ground-planted clumps.

This shot shows the white garden at left and the start of the mauve/chartreuse east garden at rear right.  This spring I installed two black metal obelisks to support my 'Claire Austin' and 'James Galway' roses, as both types are supposed to be good climbers and they both fell over constantly last year since they only get sun from one side.  I also ordered a matching metal arch to place over the path at the border between the white garden and the east garden, but it's on back-order until the end of this month.  I've already got a 'Vancouver Fragrant Star' clematis planted and ready to train over the arch when it arrives.

In the northeast corner of the backyard my dwarf 'Popcorn' snowball viburnums both bloomed heavily.  The small shrub at front came mail-order while my local nursery was unsure if they could find one for me, but they finally did get a larger shrub in stock so I found a place for it as well (at rear of photo).  The chartreuse leaves of 'Diane's Gold' brunnera add cheerful color to this corner, but I'm going to have to transplant some of them to shadier positions as the leaves burn quickly even in morning sun.

The 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples happened to bloom during the week when temperatures climbed to the mid-80's, unusually warm for May, so their color didn't last long. 

In this shot the RR crabapples have already morphed to their summer maroon leaves while the matching 'Royal Purple' shrub starts to leaf out at bottom.  'Purple Sensation' alliums bloom next to chartreuse Euphorbia polychroma at the front of the bed.

That purple and chartreuse together is such a vibrant combination.  'Purple Sensation' is one of the less expensive allium bulbs and it sure provides great bang for your buck.

Here is a final shot of the northwest corner in May.  I love how the maroon leaves provide interesting color contrast to all the green even when there aren't many flowers in bloom.  Last night I took more photos of the early June garden and will try to post them soon.  Obviously I'm slowing down on posting to this blog - life is getting busier - but I'll try to keep documenting the garden each month during the growing season.  After years of thinking this or that area will be so pretty in a few years, I'm delighted that many parts are finally maturing and looking as I'd hoped.