Last Saturday I wrote about plenty of white blooms in these gardens. Although I’ve spent the greatest portion of this week tidying the vegetable garden surrounded by great, green, yummy growing things, today I’m featuring splashes of color from all over Coppertop.
ONE – Our ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ Hawthorn tree, Crataegus laevigata, is in bloom. This pretty, young tree has a tendency to drop its leaves early, well before fall. I’ve learned that hawthorns are susceptible to fungal leaf spot, so for the last year we’ve used dormant oil spray prior to budding. It seemed to help in 2017, and this year the foliage is looking good… so far. The tree also began leaning during winter’s heavy snowfall so is currently staked. A tree this pretty deserves some extra measures.
TWO – I love the deep blooms on these Rhododendron ‘Nova Zembla’. The deepest pink or cerise flowers cover these two that we planted a few years ago, the first plants in our rhody grove in this part-shade corner.
THREE – I wrote of our new chicken fence a couple days ago, and now that the hens can’t be destructive throughout the gardens, my Chicken Hill Bed has a new lease on life! When Hubby constructed this bed for me three years ago my plan was to have all white and red flowers, with touches of black. My other perennial beds don’t feature much red, as we gardeners know how red can take over. And white, well, that’s pretty much my groove color. The anchor of Chicken Hill bed is a young Rainier cherry tree. I’ve started almost everything from seed in the bed, and blooms are just opening again. Much thrives here, from Geum ‘Mrs. Bradshaw’ and Aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’ in the sun to white Delphinium ‘Magic Fountains’, Heuchera ‘Marvelous Marble’ and Anemone sylvestris ‘Madonna Snowdrop’ in the shade. Exceptions to plants I started from seed are two white peonies and a David Austin ‘Claire Austin’ rose.
FOUR – In the nearby area of perennial beds, the first poppies, Papaver orientale, have opened this week. Although I prefer other poppies I grow, these are the flashy firsts and so should be celebrated.
FIVE – I’ve viewed some stunning irises in garden blogs recently. Coppertop’s first irises on Lupine Hill began blooming this week. I meant to dig and divide in 2017, yet somehow didn’t. This year for sure. These are one flower I enjoy in solid yellow mingling with perennial cornflowers or Centaurea montana.
SIX – Lupines are popping open this week. My dream to have this entire hillside filled with lupines has yet to materialize. It seems instead I have practically an entire hillside of dreaded creeping buttercup weed.
Six on Saturday is a great way to get your plant fix from gardens worldwide. This popular meme is kindly hosted by The Propagator from his corner of Berkshire in England. Comments below his blog include links to an amazing variety of Six on Saturday posts.
Gardens at Coppertop 
A beautiful six in your green and lush garden. That poppy is just perfect.
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We do need rain, but the green is hanging on! More poppies poppin’ each day now.
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That hawthorn has the most beautiful blooms. They almost look like roses. All of your picks are certainly garden worthy. They look happy and well tended too. Have a great weekend.
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The hawthorn has grown on me over the few years we’ve lived here. You have a great weekend as well, Lisa.
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Wonderful photo of the Geum. Which one is it Ames Bradshaw!
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Ignore me I have read the blog again.
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Thanks!! 😉
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White red and black. Like a boys bedroom from the 1980s! Lovely six. I a a big fan of geum, have a bunch of Mrs j Bradshaw myself,amongst others.
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A new garden bed gave me an opportunity to dream differently, that’s for sure! At last I found some of the cocktail series of geum locally and selected two ‘Mai Tai’ this week. I’m hoping they’ll go especially well with some actual mai tais. Not sure where to plant them yet…
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Beautiful photos. I didn’t manage to take my photos in the sunshine this week – it makes everything look better! Lovely colours, again.
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Ah, Granny, you’re sweet!
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We really tried with Lupins over the last couple of years, slugs destroyed them. At least your dream of a hillside of them has a fighting chance; my dream will always just be a dream. We always want what we can’t have.
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That’s the truth. It bugs me that they grow so easily from seed and yet I still haven’t established enough to make the impact I’m seeking…
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Beautiful Six and lovely pictures. Your hawthorn in bloom is breathtaking ! ( love your geum too..;)
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The hawthorn is definitely worth the care it’s been requiring. I think geums are undervalued in general. 🙂
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I second Fred’s hawthorn comment….looks like a climbing rose!
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If I zoomed in more, maybe I could’ve passed it off as a rose! I’m beginning to think of this tree as the deep pink version of a Kwanzan cherry due to the ruffles, but tinier blossoms of course.
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The rhodies are so beautiful, They amaze me every time I see them. So exotic and tropical looking for a temperate forest plant.
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Thank you. It’s been a good year for rhodies here, and now it’s getting close to deadheading time.
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I remember ‘Nova Zembla’. It was not one of our most popular cultivars, but we grew a few. We have only a few hawthorn here, and as far as I know, only ONE that is that pink. I have no idea where it came from. No one does. The family that lives with it found it there when they moved in.
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Nova Zembla has been around a while, that’s for sure. As these were among our first rhodie purchases of a subsequent 16 or so, they’re special to us.
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I believe that it became available just as the Victorian Period was ending, which is not as old as some, but older than the modern trendy types that have not yet proven their attributes.
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What a stunning garden you have. The gorgeous Poppy looks just like crumpled tissue paper. I gave up on Lupins several years ago – what the slugs and snails left behind was invaded by super sized aphids. A couple of years of that was enough. I just love them from afar now.
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Thank you! Ah, sounds like you know how to accept limitations, and somehow I always struggle against the restraints. 😉
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Enjoyed the tour this week!
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