June Delights Abound - Aquilegia, Trollius, Peony, Geums, Crabapples, Cherries and more

 The nursery is looking great now with all the new plants that have arrived as well as so much color and texture. Linda does a great job setting up displays of things that really compliment each other.
This table is inside the nursery in front of the potting shed and now holds variegated iris, 'Black Beauty' Sambucus, lavenders, heucheras and Primula 'Green Lace'.

                                                     Aquilegia 'Yellow Queen'
Aquilegia 'Yellow Queen' is one of my favorite columbines with it's clear yellow flowers in two tones and long spurs for a dramatic effect. It would look great coming up under Sambucus 'Black Beauty' or any other purple leafed shrub. Also nice in a woodland garden with hellebores and pulmonaria's.

 This is one of those outrageous Itoh peony's 'Singing in the Rain'. It is a hybrid between and tree peony and an herbaceous peony- getting the stronger stems of the tree but the tidy quality of the herbaceous peony. When it started to open last week when I photographed it there was this great coral color. This week the petals are a soft yellow. One thing that's so fun about these peonies is their chameleon quality with the color. They are very hardy and good growers so even thought they cost a bit I think they are worth the investment - getting  bigger each year with more blooms for cutting.

                                                         Campanula 'Sarastro'
Campanula 'Sarastro' is a good clumping 26" tall perennial with fat long bells of a deep blue purple.
A terrific cut flower and will just keep on blooming if you cut them. It's a richer color than this photo shows.

                                Geum 'Double Bloody Mary'

This very true red geum does not show it true color so well in this photo. It is a long bloomer and has the ruffly blooms like a little rose. I also like to us geum's as a cut flower - they hold up surprisingly long inside. The foliage is evergreen so keeps a presence in the garden all through the winter as well.
Good for the front of the border.

 Nursery set up with Weigela ' Minor Black', Weigela 'Rubidor',        Phygelius 'Moonraker' & Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold'


Throughout the nursery you will find nice combos of plants that we have set up to both look nice and perhaps give you new ideas of what to mix together.

                         Wire planting cones lined with moss.
We have started potting up a few hanging baskets and thought a different shape would be a nice change to the garden of porch. This cone is large - 14" diameter at the top and once the callibrachoa fill in and trail down more along with the lobelia is will be quite stunning.

                                                     Prunus 'Royal Burgandy'
For the rest of June we are having our 3 different ornamental cherries on sale for 20% off. This 'Royal Burgandy' is a striking one with the deep purple leaves and double pink flowers. Of course the bark is a highlight on the cherries as well.

                                                             Malus 'Show Time'

This is a new crabapple for us this year. It was developed to take the place of 'Prairie Fire' who had great coloring but not such a good growth habit. Malus 'Show Time' does not get too big and has the most vivid color flowers as well as a purple tone to the foliage.

                               Viburnum pl. tom. 'Popcorn'

A great newer viburnum for smaller gardens. It gets only about 6' tall and wide so won't spread out so much as many of our older viburnums do. It is covered with clean white snowballs of flowers - or popcorn balls more to the point. Fall color of the foliage is an extra bonus with deep red / burgundy tones.

                                                        Eryngium 'Jade Frost'

We all like sea hollies and their dramatic star shaped blue prickily flowers. Jade Frost adds that extra kick of cream and pink variegated foliage so even a longer season of interest on this good perennial.

                                    Trollius 'Cheddar'

This is an early blooming perennial for a shady area with the most stunning flower color of the softest yellow.
 It likes fairly rich soil but is a tough plant too. I wish it had been named something else that more accurately describes the color,  as it deserves an honored spot in any garden. And yes it is another gorgeous cutting flower.