Posted on by Donna

Spring Lessons Learned for Bloom Day

“On this June day the buds in my garden are almost as enchanting as the open flowers. Things in bud bring, in the heat of a June noontide, the recollection of the loveliest days of the year – those days of May when all is suggested, nothing yet fulfilled.” Francis King

It is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day in the June garden.  A June that has been cool and wet.  I have had many blooms show up early, like the peonies above, because of the hot weather of May.  And many others that finally bloomed as the weather cooled in June.  Although my warm weather veggies are not happy with the cool, wet weather…who can win this year with the crazy seasons.

As part of this post, I also am joining Beth@PlantPostings for her Garden Lessons Learned meme as spring moves lazily in to summer.  I thought I would dive right into those lessons first…..

And what better way then to revisit my Seasonal Celebrations mantra for spring:

Open your mind to all that is possible this season.  It is amazing what experiences are awaiting you. Soften your gaze. Relax and look through eyes of wonderment.  Oh the things that you will see!

Trust me I have had to have quite an open mind this spring.  The experiences and challenges kept me focused on the acceptance that this will not be a typical spring.

 

1.  Just when you think you have it all under control, Nature takes her turn.

I have been going on the assumption that at some point spring would level out and be typical.  That maybe the warm March spring weather would continue, and we would have an early spring.  I am now convinced I do not know what  a typical spring means anymore.  I need to be like the frog and just go with it.  So March is warm, don’t be lulled into false hope.  Mr. Frog wasn’t.  The frogs stayed buried even through the warm March and April freezes.  They knew we would have more cold weather.  That is typical.  Just when it will happen is anyone’s guess.  We barely saw a frog until May.  And May was warm like July with no freezes or frosts.

 

 

2.  Even though things may not have turned out as planned, there are always other unexpected wonders to enjoy.

As warm March got things going, cold April stunted a few blooms and kept flowers blooming in limbo for weeks on end.  I had daffs for about 2 months, and wildflowers that bloom in days were here for weeks.  Then there was the hot May weather that took everything into overdrive.  Look how out of control the trees got and how much the other flowers filled in quickly compared to last year at this time.  Of course there were more blooms too this spring.  The clematis and roses are blooming more than I have ever seen before, and will make up for the lack of hydrangeas this year that were killed by the horrid April weather.

 

 

3.  There is a heaven on earth, and it is found in the garden.

We have been getting out in the garden earlier as the May heat hit, and what we found was heaven.  This allium schubertii was blooming early in our garden this year.  I encountered it in the early morning light as dew clung to ever petal, stem and leaf in the garden.  I am amazed at what I miss by not being in the garden in the morning.  The light dancing through the leaves and backlighting flowers creating stunning displays.  All of nature is awake singing and foraging.  Of course I have more energy when I start early in the garden and I beat the heat, both bonuses.

 

 

4.  Discovering peaceful times with wildlife, and not so peaceful times.

I do apologize for the quality of the photo, but I have a limited zoom lens.  We have seen more birds and species of birds in the yard this year than ever before.  Of course the attacking frogs of last year are gone, and there is more peace at the pond for timid birds like the cedar waxwing.  As we have increased our native plants and expanded the native habitat, more birds are coming, nesting, feeding and bathing and a few more butterflies.  I hope to see more butterflies soon.  We always have crazy bird antics here with fights over the bird houses and who gets in the pond first.  Then there is the daily fight between the nesting robins and the grackle that has been determined to get the eggs or the baby birds.  Recently as I was wandering after work through the garden, I spied a sparrow continually going into a very thorny climbing rose.  As I approached, I saw it was a parent feeding a fledgling who was scared and hiding amongst the branches, still trying out its wings a bit unsteady.  It was such a tender moment.  The critter party starts early here- about 4:30 am before dawn breaks, and the sky is about to lighten.

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So let’s get to the blooms that have been happening of late.  Since things have bloomed out of sync and sometimes too quickly to possibly be able to show in a post like this, I have put together a few collages of the best of the recent blooms.

 

I still have some columbines flowering.  Here are a few that came and went.  The top 3 from left to right are Nora Barlow that is still going strong on 2 seeded plants that surprised me this year.

 

 

 Siberian irises bloomed early with bearded iris and a few tall Dutch iris.  Some bearded are still blooming and I hope to see the Japanese iris soon.  My native iris are also blooming in the pond area.  Depending on the microclimate, the iris were blooming over the top, especially where they were closer to stone, rock or the house.   Some barely bloomed at all and many have not.  I attribute it more to the cold April than that they need dividing.

 

 

Alliums are still blooming although most purple ones were spent quickly with the May heat.  I plan to plant more this fall as I do adore this flower as do the pollinators.

 

Here are a few containers that have really excelled this year.  I decided to stop using any potting soil with fertilizer mixed in and opted for an organic potting soil.  The results have been amazing and I am finding my containers are blooming better than ever.  I actually haven’t fertilized  one yet.  I plan to soon.

 

 

This one of the two new hanging baskets I purchased on sale at the end of last season.  I absolutely love them and these newly planted baskets have been growing for a couple of weeks.  This shot is on the porch looking out.

 

 

These are my antique planters that flank the front porch step.  I adore the petunia I put in these pots.  It is actually one plant that was medium sized and has grown even more now.  I will be showing more shots of them in coming posts.  I just love them.  This shot was taken from the end of the porch looking in.

 

Well there you have it.  Lots flowering in the garden as I link in with May Dream Gardens and  Seepferds Garten on this GBBD.  As June heats up this week, the blooms should be popping up and filling in the garden beds.  Here comes summer!

“In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day.  No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.” ~Aldo Leopold

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Please join me for the next Seasonal Celebrations/Garden Lessons Learned.  Click the link to learn more.  Beth@PlantPostings will be wrapping up this past season with lessons we have learned in our gardens, and I will be setting the stage for next season’s celebrations (summer up N and Winter down S of the equator).  What do you love to do in the this upcoming season?  What holidays or rituals make it a wonderful season for you?  How does your garden grow and what favorite plants will be blooming?  I hope you will be joining us.  Just create a post and link in with both or one of us between June 1 and the 20th, and on the 20th we will reveal those lessons and celebrations.

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Next up on the blog:  Monday will be a special Garden Book Review of a brand new book by my blogger friend, Gardening Jones.  Then it will be time for another Simply The Best post.

I will be linking in with Michelle@Rambling Woods for her Nature Notes meme.  It is a great way to see what is happening in nature around the world every Wednesday.

As always, I’ll be joining Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.

I hope you will join me for my posts, every other Tuesday, at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.

Please remember, to comment click on the title of the post and the page will reload with the comments section.

All content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.

70 Replies to “Spring Lessons Learned for Bloom Day”

  1. So many lovely blooms, and I love the collages. Many of my flowers have bloomed too early as well. It’s interesting that so many people all over the world have reported the same this year.
    Such a nice post again Donna!

    1. Thank you Cathy and thanks again for your lovely post about the goat’s beard and my blog. It is amazing how weird the weather has been. I think because we are so attuned to it as gardeners that we notice it more.

  2. Beautiful, Donna. I liked your collages of recent flowers. The weather has been strange here too, seems like all over the world the seasons have been playing tricks. today it feels like mid-summer but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Christina

    1. We are finally headed to 90 degree weather for several days. Many flowers will bloom and go in this heat and no rain. But what can we do. I hope my veg garden does better. So glad you liked the collages. We are into clematis and roses now. Soon daylilies will bloom like crazy.

  3. Your collages are stunning, Donna! Thanks for linking in and collaborating. I’m learning that perfect weather for weeks on end keeps me away from my computer (world’s smallest violin, I know). But next year I’ll probably be stuck inside with lots of cold and rain, so I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts. Beautiful post!

    1. Thx Beth…glad you are enjoying lovely weather. Heat wave and drought headed here for a week or so. The heat will keep me out early and in by mid morning. Now that I can get to some weeding, the ground will be too dry.

  4. I really like seeing your garden from last year to this year and what a difference. I also like that you are seeing more birds since you planted more natives. I really like native plants more because of how they attract wildlife to my garden than for their flowers and foliage.

    1. I agree Mary…the added bonus for me is they are so interesting in bloom and foliage too so I hope others may be drawn to them. The catbirds and wrens are here. Robins and bluebirds fledged.

  5. Your blooms are all so lovely. Really nice impact in the collages. I enjoyed reading your lessons learned. Indeed it has been a weird year and I guess learning to be more flexible is the way to go! Great shot of your frog!! And, what a thrill to have more varieties of birds. Cedar Waxing is one bird I have never seen in my garden. They are so photogenic too.

    1. So glad you enjoyed the post Karin…if ever I learned the lesson of flexibility it was this year. I love seeing and hearing the waxwings although they are shy.

  6. the frog is a delight to see
    your front garden is lovely, I also really like your walkway

    the shot with all the water droplets is stunning

    1. Jeannine we found one pot at one antique shop and a few years later we found the other in another town. I have planted them for years, but this year found the right plant finally.

  9. That closeup of the Allium with the water droplets is superb! I like the June ’11 and June’12 comparison pictures. Love how everything has filled in. It will be time for me to do a follow up of another year’s growth. Can’t wait.

    1. Looking forward to that post Janet…I am thinking of doing more of these types of comparisons in the future. Glad you enjoyed the post!

  10. Great post and that is one handsome big boy frog..I should have used organic potting soil and didn’t think of it..My hydrangeas are not going to bloom either and some of the hostas look bad..but happy to see your beautiful garden Donna..Michelle

    1. Thx Michelle….I am going to dig out my veg bed and fill with compost, manure and the organic potting soil. The veggies there are not happy, but it will wait until fall. Here’s hoping for more blooms and some leveling out of the weather.

  11. Hi Donna,

    Plenty of lessons have been learned; although tbh, the only real lesson is that we never know what’s going to happen. And one thing is for certain – the weather is definitely changing.
    With out very heavy snow in the previous two winters – almost unheard of in England, and then the practically no winter, hot March, abysmal April, almost as bad May, 2 week heat wave at the end of May and blah June so far we just never really can tell what’s going to happen.

    *shakes fist at Jet stream causing crazy weather!*

    Anyway, it does look like I’ve had plenty of blooms to be enjoying! 😀 and I guess, at least that’s one positive point about having cooler weather! Blooms are hanging around much longer than normal.

    1. A very wise lesson Liz…expect the unexpected and you will not be disappointed. I love seeing all your beautiful blooms.

  12. It is always so frustrating to have a late cold spell, but the weather you experienced this spring must have been very discouraging. Still, I love that you listed #3. I, too, find that no matter what is blooming, I am happy to see it bloom, and the birds and bees and butterflies along with the blooms. I love your urns. Those petunias just look perfect in them. And of course, I love that they’re purple!

    1. Thank Holley and I knew you would love the purple! The urns are carefully stored each winter and lovingly planted in spring. I think my garden is so much more enjoyable with the critters who visit!

  13. I love all the color in your garden, especially the alliums and irises. And what a great way to display them with the collages.

  14. It looks like June is treating your garden well. You have much in bloom, but the Allium, Iris and Columbines are long gone or past prime here. I really like the last image, the vignette and the view.

    1. Well except for the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers Donna…they did not like the cold June we had. Now the weather has shifted so hopefully they will perk up more. So glad you enjoyed the urns with the petunias. I was walking by and saw them and hoped I could capture them.

  15. Hi Donna,

    It’s starts at about 4:30 here too. The robins sing their little hearts out. I absolutely LOVE it. It’s like a slice of heaven.

    Your Cedar Waxwing photo is really good. I know what you mean though. Whenever I want a photo of a bird, I have to zoom, take a bunch of photos and hope one will turn out. Then I crop a bunch of times. I wish I had the patience you obviously have.

    That Nora Barlow is amazing, isn’t she? I might have to get one of those. I saw it blooming in a nursery garden and was so enamored.

    Allium schubertii is amazing in your photo. Of course it helps that you’ve captured my two favorite colors: pink and green!

    Your wire hanging basket is awesome. Score! And the purple petunias in the antique pots are amazingly full for so early in the season.

    Summer: Bring it on. I’m ready! 🙂

    1. Thx Grace….I can send you some seeds of the Nora Grace to see if they will take…I can’t wait for the hanging baskets to grow in…it is always amazing to see how they mix together..I’m ready too!!

  16. Wow Donna, you have a lot there blooming and mostly my favorite hues not present in the hot tropics. The collages are lovely but most of all that photo of the allium both alone and in the collage is what i love best! So fabulous, as they say! And i fully agree when you said they “bloomed out of sync”, which is also what happens in our world now. Climate change? maybe!

    1. We shall see Andrea if there is really climate change…..glad you enjoyed the post with your favorite colors…and that allium is great although it does not bloom again in my garden. I have to plant it every year.

  17. Wow Donna, your garden is looking absolutely AWESOME!! You must be revelling in it right now. I am totally in love with your antique planters. I’ve been hunting high and low for something like them. I have to keep looking because they look amazing!

    Enjoy your garden! You must be very very proud of it all. xxx

    1. Thx Christine…I found the planters in 2 different antique shops but with the internet, who knows now. So glad you enjoyed the blooms and as summer heats up, we should see more blooms….in a bit of a lull with roses mostly blooming now.

  18. Hi Donna!
    Beautiful beautiful beautiful alliums!
    I agree with Liz, sometimes we need to just accept what happens in our garden in the good and the bad circumstances. Hopefully that border looks more filled and harmonious this year that the last, certainly that hydrangea was a great feature though. I suggest you may try an hydrangea arborescens (like Annabelle) rather than a macrophylla if you have problems with late frosts. Arborescens flowers in new growth (so that it can be trimmed low even more than once in spring) while macrophylla produces flower buds during the previous season for the main blooming (it could produce latter flowers in new growth though). Maybe move this one to a more sheltered position an replace it with an Annabelle.

    1. Thx Alberto…I have Annabelle in the back garden…she seems to enjoy a bit of shade back there. The hydrangea in front is a cultivar called Endless Summer that is supposed to bloom on old and new wood. Not sure if it will bloom though because of the constant late freezes which forced it to grow only new wood this year. But even a few blooms will be nice. I will probably replace many of the macrophylla that just don’t bloom enough with other more reliable bushes….you should see the blooms though on my oakleaf hydrangeas…first year they actually bloomed to profusion and I almost got ride of them.

  19. In spite of the weather, your garden is amazing. I love the close-up pic of the Allium. And I’m extremely envious of your Columbine plants; they’re one of my favorites, and although I’m still trying – to date, I haven’t grown what I consider to be a pretty one.

    1. Sandy how nice to have you visit…I find many of the Barlow columbines are gorgeous. Glad you enjoyed the blooms.

  20. Beautiful Donna! Your containers are show-stoppers. My Alliums (aside from Chives) have not bloomed yet. This year I have Cedar Waxwings, too! I envy all your Columbines – just beautiful.

    1. Thx Kathy. This year I am finally pleased with my containers. Others have been slow to grow but these are amazing. How unusual that your alliums have not bloomed yet and mine have. Aren’t those waxwings the cutest.

  24. Another feast for the eyes in the GBBD post. The Columbines were fantastic and those Irises are beautiful. I really loved that purple Petunia in those antique planters!

  26. Donna your garden is always full of such beautiful blooms, I remeber a saying from when I was young, take each day as it comes, perhaps good advice for us all and not just in our gardens, take care, Frances

    1. Lovely advice Frances…something I will be doing this summer since we have no idea what it will hold for us or our gardens….here’s to a warm, sunny summer for you!

  28. Lovely, thought-provoking post, with beautiful pictures, as always! Keeping an open mind is a good motto when gardening, especially when some things are out of your control anyway. Such a striking contrast–the two pictures from this year and last. I’ve noticed more birds around the garden and neighborhood this year too, and like yours, they start chirping at 4:30 every morning. I’d rather hear birds than a blaring alarm clock, though. 🙂

  29. Wow – breathtaking photo of the allium, Donna. Your collages are gorgeous. Love columbines – can’t say I have a favorite flower, but columbines are definitely up there.

  30. It seems like such a happy spring there in spite of the crazy weather. I sure enjoyed your talk about the birds and attack frogs. I find the creatures in the garden as interesting as the blooms. Happy Bloom Day.~~Dee

    1. Thanks Dee and glad you enjoyed the post. I agree the critters make the garden so much more enjoyable. Happy GBBD!

  32. wow…you are an amazing photographer!!!
    thanks for linking in this week!!! I am sharing this on the Tootsie Time facebook page!

    Until next time….Happy Gardening!

    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
    ¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

  33. Donna, I’m late getting caught up with this, but I’m amazed at how much you already have blooming. I love all your irises; as you know, I’m partial to irises, especially the Siberians, and you have some wonderful varieties. Is the yellow and white one in the center of your collage ‘Butter and Sugar,’ the McEwen classic that was the first non-blue/violet Siberian iris ever bred? I hope your garden is continuing to delight you every day as summer really kicks into high gear.

    1. Yes Jean it is Butter and Sugar. I have adored this Siberian for years and am so thrilled to see if growing well in the garden. I have become so enamored with irises I just keep adding more. Tucking them in here and there. The Japanese iris are just blooming now. They are very showy and love all the attention. The heat and rain have definitely helped get the blooms going. So much starting to bloom now…Coneflowers and daylilies everywhere with buds and starting to burst…it is a surprise everyday…I am always willing to share so if you want some Butter and Sugar I could make a good attempt and getting some pieces to send. Of course I would have to remember where the plant is, but I think I can remember 🙂

  34. Great lessons for any gardener, Donna! The photos of your front garden from last year compared to this year dramatically show what a difference this year has been. I love your lavender petunia, too–it looks like a ‘Bordeux’ that I also have, which performed so well last year that I had to get another one this year.

    1. I hope I kept the tag on the petunia…I definitely want it again. So glad you enjoyed the post and lessons Rose.

  35. Much to learn, much to see, and much to think about in your post.

    Our birds start that early here also, nice to know that we aren’t the only ones not getting sleep.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

    1. Jen I am glad you enjoyed the thought provoking post…I seem to be up at 4:45 these days just in time to see the eastern sky lighten and hear the wren raise a raucous noise.

  36. Donna, looking back over these last few months there seems to be a pattern emerging. The weather is becoming more unpredictable.

    Over here in the UK it’s been the wettest weather on record and the dullest since 1987. In many places in the States I you’ve had terrible droughts.

    Looking at your containers with petunias, I have almost exactly the same displays & colours; I think they’ve been the most successful. Good news is that the sun in now coming out and things seem to be settling down for the autumn/fall.

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