Recent chilly, wet weather has delayed blooming of practically everything this year. My green beans and squash are rebelling! The grey tint to these photos tell a cloudy story. With a warm week finally in the forecast, I imagine much will grow or bloom soon. One can hope.
ONE – Our early peonies are ever-so-slowly opening. First varieties this year are Bunker Hill, Festiva Maxima, and shy Bowl of Beauty.
TWO – A very pretty area of the garden right now is one we call the Trio of Birdhouses. Magical foxgloves reign supreme here. Spiraea, weigela, and various herbs fill in the edges. I’ve had fun adding to these Digitalis purpurea with seedlings I start every year or so. ‘Apricot Beauty’ is a favorite.
THREE – The Chicken Hill bed, which I’ve mentioned before, has its white delphiniums standing tall now and ready to pop on the first sunny day. C’mon, sun.
FOUR – Oh joy! The first sweet peas! The fragrance of these ‘Oxford and Cambridge’ is outstanding. Nearby, a few pots of the lovely, lilac-edged ‘King’s High Scent’ have the spiciest aroma.
FIVE – This beautiful Weigela florida ‘Variegata’ adds nice contrast as a central figure in one packed perennial bed and offers shade to a generous clump of magenta astilbe (yet to bloom).
SIX – New plants in my garden this year, Astrantia ‘Star of Royals’ and ‘Star of Beauty’ have had a good first year from bare-root starts. I look forward to these perennials plumping as they mature.
The Propagator hosts Six on Saturday. Beautiful gardens from around the world are just a click away via the links in his post’s comments. Do visit!
Gardens at Coppertop -- March Picker 
Oh, the delicate edging on the ‘King’s High Scent’ sweet pea is gorgeous. I forgot how pretty, and aromatic, sweet peas are. I started some morning glories this year, but no blooms yet.
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It’s my fifth year growing sweet peas and I WILL NOT STOP. 😉
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I love the sweet peas a plant I have no luck growing. I think it is too hot and dry here in my garden. I saw some old fashioned sweet peas growing along a ditch out in the county this week. Reminded me of my childhood. It has been weird weather here too. So many of my plants are stunted.Now the heat of summer is rolling in.
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You’re right, the sweet peas don’t like the heat, so of course they flourish here. I also have them growing where there’s afternoon shade. And yes, the heat is building here too. Today we will hit 75 degrees, tomorrow a whopping 80!
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Your astrantia are lovely! You are behind us with many things but ahead with your sweet peas – did you plant them in the autumn?
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Thanks! A year ago I’d never seen astrantia! I start the peas in late winter in the unheated greenhouse. Since most are in pots along trellises I just seed them directly into the pots.
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Lovely! I can almost smell those sweet peas. And I really like your trio of birdhouses – so original. And foxgloves… And peonies… And astrantia. Mmmm. :~))
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Glad you came for a visit! The sweet peas perfume the entire deck — and in today’s sun (!) it’s sublime.
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Oh what great photos of your sumptuous peonies, I love them. I wouldn’t be without sweet peas either but I wish they would last longer in a vase. The bird houses are fun.
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Thank you, Chloris. Peonies and sweet peas are the scents of paradise.
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Gorgeous peonies pictures! I also like, like the others, your sweet peas that I grow for the first year. Soon in bloom!…
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Be sure to post photos, Fred. If only we could share fragrance on our garden blogs…
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Sweet peas: I need to bother with them next year. Lovely.
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Can’t live without them here. 😉
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This weather is something eh? I enjoy not having to irrigate so much, but jeez, the temperature differentials are getting a bit absurd.
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Absurd is right. Tomorrow will be sweltering by our standards, and the garden gets no transition period. Yikes. Could mean lots of droopy plants. I may droop a bit as well!
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I put some grass seed in where i recently tore up a concrete walkway. That and the many plants I I this year pretty much ensure I’m going to have to stay on watering, possibly daily or twice daily :0. Last year had some worrying highs but we got through it. All the established last year plants get no special treatment though. I’m using free mulch quite heavily to offset the heat, it’s arguably the ultimate water conservation technique!
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Everything is rebelling for me here too. I adore sweet pea but mine haven’t flowered yet
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Soon, I’m sure! The waiting is difficult.
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But watchimg those buds open is worth it. X
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Beautiful Six-on-Saturday!
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Thanks! June is such a good garden month, for you too I see.
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Tell me that’s not Delphiniums towering to the left of your weigela, how tall are they. I want to see pictures of them when they’re out. Slugs and wind make them all but impossible here.
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Yes, they are having a banner year. Over 7 feet tall already. A nice mix of varieties, most started from seed the past few years, and I’ll be sure to post photos.
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Arrgh how did I miss your six! Ah well found it at last. Love the weigelia best of all. Curious how every person sees a different focus in every six.
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Yes, when I visit other Six posts I’m so curious to see what folks comment on. The weigela is known to be “old fashioned” but I’m a fan. The pale pink and variegation shines from the bed it’s in — which my photo doesn’t duplicate well.
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Old fashioned plants will eventually come back in style 😊 you’re just ahead of the pack is all.
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‘Festiva Maxima’ is still the best peony! I know there are better whites out there, but the red specks of ‘Festiva Maxima’ make it look even whiter! It is one of the few popular cultivars that I like.
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Agreed!
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