I spent hours this weekend potting on the perennial seedlings that I’m growing for the parking strip garden.

I’ve transplanted seven trays so far (72 plants each) of perennials, including three kinds of yarrows, lychnis, arabis, dianthus, echinacea and more.  There are a lot more to move along, so I’ll be working on it throughout the coming week.

This Verbascum surprised me by opening flowers in the orchard bed.  It has many other spikes coming on below the original flowers, as well.

The low late-spring light shining through the first streptocarpus to bloom–this lovely white flowered, purple edged cultivar.

There is a Portugal laurel growing just down the street.  I don’t have room for this shrub/tree, but I enjoy it in other people’s yards.

The flowers have a light, sweet fragrance.  They show strongly against the dark glossy foliage.

This gorgeous cistus is planted at a housing development very close by.  These shrubs are blooming spectacularly this year.

Another view showing all the flowers open at once.

At my new bus stop, an apartment building added some very nice landscaping.  There are large Acanthus mollis and variegated Hebes looking really sharp along a faux creek bed.

Hebe habit.  I think this is Hebe variegata.

Close-up view.

 

It is that crazy time of year when the rain combines with the warmth to promote exponential growth in the garden.  Below are a few pictures I captured today.

This penstemon from brother Tim is blooming along the fence in the orchard garden.  It is pretty lax and low and always has to fight with the bindweed, but I’ve cut a lot more bindweed back this year, so I got more flowers.

Lady of Shalott rose blooming in the orchard bed.  The flowers on this rose are spectacular, but I was sad to see quite a bit of damage to the leaves this year.  I’m not sure who the culprit is–it’s almost like leaf miners, but not really trails that you usually see with miners.

Another photo of these beautiful blooms.  And they smell wonderful, too.

This one is Boscobel–another very beautiful flower, but the shrub is very lax.  I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong–I might try tying the shrubs up so they get a hint to grow more upright.

More Lady of Shalott flowers–they are so big, they kind of hang down, but they are worth kneeling down for!

It is pretty strange to have the Bleeding Heart still blooming–usually, it is done and heading towards dormancy by June.

Campanula porscharskyana blooming in the afternoon sun on the wall to the Doug fir bed.

Close up of the bellflowers showing their interesting shape and bright blue color.

This scented pelargonium is blooming very strongly this year in the greenhouse.  The flowers are dainty, bright, and brilliant.

A delicate Abutilon in the greenhouse–a very light pink with darker veins.

Lewisia blooming in the greenhouse.  I have two of these hybrids in the greenhouse.  This one seems happy and healthy.  The other one seems to be struggling.  I may try repotting it if it doesn’t get any flowers soon.

Hippeastrelia blooming in the greenhouse–five or six flowers open at the same time–more than ever before.

Close up of the Bird of Paradise bloom–amazing shape and color.  And it changes shape every day.

Another view.

The air plants seem really happy this year–this clump is throwing three flower spikes.

So much going on and the garden and greenhouse are changing daily.  Here are some pictures of today’s highlights:

Hippeastrum/Sprekelia cross just popped up in the greenhouse.  The pot of bulbs has three spikes this year.

I planted most of the year’s seedlings into patio pots today.  I couldn’t get the phone camera to focus because of this white impatiens–the camera just didn’t like the light reflecting from it.  I only ended up with three seedlings, but that is perfect for the one pot on the back patio for which these were destined.

Strelitzia reginae just opening in the greenhouse.  Watching this intricate, odd flower open is a fun endeavor.

One of the patio pots I planted today with pelargonium, snapdragon, and salvia.

The gorgeous red hippeastrum is still blooming well.   Photos don’t do it justice.

But that won’t stop me from trying to do it justice…

Pelargonium “Grossersorten” blooming all through the greenhouse.  I keep many starts of these favorites growing every year.  The combination of dark, healthy, zoned foliage and the clean coral pink flowers.

The David Austin roses are really putting on a show around the orchard garden.

The form of the flowers, the colors and the scent–it all adds up to an exceptional show.  My only complaint is that the bushes aren’t particularly strong, but I think possibly this is due to a lack of sun and the ravages to the ever-present bindweed.  I am taking time and effort to keep the rampaging vines off the roses, but it is a Herculean task.

Another slightly different view.  This one is Fighting Temeraire.

This bulbous gem is the one remaining Nectarscordum siculum left in the garden.  I probably started with twenty-five of them ten years ago and they slowly died out.  I’ll likely add some more this autumn since they have such interesting blooms held high enough to notice.

The gorgeous rose on the Jeff Tangen arbor started blooming last week.  The fragrance is remarkable when you pass underneath.

Close-up showing how the flowers open a soft apricot yellow and fade to cream and then white.

Styrax japonica blooming over the koi pond.  This graceful tree is a mixed blessing–beautiful, but pretty messy (and a bit poisonous), so not the best choice for over a pond.  In this case, though, what’s done is done–the tree is twenty years old and I’ve yet to come up with a better solution for that particular space.

Every year I intend to plant perennial seeds in May to get strong seedlings to plant out the following spring.  This is the first year I actually did it–all of these seeds I planted for the parking strip garden I’m planning.  And the best thing is that virtually every type of seed has come up.  You can see one tray above, and there is another similarly fertile tray to match.  There will be much transplanting to do in the coming weeks, but I’m happy to do it–hundreds of plants for a bright new garden!

I really love this plant so far–Malabar spinach (Basella rubra).  It is a climbing substitute for spinach.  I just need to find some space for it to climb.  I’ve got so many vines and brambles up now, most of my vertical options are taken.

The raised bed the brother Tim helped me plant a few weeks ago has finally settled in.  The lettuce and escarole are really starting to grow and the tomatoes have finished sulking.  I put some tomatillos out today next to the tomatoes, but not sure how they will do, since they were very small and already getting flowers.  I’m hoping they aren’t stunted.

Hesperis matronalis catching some early evening light.

The violas that I got at Fred Meyer early in the spring are enjoying to bursts of sunshine mixed with the wet spells.

More baby pansies in pots in the front of the house.

I suspect the lack of water in a very crowded pot resulted in the white geranium having these wispy blooms.  You can see the normal flowers at the very left of the photo.

The plum tree has more than a dozen plums this year–up from four last year.  I’m hopeful that some will get ripe and I’ll be able to taste one before the animals find them.

Another rose photo.

And another.

This beauty is “Olivia”–supreme form and strong, sweet fragrance.

The columnar apple trees have apples this year–not sure if my brush-pollination helped, or if some winged critters did the trick, but we’ll have a few dozen apples if all goes well.

The taller tree has even more flowers…

Blackberry flowers.  The domesticated cultivars may be a bit light on berries this year, but I have a “wild” Himalayan blackberry trained in one of the raised beds, and it has dozens of flower buds–it looks like it will provide all the blackberries I need.

Goumi berries developing on the shrub.  There were a LOT of flowers this year, but I think fewer berries than last year–not sure if it was a pollination issue or what.  The shrub is growing quickly this spring.

Aronia berries are also plumping up.

Another rose bud.

More little pansies.

This sad looking clump of sticks is all that’s left of the scorpion senna that had taken over the brick bed near the Jeff Tangen arbor.  I cut it way back today, which looks really drastic.  It should be a mass of new green growth in a month or so, and it will probably bloom again, too.

Just a quick post to put some photos up from Seattle and Honolulu.

Interesting Hibiscus near our friend Dean’s condo building.  The flowers don’t seem to open all the way–and yet they have their own charm and showiness.

Close-up of one flower.

I didn’t get to the beach much on this trip, but here is Diamondhead–always so nice to see.

And interesting Hibiscus bloom near Fort Derussy.  It must have taken eons to breed these delicate pastels in the blue-purple/smoky brown shades.

Upon my return, the iris in my garden were all up and blooming.  The hardy purple clone that always survives and thrives dominate this bed.  They look good and smell great, too.

Huge Hippeastrum flower in the greenhouse.  I was surprised to see this monster open already.  It was just a tight bud eight days before when I flew away.

I hope I don’t miss this orchid cactus when the flower opens.  They only last a day, I think, so it is easy to miss them, especially since I have to work away from home much of this coming weekend.

The Hesperis are blooming in the Doug Fir bed.  More and more lavender ones are creeping in among the white, but the effect is pleasing and the fragrance wonderfully sweet.

Another view with Leon’s Miracle Grow Sculpture rising behind/above.

This Rhododendron is really shining outside our bedroom window.  My plans to rip and shred the current foundation shrubs lose out to these amazing blooms!

More foundation Rhodies–there are two of these along the living room window with a dwarf lilac in-between.  The flowers are maybe a bit more purple/blue than the photo shows.

Geranium phaeum blooming in the driveway bed.  This cranesbill rises above the Big Root Cranesbills surrounding it.  The color is a nice purple, showier than many I’ve seen.

Another view.

A poppy popping open in the driveway bed.  This is one of the Pizzicato strain that I grew from seed probably 20 years ago.  I am growing them again this year and there are at least 50 seedlings, so I should get a nice variety of colors.

The Dianthus that overwintered in the patio pots in front are blooming nicely–an electric pink.

The wild arboretum rose plant grown from seed 15+ years ago is blooming.  It is a pain most of the year, literally and figuratively, due to thorns and robust habit (and stupid placement), but the flowers are some of my favorites.  They are simple, wild-looking, and sweet-smelling.

The shrub roses have open flowers in the orchard bed.  The vindictive bindweeds have taken over again in my absence.  I need to find time to snip them back again this week/weekend.

Another of the Austen roses in the orchard bed.

And another.

Polemonium “Heavenly Blue” grown from seed and blooming nicely in the orchard bed.

Close up of these very blue flowers.  Heavenly is right!

This is Austen’s Ebb Tide blooming in the orchard bed.  A scrumptious purply red.

Another Ebb Tide flower.

Columbines in the driveway/orchard bed.  They are being overwhelmed with raspberries and now bindweed, but they lok pretty good right now.