Once again I find myself under a time crunch. I seriously considered going out and finding One Thing to take a picture of, upload it and call it good. I have several dozen daffodil bulbs I dug up the other day in an attempt to exercise some control on the situation out front, and they need to get planted. They are destined to be the continuation of the labyrinth project, in which I plan to outline the whole circular pattern with daffodils. I’m about half done, and it has been four years. I think I might get that done this year.
So, it is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, a meme started by Carol, over at May Dreams Garden, where gardeners all over the world post about what is blooming in their gardens, what is done, what is coming on.
What is done at the Havensis the daffodils and tulips and hyacinths and other spring bulbs. What is coming on is the herb garden, lots of flower stalks there on the valerian, the aescepulis, the chives. The peonies are going to be prime in about two days, and I have lots of roses showing color. The only ones that are open are the big rugosas by the barn.
I have irises galore, the hostas are looking splendid, the coral bells of all sorts are blooming. The rock garden is wonderful, more beautiful than I imagined it could be when I planned it.
So, I thought I’d take you on a little tour around the place, and you can see for yourself what is happening. We’ll start in front, where you can see that the earliest day lily is going to town, backed by the chorus of irises and peony buds. There is spiderwort back there, another plant rapidly achieving NIMBY status.
Look to the left and you will see what is blooming under the robins’ nest.
Big solo here for a pair of lovlies that just showed up this morning for the first time.
Heading towards the back of the lot, the vineyard is leafing out wonderfully. The vines are covered with blossoms, looks like we’ll have more wine joining the seven cases from last year’s crop.
Walk along by the espalier and mourn the dearth of actual fruit set. The frost was hard on them. There are a few apples out there, not many. But the mock orange will cheer you up.
Walk all the way to the back and look southeast towards the back side of the labyrinth. This is how the savanna area looks ten years after it was planted. The oaks are finally starting to put on some size, the bradford pears, the river birch, the maple, the hawthorn, the black walnut: all looking great.
Yes, that is the remnants of the big rock pile in the foreground. Turn 180° and you are facing the root cellar. Look! There are strawberries! We’ve been eating them every morning for several days.
Just around the corner from them is the patch of showy evening primrose that I have allowed to continue to exist. It was the subject of a NIMBY post I did a while ago. I spend a certain amount of time keeping it in bounds. It is so pretty, it is hard to banish it from the yard utterly.
Turning again to the left, we walk past the barn towards the vegetable garden. The rugosa roses show you how the wind is blowing today.
The vegetable garden is looking real good. We are eating peas now, the asparagus is pretty much done for the season. There is lots of lettuce and greens too, they are in the bed farthest back, on the right. Notice the onions and potatoes in front, the big patch of green by itself in the next bed is the cilantro patch. To the left of that is the garlic. I’ll be planting the melons and squashes and beans and corn this weekend. If it doesn’t rain, that is.
Leaving the garden gate, we turn left and see the pond. This is an area badly in need of some upkeep. I really need to get in there and beat back the cat tails, but right now the yellow flags are the big news. These were a gift from the birds, by the way.
Turn left again, walk past the clothes line and the sauna and the compost area, and enter the back yard inside the privacy gate. The herb garden:
Walk past it, turn left and look along the house. This foundation planting was the second garden I worked up, established in 1997. Look at how the bleeding hearts and hostas are doing. There are white columbines blooming in there too.
At the end of that path is the new stroll garden. This view encompasses the Hosta Dell, the Rock Garden and the Rain Garden.
Lets have a closer look at that rock rose. There is rose verbena in front of it.
The Hosta Dell is looking particularly fine this week. Notice the coral bells blooming. Right now you can see Peach Melba, Peach Flambe, Lime Rickey, Palace Purple, and Mardi Gras in addition to the plain jane species Heuchera. It’s a real joy to watch the hummingbird working the coral bells.
Now we turn right, and find a couple of clematis climbing the fence, waving their arms and begging for attention.
Back along the fence, the row of day lilies and roses are getting ready for the June spectacular.
Look back there along the fence on the left. See that splotch of color? That is a red iris and in front of it a blue flag, both wild irises native to Missouri. Let’s get a closer look, shall we?
I think these two are worthy of an even closer look.
That’s pretty much it for today. I’d spend a lot more time showing you the sights, but I really do have to get those daffodils planted. This time of year they don’t really like to be out of the ground. But I can’t leave you without this one last view, the interior of one of the irises out front.
I just love these totally sexy ladies. Now, don’t forget to visit Carol over at May Dreams Gardens and see what other people have going on at their place. It is worth the trip over there.
