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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – June 2022

It hardly seems fair to have just one Bloom Day a month at this time of year, when so many beautiful things are coming into flower ever day. I’ve done my best to pick out a variety of highlights, but as usual, there’s a lot to see, so let’s get started! Oh, by the way, the image above is one of my favorite scenes this time of year; it includes Carthusian pink (Dianthus carthusianorum) and rose campion (Silene [formerly Lychnis] coronaria).

There are a few general themes for June here, of course, including roses and clematis. I don’t have too many garden roses left, due to the abundance of rose rosette disease-affected multiflora rose all around, but fortunately, there are a few that have managed to stay unaffected.

‘La Belle Sultane’: a lovely old heirloom
‘Belle de Crecy’: another heirloom with a luscious color and fragrance
Rosa achburensis: a rare species I have been growing for over 30 years. It’s not resistant to RRD, but it does self-sow lightly, so I always have a couple of plants around.
Winchester Cathedral Austin rose (Rosa ‘AUScat’) with basically-herbaceous Blue River clematis (Clematis ‘Zoblueriver’)
Seriously Black bush clematis (Clematis recta ‘Lime Close’)

Most of the other clematis growing here are leatherflower types: various native species and crosses from them that the bees have made. A few that are flowering now include…

Pale leatherflower (Clematis versicolor)
Addison’s leatherflower (Clematis addisonii)
An unnamed leatherflower clematis seedling

Milkweeds (Asclepias) don’t get the same press as roses and clematis for early summer, but there are many looking terrific right now, to the delight of the recently-returned monarch butterflies as well as the many other insects that feed on the flowers.

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens): native around here, but I rarely see seedpods on it
Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa): a western native that I planted well over a decade ago but rarely see in bloom here
Green milkweed (Asclepias viridis): a more southerly species but it is thriving here. I started it from seed a couple years ago and it is blooming abundantly right now.

Some other lovely late-spring/early-summer perennials include…

Appalachian false goatsbeard (Astilbe biternata)
A pink-flowered ‘Hayefield Hybrids’ false indigo (Baptisia) seedling with ‘Carolina Moonlight’ and Arkansas bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii)
Downy wood mint (Blephilia ciliata)
Chinese ground orchid (Bletilla striata)
Quaking grass (Briza media) in bloom
Baltic parsley (Cenolophium denudatum) with dark-leaved beardtongue (Penstemon) seedlings in the side garden
Cruel plant (Cynanchum [or Vincetoxicum] ascyrifolium)
‘Sooty’ sweet William (Dianthus barbatus): the color can appear anywhere from rich red to practically black, depending on the light
Tapered rosette grass (Dichanthelium acuminatum)
Smooth purple coneflower (Echinacea laevigata) in front of Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa)
Bowman’s root (Gillenia [formerly Porteranthus] trifoliata)
Squirreltail grass (Hordeum jubatum) in front of ‘Flower Carpet Amber’ rose and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
‘Berlin Tiger’ iris with the foliage of ‘Isla Gold’ tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
Purple toadflax (Linaria purpurea)
Giant starflower (Ornithogalum magnum)
Tuberous-rooted Jerusalem sage (Phlomoides [formerly Phlomis] tuberosa)
‘Gold Foil’ foxglove penstemon (Penstemon digitalis)
Pink crosswort (Phuopsis stylosa)
Variegated common rue (Ruta graveolens ‘Variegata’ or ‘Harlequin’)
Common valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

There are some woody plants flowering now too, including…

Flowering for the first time this year (yay!): dead man’s fingers (Decaisnea fargesii), also known as blue bean shrub and blue sausage fruit
Variegated fuzzy deutzia (Deutzia scabra ‘Variegata’)
Lots of flowers on the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana): a promise of many delicious fruits in a few months!
Past flowering but still gorgeous: a dark-leaved ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) seedling against ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ dappled willow (Salix integra)
The red seedpods show up even better on gold-leaved ninebark seedlings (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Aureus’)
Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana): a tasty native

This is also an interesting time for annuals, with the overlap between the peak of some cool-season species and the start of some summer-lovers.

Summer pheasant’s eye (Adonis aestivalis)
‘Bill Archer’ borage (Borago officinalis)
‘Spring Green’ cockscomb (Celosia argentea var. cristata)
Large-flowered collomia (Collomia grandiflora): a wonderful western native
Calico monkey flower (Diplacus pictus): This California native annual has definitely exceeded my expectations
Venus’ navelwort (Iberodes [Omphalodes] verna)
‘Splash of Cream’ shoo-fly plant (Nicandra physalodes)
White lace flower (Orlaya grandiflora) with ‘Miss Jekyll’ love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) flowers and seedpods
Darling little divaricate phacelia (Phacelia divaricata)
The first flowers on ‘Finest Mix’ painted tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata)
Farnsworth’s jewel flower (Streptanthus farnsworthianus): native to California but equally happy here
New for me this spring, and I am already in love with this little thing (also a California native): plumed jewel flower (Streptanthus insignis)
Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius): these spectacular blooms open early in the morning and generally close by noon.
‘Kikyo Snowflakes’ Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil): loaded with buds and blooms at barely 6 inches tall.
One of my top favorite new plants (thank you so much for sharing, Marcia!): ‘Golden Chain’ morning glory (Ipomoea). Even if it didn’t flower, it would be worth growing for the bright chartreuse foliage alone.
Love, love, love the Dr. Pepper-like fragrance of mignonette (Reseda odorata)
Part of a continuing experiment with plants for dyeing: weld (Reseda luteola), also known as dyer’s weld and dyer’s rocket. This beautifully branched clump is from a seedling that germinated last summer. Seedlings that germinated this spring are already flowering but just single stalks.
Blue tweedia (Oxypetalum caeruleum): a potted clump that I overwintered in my basement is in full bloom now. (March-started seedlings are much smaller but already producing lots of buds.)
Also overwintered indoors: pink tweedia (Oxypetalum solanoides). This year’s seed-grown plants are just now starting to bud up.

Just a few of the many foliage stars at the moment…

‘Pink Zebra’ corn (Zea mays) with a self-sown seedling of ‘Bill Archer’ borage (Borago officinalis)
The classic variegated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum ‘Variegatum’)
‘Dwarf Pico’s Pride’ tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)—new for me this year, starting to develop some nice variegation on its sturdy foliage
My preciousssss…’Keith’s Ailsa Gold’ tomato plants!

And finally, a few random garden shots this time…

One of my favorite spots in the front garden: highlights include golden meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria ‘Aurea’), Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’), ‘Sun Power’ hosta, a NOID Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Diabolo ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’), ‘Royal Purple’ smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria), and, in the center, a young Chinese parrotia (Parrotia subaequalis).
Another view of the front garden, from the front porch
The “shade border” (which gets full sun from dawn until about noon, then an hour or two of evening sun) along the back porch
After years of me tossing year-old seeds onto this slope in the lower meadow, the white false indigos (Baptisia alba) are finally mature enough to start flowering. It should be a real spectacle in years to come.
My happy place: formerly the vegetable garden, now my “seed farm”

Just in the time it took me to put this post together, several wonderful new things have come into flower, but they will have to wait until the next Bloom Day, or perhaps an interim Instagram post. (Seeds are ripening daily too: check out out the Recently Added part of my shop if you want to see some of the 2022 harvest so far.) My thanks to you all for taking the time to visit today!

Posted on by — 13 Comments

13 thoughts on “Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – June 2022”

  1. Sandy LeRoy

    Another lovely tour. Thank you, Nan.

    Thank YOU for the visit, Sandy. Happy Bloom Day!
    -Nan

  2. Debra McCall

    AMAZING!

    Thank you so much, Debra. Have a beautiful day!
    -Nan

  3. Carol Pounders

    A beautiful start to the day! Thank you for letting us see your garden–so many pretty things to learn about.

    I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment, Carol. It’s a beautiful Bloom Day!
    -Nan

  4. Nancy DuBrule

    Absolutely inspirational!

    Thanks for saying that, Nancy. Things have really exceeded my hopes for the garden so far this year.
    -Nan

  5. Karen Gallagher

    So many lovely plants/flowers to look at, thanks for sharing!

    Hi Karen! I hope your own garden is treating you well on this Bloom Day.
    -Nan

  6. Gabriella

    So many gorgeous combinations. I just started golden meadowsweet from seed this spring, and I can’t wait to have it looking big and lush like your plants. Thanks for another shot of inspiration!

    I’ll be interested to hear how it does for you. I haven’t had much luck growing it from seed. It does self-sow here, but I think most, if not all, of the seedlings are green. Still, it’s a joy to have around for the fragrance of the flowers!
    -Nan

  7. Donna G

    Oh,the colors, the forms, the variety! Truly a wonderful garden in a wonderful season. The pink crosswort catches my eye, with its fanciful ?stamens? shooting out. Thank you for the beauty this morning!

    Thanks, Donna. That crosswort is really something, isn’t it? I nearly lost it but managed to revive the patch and it is flowering beautifully this year, thank goodness. It does have a less-than-desirable feature, unfortunately: a definite skunk-like odor.
    -Nan

  8. Kris P

    Magnificent, Nan! Given the severity of our drought in SoCal, I’m not going to sow any seeds until fall but I’ll definitely be looking at what you have to offer.

    I’m so sorry about your difficult conditions, Kris. I feel guilty for fussing about inadequate rain here, when what we’ve had would be a blessing to you and your garden. I will send wet thoughts your way.
    -Nan

  9. Kris Diede

    As ever, thanks so much for sharing your summer bounty, Nan!

    Thank *you* for taking the tour, Kris!
    -Nan

  10. Amy Kennedy

    The pink salsify was very interesting, Nan. The one we have in the Midwest, Tragopogon dubius, is a yellow flower. I always enjoy your posts so much! And the photography’s fantastic!

    Wonderful to hear from you, Amy. I hope you and your garden are doing well this year. Thanks so much for your kind comments!
    -Nan

  11. Kim M

    I love that you toss old seeds to create a meadow. (Also, I prefer the seed pods to the ninebark flowers – I just adore their color!) Thanks as always for the lovely tour!

    Hi Kim! Yes, it seems a better use for the seeds than throwing them in the trash once the new harvest is ready. And the small effort has paid off big time.
    -Nan

  12. bittster

    Beautiful as always, and I’m intrigued by the dead man’s fingers! That’s one I can’t wait to see your review of, it doesn’t look like it would be hardy but I guess it did just fine. I hope you get a nice batch of fingers lol
    So many other goodies as well. Surprisingly I almost bought a little calico monkey flower last week. It’s even cooler in person but the grower said it was somewhat tricky for her to get the watering right, so I passed for other things. Maybe I’ll have an easier time with seeds!

    Hi Frank! Yes, the Decaisnea should be fully hardy here, but it took me several tries to find the right spot for it. It’s definitely happy behind the greenhouse. It doesn’t look like any fruit set this year, but at least it has finally reached flowering size. I can imagine it being hard to keep the Diplacus looking good in a container. In the ground, it seems more forgiving, so I recommend giving it a try!
    -Nan

  13. Allan

    A feast for the eyes Nan, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful garden with us. So easy to see from the photo, why you have a favourite place in your front garden. It is a symphony of colour and form from the foliage.

    Thanks for checking in, Allan, and for the lovely comments. I hope your summer gardening is going well!
    -Nan

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