The only way to keep up with June is weekly reports. Last week the biennial Verbascum phlomoides was in bud, and the four or so planted last fall have started to open this week. I’d forgotten but obviously I got ahold of a white seed strain of the so-called Orange Mullein, sold as ‘Spica’ or ‘Snow Maiden.’ And I’m really glad I did. Yellow in the garden doesn’t bother me, and I’m growing other yellow verbascums. But this cool ruffly creamy white is so unexpectedly elegant. I hope it reseeds true.
relatively large flowers for a verbascum give it almost a hollyhock-type presence (with much better leaves, no rust, no insect damage)
with the restio and phormium in the rocked area, the tallest and first to flower, growing in a much drier area than the borders
in the back border. And look at the branching! Tall yellow on the right is Verbascum roripifoliium, which has reseeded a bit, the self-sown making much better plants
Verbascum roripifolium adds so much to the garden but its wayward antics make it hard to capture in photos. Its slim basal clump elongates to as much as 6 feet then erupts to claim a huge amount of air space, all elbows and angles and sprawling aerial fizz
garden trimmings are kept in a vase on the metal cart against the house. Verbascum roripifolium surprisingly makes an excellent cut flower, with lots of swooping kinetic energy. This verbascum loves to reseed near paths, and a couple inconveniently placed have been removed
Also opening buds this week is Centaurea macrocephala
long view of basket flower. The foreground Pheasant’s Tail Grass reseeds and just seems generally happy here, unlike growing in zone 10, where it’s very short-lived, never flowers, never reseeds (Anemanthele lessoniana)
Silver Spike Grass is just now blooming too, foreground Selinum wallichianum, incredible characterful plant, early in leaf
looking at the height and volume of June from the porch. I do like my small garden, but if the back neighbor wanted to give me his big grassy weedy lot, I wouldn’t say no
Orange poppy flowers of Glaucium flavum var. aurantiacum
the breadth of the garden from the east fence looking west at the garage/workshop
I’ve been seeing a lot of large gardens lately and have been surprised by a lack of envy. A small garden suits me. I like the intensity, the dailiness of watching it change up close, the manageablity. Though we have expanded to the east a bit.
Persicaria polymorpha moved to the east side last year along with other giants like Joe-Pye Weed. The new boardwalk is a godsend, thank you Marty. Vast improvement over a lumpy sparse grass path in summer, muddy in spring. Prior leveling and reseeding of the grass inevitably turned lumpy and sparse.
Dieramas opened this week. The biggest clump, a dark-flowered seedling from Dancing Oaks, was removed along with the Stipa gigantea last year to keep the path open and passable. No worries, the dark-flowered seedlings are everywhere. This dark pink strain is much better placed growing in the back corner near the shed.
shout out to Langley Fine Gardens of Vashon Island for growing hard-to-find annuals. I always find interesting things under Langley’s label at Portland Nursery, like this Salpiglossis ‘Gloomy Rival’
so glad this Eryngium variifolium comes back every year. A nearby Morina longifolia quit after two years or so
Forecast calls for a little rain the next few days, which if true would be rare for the normally summer-dry June. More soon, AGO
I’m tempted to say you saved the best for last (Eryngium variifolium) but it was all lovely. The rain! .38 here so far and it’s only just beginning, so chilly too…
I gushed over Verbascum phlomoides in your previous post, while it was still in bud: still gushing over its gorgeous creamy goodness. I hope it reseeds gently and true.
Having a small and manageable garden is best. It allows more time to enjoy your creation. (and you have two to manage!).
I love that Centaurea macrocephala!! Leaves, buds, blooms… When I looked it up online, it popped up on a couple of noxious week lists… maybe a different cultivar… š
@DG, you would pick out the most dangerous plant as a fav! Still raining on Saturday…
@Kris, I remember trying to start salpiglossis from its teeny-tiny seed and much prefer buying plants!
@Chavli, I saw that warning too about the centaurea so maybe not appropriate for large gardens bordering wild areas. “Gently and true” — the best reseeding!
I’ve always wanted to try Salpiglossis, but never did. What a beautiful plant. Everything looks so lush over there. Not enough rain. The great browning is starting inland already. Yee-uck! That boardwalk looks really good – Great job Marty! Pairs perfectly with the garden.
@Jerry, I like having access to a nursery like Langley that grows this fiddly stuff like salpiglossis. The rhodochiton vine from them last year lived over winter. And your tropolaeum from the Dirty Diggers sale is doing well too, we’ll see if it flowers. The lushness comes from dense planting in a small garden, a condensed effect. The front grass paths are already browning too, though the incredible rain yesterday might postpone complete browning — what a surprise!
I’m tempted to say you saved the best for last (Eryngium variifolium) but it was all lovely. The rain! .38 here so far and it’s only just beginning, so chilly too…
The Verbascums have never done that well here! I love the Salpiglossis too but wouldn’t even try it here.
I gushed over Verbascum phlomoides in your previous post, while it was still in bud: still gushing over its gorgeous creamy goodness. I hope it reseeds gently and true.
Having a small and manageable garden is best. It allows more time to enjoy your creation. (and you have two to manage!).
I love that Centaurea macrocephala!! Leaves, buds, blooms… When I looked it up online, it popped up on a couple of noxious week lists… maybe a different cultivar… š
You put together a beautiful vase, IAVOM worthy!
@DG, you would pick out the most dangerous plant as a fav! Still raining on Saturday…
@Kris, I remember trying to start salpiglossis from its teeny-tiny seed and much prefer buying plants!
@Chavli, I saw that warning too about the centaurea so maybe not appropriate for large gardens bordering wild areas. “Gently and true” — the best reseeding!
I’ve always wanted to try Salpiglossis, but never did. What a beautiful plant. Everything looks so lush over there. Not enough rain. The great browning is starting inland already. Yee-uck! That boardwalk looks really good – Great job Marty! Pairs perfectly with the garden.
@Jerry, I like having access to a nursery like Langley that grows this fiddly stuff like salpiglossis. The rhodochiton vine from them last year lived over winter. And your tropolaeum from the Dirty Diggers sale is doing well too, we’ll see if it flowers. The lushness comes from dense planting in a small garden, a condensed effect. The front grass paths are already browning too, though the incredible rain yesterday might postpone complete browning — what a surprise!
How fabulous! You must be thrilled with it.
Boardwalk is wonderful–and wonderfully crafted, too.