Every day after work I take a walk around the flower beds to see what's blooming but also to see if there are any insects/pests doing any damage. The woodchuck babies have come out and started eating down a few things (salvia, purple coneflower, coreospsis, rudbeckia... I could go on but this is starting to get depressing). Whatever. I'm not even angry any more- I just spray liquid fence in the hopes that the stinky smell will salvage what little remains. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other things that do well and aren't gobbled up.
Hardy geranium:
I got two little divisions of this from my mom. It has done really well- low and mounding ground cover with hot pink flowers all summer. Love it.
First day lily to bloom:
Can't remember the name of the cultivar but this is one that I got from Olallie Daylily Gardens a couple years ago. It has been steadily blooming for a couple weeks now. I've been pretty diligent about spraying with liquid fence- a deer (I assume) came through last year and ate off lots of the unopened buds.
Centauria Montana:
This is one that the woodchucks like. It could do with being divided next year. Might have to rethink were I put it.
Common purple Siberian irises have come and gone:
These yellow bearded irises started blooming June 2 and are still going strong 2 weeks later:
This is the first year I've had columbine blooms at the house. These flowers are so crazy-looking:
I planted the above two from seed last year in the new part-shade bed. The blooms are really long-lasting. Because I couldn't help myself, I bought two discounted columbine plants at the garden store:
Columbine might be my new favorite.
I have several dianthus. Hot pink 'Firewitch':
Bright. Long lasting blooms. Tidy mounding habit. No real fragrance, though, which is a little disappointing for dianthis. I have some in a lighter pink, which I got as divisions from a friend:
I have a few nice clumps of this, next to a pink dwarf lilac what was blooming at the same time:
Both are right in front of the house and fragrant. It's nice to have the windows open and have the smell waft in on the occasional breeze.
Sweet William is blooming now:
Hens and chicks in the rock garden are doing well:
Gotta pluck off the chicks and put them in new places.
Some wild roses are growing behind the new flower bed bed.
Wild Oxeye daisies are blooming at the corner of my veg garden:
Now I can begin my summer-long game of "Find the perfect daisy". My Alaska shasta daisies are not blooming yet- and if I remember correctly, I think they don't start until late summer? Hm.
Catmint is blooming everywhere:
I can't say enough nice stuff about catmint. The animals leave it alone. It's doing well wherever I put it (full sun or part shade). I think I bought 2 plants 5 years ago. I divided those two plants into something like 8, gave a couple away and put the rest in new places. It's doing well everywhere.
Green Wizard coneflower:
I love green flowers. This coneflower has very broad, dark green leaves and I have it planted with the regular purple coneflower. The woodchucks have eaten some of the purple coneflower leaves but not any of the leaves on this one, so... I may take a division of this and move it to the lower flower bed.
Lastly: angelina sedum in the front, yellow loosestrife in the back:
That sedum I'm so happy with. I bought two little sad, dying sedums on sale at a Lowe's last year. $1.50 each. The wintered fine and are thriving. This one is such a great lemon-lime color.
Those are all the perennials blooming now. I don't really have many annuals this year- other than the marigold, pansies, geraniums in the new flower bed. And those are just for color and to fill in space until the perennials I planted down there take hold and spread.