Mid May Blooms

Siberian Iris,  5/18/2012

      I can't recall exactly how long we have had our Siberian Iris, but I suspect it is better than twenty years.  And it is still a treat to see the blooms every year.  It is extremely hardy, borders on being invasive, and may require major digging efforts to remove.  Yet, I recommend it.  In fact, a few year's ago we shared some with our daughter.  Her husband has separated clumps, then separated them again.  Their results:

Butterfly Bed,  5/19/2012

Rob's Island Bed,  5/19/2012

      A little can go a long way.  He has been moving clumps to his school to soften the barren landscape.  It will be there a long time from now.

My back garden,  5/18/2012

      This shot is of the back yard garden.  The bearded Iris are on their way out, as the Siberian Iris are on their way in.  The light blue ground cover "Forget Me Not" is in prime blooming mode.  The somewhat darker purple at the middle left is Veronica.  This bed is still over crowded, so many of these plants are still available for road trips.

Shasta Daisies,  5/18/2012

      The Shasta Daisies are also in full bloom.  A big clump of daisies is such a soothing sight for me.  They are so tall now that a big rain will knock them over.  They self seed with abandon.

Bletilla,  5/18/2012

      The Bletilla, is a temperate, terrestrial genus of orchids containing nine species.  Mine have survived here for maybe twenty years, though they have not multiplied.  I need to move mine as they are under the weigela which blooms at the same time and has a similarly colored flower.  Yet I am afraid to move them because they have been happy in this location.  The white "Alba" variety that I had is long gone.

Saint John's Wort,  5/18/2012

      The Saint John's Wort was a volunteer that popped up next to the porch.  It had such a pretty leaf that we left the plant to grow.  It rewarded us with these beautiful little yellow flowers, and went on to multiply slowly.  We transplanted some babies to the difficult area under the maple tree.  They have thrived there, and continue to spread slowly as a low bush ground cover.

Mock Orange,  5/18/2012

      The mock orange is another shrub that has self seeded successfully under the maple tree.  This year has seen a very prolific season of bloom.

Mock Orange

Amaryllis,  5/20/2012

      This amaryllis has been with us for a long time, multiplying from one bulb to six.  I have another pot of the same flower, so I must have divided it at sometime in this past.  Obviously it needs dividing again.  It overwinters on the porch, where the temperature gets to a minimum of 42 degrees.  It is not watered at all over the winter, yet in the spring sends up new growth signalling the start of the watering for the new year.

And that makes it happy