...And Yet More Blooms

It's a cool, rainy day and so many of the perennials in the garden are opening their blooms. Dwarf bearded iris (Iris pumila) is a plant that I highly recommend to anyone with a sunny border or rock garden. They come in a variety of colors. This plant grows only to about 6 inches tall max., and it will very quickly form nice clumps that can be divided every 2 years. I bought one plant and after 3 years I divided it into five large pieces and several smaller ones (this was 2 years ago). Then I traded off the smaller ones at the spring perennial exchange held by the EHS, and kept the larger ones. Last year I divided the largest piece again and traded the smaller pieces. This year it doesn't look like I'll have any extra pieces, but I'm sure I will next year. In one of my sunny borders I have four of my five existing clumps, which will put on quite a show this year; these are the first blooms to appear. As you can see these flower a few weeks before other irises (here irises flower in early-mid June).

Ramonda myconi is a very rare plant from the mountainous region of northern Spain. It is often called Pyrenean primrose, or simply Ramonda. Its pretty flowers remind me of shooting star (which is in the primrose family), but the two are not related. It is best grown on a slope or even vertically in rocky substrate, due to its very high susceptibility to crown rot. I just bought this plant the other day.

Lilium martagon is one of my favorite lily species. It has led to a wide selection of beautiful shade-tolerating lily hybrids called martagons.

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) is so-called because the cross-section of the roots looks like the seal of King Solomon. It is an awesome shade plant that will grow in FULL shade and forms clumps of graceful arching stems over time. The tiny green-tipped white flowers are very difficult to photograph. These will be followed by purple berries later in the summer.

This dwarf daffodil has been struggling to grow in a hot, sunny spot in my garden. Here is pictured the single, cute little flower it has produced.