what's blooming now 2014

[havalotta]

The gardens have finally burst into bloom. Blossoms all over. YEY....... Spring is HERE!!!!!
I'm eager to set forth into my yard for its first looking over and tweaking. I'll again be working on simplifying. Removing the forever multiplying star of Bethlehams, pink babies breath, purple loose-strife and possibly the orange lilies that I see are now sending like a gazillion lily tips all over. I didn't know they spread THAT aggressively. I wont be wanting to thin those out every year so I best rid myself of them real soon as in right now!

[Rebek56]

Bluestar is one of my favorite plants; we have three species of it here. (I may be what a friend once described as "blue-flower batty" as we also grow phlox divaricata and tradescantia.)

Fothergilla growers: how much shade will it take? I know it's an understory plant, but the place where we want some brightness and structure is shaded most of the day. It gets some direct morning sun but is mostly shaded by maples and oaks. Some dogwoods are seeding into the area, as is the ubiquitous Bradford pear (which fortunately doesn't get enough sun to grow, and we pull it out, anyway). A privet, which was there when we bought the house, has managed to survive but doesn't bloom (a good thing, as we want to remove it and don't want babies).

This is the area furthest from the house, so once established, the plants there need to survive mostly on rainfall and runoff. It's at the bottom of a slope, and the viburnum dentatum planted in the sunniest portion two years ago are doing well this year.

[linrose]

I have three fothergilla, one is in 6 hrs sun, one in almost full shade and one in part shade. All three are growing very well, the one in full day full shade is about 2/3 the size of the 6 hrs a day sun shrub, both were planted at the same time, but it blooms almost as well. The part shade shrub blooms as well as the one in full shade.

I got a bonus plant in a pot of wild ginger that just bloomed, I think it is Jack-in-the Pulpit. I don't have any of these so I'm pretty excited to get this tag-a-long freebie!

[wildwatcher]

I think tag-a-long freebies are the most fun of all! Lucky you linrose!

ww

[Rebek56]

Great freebie! I usually get dandelions.

[EllenW]

I love jack in the pulpit. Congratulations linrose. I saw one of mine this morning. It is huge. I will go back and take a picture.

[havalotta]

Nice plant...

Our Jacks have a touch of burgundy in their hoods.

[linrose]

Nice. I like the striping in that one.

A few more things are starting to bloom or wanting to once it heats up more and the sun comes out. Penstemon digitalis is coming on with Penstemon calycosus not far behind. The Coppertina ninebark is starting to bloom. Marsh phlox is in full bloom now and the prairie phlox is still going strong. Wild blue indigo is finishing up. Mapleleaf viburnum is blooming. Bracted viburnum, Virginia sweetspire and oakleaf hydrangea are budded.

[linrose]

I think our local nursery made a mistake in labeling one of my azaleas. It took me a while to figure it out though. I thought I bought a Flame azalea and a Piedmont azalea. One blooms in shades of yellow and orange ant the other in shades of pink. To my surprise they both bloomed orange, one was early in April before the leaves and very fragrant and the other is just blooming now well after the leaves and is not fragrant. What I think I got instead of Piedmont azalea is Florida azalea, R. austrinum.

I did e-mail the nursery about the mix up, I'm not sure what they'll do about it though. I do love the Florida azalea but it isn't native to Kentucky. I'm also concerned about its viability here. I believe I posted a photo earlier of it thinking it was Flame azalea. I started getting suspicious when the other one I planted last fall was also orange. Anyway here they both are. Flame azalea just started to bloom today.

[linrose]

BTW, if anyone is interested in native azaleas, this is a good place to start.

Native Azaleas - East Coast Native Azaleas