These gardens speak to me, Jane, although I've never been there. Here's a more direct link to the garden photos: https://www.blithewold.org/about/gardens/  Thanks for posting, Jane. Just beautiful! It must have been wonderful to wander about these lovely Victorian gardens.

Things are perking up now.

The pink ladyslippers are back! I found another plant nearby although the poison ivy is sneaking up on them and I didn't want to get too close to take better pictures.

Siberian irises are all over the place - this one placed itself near the Gold Heart dicentra which makes a nice color contrast. The bleeding hearts are still blooming.

The rugosa roses are opening:

Yankee Lady

Blanc Double de Coubert

Rhododendron 'Anah Kruschke' is in full bloom even if the squirrels ate most of the flower buds (it was covered with buds - I saw a squirrel bodysurf over the rhododendron).

A blueberry is flowering. It probably gets lots of berries but the birds and critters don't leave me any.

Spanish bluebells are blooming - my version of a bluebell wood:

Geranium macrorrhizum in front of an itea, a hydrangea, hostas and cotoneasters:

and the doublefile viburnums are in their prime:

Claire

I love those lady's slippers, Claire. My efforts to grow those, along with trillium and jack-in-the-pulpits, have not been successful, but I keep thinking that I should try again.

Thanks, spedigrees.

I forgot to add the pictures of the hellebore Goldfinch that is producing seed pods.

I never noticed this before.. I hope they germinate around the mother plant (they may have done this in past years without telling me).

Claire

I thought I planted Major Wheeler honeysuckle...maybe. In bud now, with miniature webs. Don’t see mites...lot of pollen...anybody know if this is normal? Many buds this year, plant is maybe 4 or 5.

Jane

Jane, I am not sure what is happening with your honeysuckle buds, but it doesn’t look like my Major Wheeler which progresss from tiny green buds, gradually morphs through pink as they expand and by the time they get to that size are bright red. Perhaps gently hose off the plant and then wait to see what colors the flowers open to. Then maybe someone can figure out what kind of honeysuckle you have or if they don’t open perhaps they are dark due to damage.

My ‘Mt. St. Helens’ azalea is nice. I love the bicolor of yellow and orange, with some hints of pink. Technically that makes it a tricolor, I guess.

I winter sowed some Johnny jump ups. These have got to be the tee tiddly tiniest blooms. So cute. My coffee cup is there for comparison, trying to serve them donuts, which they won’t eat. I don’t get it. Who doesn’t like donuts?

That azalea is absolutely magnifique, Deanna! I'm so envious!

The tall bearded irises have started to bloom.

Rustler is one of my favorites:

And an old inherited iris which I think is 'Wabash':

My first kousa dogwood volunteer has unusually small wrinkly leaves and small flowers:

Peonies are starting.

Claire

Now our lady slippers are appearing.

The peonies are getting pretty now, especially when they're next to a flowering rugosa rose (Yankee Lady).

The white ones with raspberry drips are Peony 'Festiva Maxima':

And Peony 'Serene Pastel' is more peachy.

Rugosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert' has more blooms - that's a small Dicentra 'Gold Heart' still blooming under it.

And the big Gold Heart has Geranium 'Biokovo' blooming at its feet. I always hope the timing will work since the geranium blooms later and the dicentra doesn't always last this long.

Claire

And the Bowl of Beauty peony opened its first bud this morning.

Claire

I have an azalea that I'm guessing is 'Daviesii'. It is beautiful and has a wonderful fragrance, like vanilla with a touch of citrus. Whenever I walk by it I can smell the fragrance. It's really lovely. And, it's in the worst back corner of the yard where we never really walk or go, behind the garage, where nary a window of the house can see it, and is often completely forgotten.

Lesson: Don't put an amazing plant somewhere just because there's a "spot" for it. Put it where you'll enjoy it!

But, this year you can enjoy it, too. (It was already here before us.)

NHBABS - there is nothing wrong with the honeysuckle. The problem was with the gardener who forgot the name and lost the label. It's healthy. (smile)

For anyone looking for an herbaceous, pretty care-free plant that grows to 6 feet tall in shade to part shade by mid-June every year, this is one. Persicaria polymorpha. I planted 6 plants on our back border 20 years ago. Not invasive here - very well behaved. Without fail, every summer we have an evergreen border that grows under a maple tree.. I'd plant it again.

AKA giant-fleece-flower

Jane

Jane, your honeysuckle is lovely. Any idea of which it is?

Deanna, your lovely azalea reminds me of Northern Hi-Lights, one of the light series that like all of them I am familiar with has a wafting scent. I covet the Mt. St. Helen’s azalea and will keep an eye out for it.

The grand dames are blooming now. I would like to thank who ever planted these years ago. This one, our largest, has got to be over 12 feet tall. I love the scene under the trees when they all bloom together.

UPDATE: Sorry for the previous typos. So much for seeing what I type on my phone!

NHBabs, I meant to respond in my last text about the azalea. If you’re talking about the tall light pink deciduous one behind the deck, after I did my initial research on it I thought it might be the northern lights series, as well. You don’t seem to see those much around here. If you’re talking about the bush-like Cream fragrant one, I had not thought of checking to see if it was a northern lights. Would make more sense that it was one of that series considering how healthy it is winter after winter. I just wish it was in a place where I could enjoy it more!

NH Babs: I found my Mt St Helens at Wentworth Gardens in Dover, NH. Just FYI. Nobody around me here carried it. I had called several places, even an unusual rhody specialist place on the next peninsula that has no office hours and seems impossible to figure out. I think you might just go there a dig a division or rooted stem of what he has on his acreage. One man show that needs some help in the office, I believe. Anyway, I was on the hunt and just happened by chance to see it at Wentworth during a quick trip to NH. I'm hoping for a second one to put against the house so the multicolor blooms can be enjoyed close up. Probably will have to wait for next year.

Corunum, that Persicaria is beautiful! A close relative, Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Taurus', has been on my "want list" and I have not been able to find it. I'm adding the polymorpha to the list. Is it really right under a maple, as in it seems to be drought tolerant and like dry shade? If so, another bonus!

And, as for more that is blooming here, my dianthus are stealing the show along with the salvias and catmint. I am thrilled. This pathway landscaping looks better than I imagined, and I am surprised that, in my eyes, the thing that kind of steals the show or gives it harmonious "bling" is the bright magenta dianthus (no ID, dug up barely alive from another place in the yard) dotted along the path. It adds just the right life and tension to an otherwise peaceful scene. The Bath's Pink looks calm and composed, and then the magenta dianthus blurts out, "ZING!"

To the right above the lamb's ear you see a big empty spot...where my six beautiful fancy coreopsis were last year. Three were a pale yellow/pink-red blend, and three were a clear pink-red. Now they are all dead and I am totally stumped as to what to plant in their place. I was able to purchase three more of the yellow/pink blend, but none of the other. I'll give those three one more chance. But, what else to put there has me stumped. Whatever it is, it should bloom in similar time to coreopsis so it complements the Veronica 'First Love' in front of it.

Thanks, Deanna. I may swing by one day after work if they still have any since I work about 1/2 hour away.

Northern Hi-Lights is white with a yellow blotch so from a distance the flowers read creamy and it’s nicely fragrant.

Jane, the Blithewold photos are gorgeous! Will definitely need to visit at some point.

I must admit that one of my favorite sights each year is the mishmash of plants waiting to go into the ground mixed in among the potted plants. It looks festive with all the blooms and pots. These will get attention as breaks in my painting project (what was I thinking?) allow.

FYI, there is a thread on Persicaria polymorpha over on the perennials forum.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5355671/it-is-that-time-of-year-for-ppmorpha#n=6

Drift roses are the first pic

New Dawn climber is second pic

‘America’ climber 3rd pic

My ‘idk what to do here’ mishmash of Knock Out rose, dianthus of some type I can’t remember lol, Nepeta Walkers low, bellflower, beard tongue in the top left corner behind hydrant(kinda hard to see but it has the purple leaves) is the 4th pic

I love the colorful plant combo with the colorful hydrant!

Love the decorated hydrant, too! Babs, I think you are right about my azalea being a Northern Hi-lights. Thank you!

Thanks, I had to do something near this hydrant...it was such an eyesore..still have yet to mulch this area(story of my life) but I just did 3 pickup truckloads of mulch and probably need 3 more lol..

This small bunny is living in our front perennial bed but seems to only be eating the clover, flowers and all, that's in the lawn. Very cute.

'Aloha' rose with 'Blue Boy' Clematis

Prairiemoon, cute bunny and gorgeous roses. Roses are not in my near future. Maybe once a couple of kids are disposed of, or maybe more than a couple, I'll have the guts to spend time figuring out roses. All the roses on this thread are beautiful!

The big grand dames look even better now. Just my favorite time for the "yard."

Thanks Deanna - When my kids were little, the only gardening I was doing was vegetable gardening. [g]. And the roses I grow are all easy care. If they require a lot of work, they don't make my list. I've tried about a dozen different varieties that were considered easy care but right now I only have three that have made the grade. They are not the biggest flowers or the most fragrant, but, they do have fragrance and they push out a lot of very pretty flowers and they look good, without issues and 100% no spraying for disease or pests. This pink one is 'Aloha'. I have a 'Julia Child' yellow and an apricot shrub rose called 'Prairie Sunrise'. I cut them back in spring, then add a layer of Alfalfa Meal and Compost around the base of the plant covered with some bark mulch and then more alfalfa meal after the first flush of growth, and that's all I do.

I love your Rhododendrons! It's great when they get that large. They must love the conditions in your yard. Beautiful!

Those rhododendrons are magnificent, deannatoby! And lovely roses, nessdizzle and pm2.

Well, since someone mentioned roses....

Rose 'Zephirine Drouhin' which is nearly thornless and thus well-suited to being close to porches:

That's a Hydrangea 'Blue Billow' behind it which is achingly close to blooming but not yet. They're lovely together if they manage to overlap.

Claire

Claire, I don’t know whether I have ever thanked you for posting your ZD photos. They sold me totally, and though she isn’t supposed to be hardy here, she has been so far, though dies down to the snow line. ZD is a delightful plant, especially when contrasted to New Dawn which I also have. I love ZD’s scent, rich color, and almost thornless stems. So thank you for sharing!

You're very welcome, NHBabs! I'm so glad you've managed to grow it in a frighteningly cold climate (at least from the rose's point of view).

Claire

Of all Mother Nature's craziness this past winter and spring, I find the fact that I lost some things that were supposed to be hardy less surprising than the fact that my Verbena bonariensis, only hardy to zone 7, has grown many healthy stems from the overwintered roots. What?!

These are old fashioned dianthus from Select Seeds. I like their airy feel, and they smell nice. They would be more effective behind another plant rather than on the border of the patio, so I'll move them. They are taller than I expected, a nice surprise.

And my 'Peach Pie' dianthus, which I believe came through winter fine but struggled in the April weather (but I could be totally wrong), had to be replaced. It's still looks great with these salmon dianthus, a wonderful coincidental pairing. I'm giving it one more year since the replacement plants were not expensive.

Lastly, one of my new peonies that was a favorite, Coral Sunset.

A few photos I took today. The callas did well this year. Gold coreopsis against the loads of lavender contrast well. I think the cactus flowers cascading over the boulders is a rare sight in New England.

Really beautiful! I have always been amazed at your cacti. Excellent photos. In the third photo I love the orange tiger lily with the pink flower, too.

Lovely, Bill. Any hope of some landscape photos? If not, that’s OK, but I love the interplay of rock work and plants in your gardens. The blooming cactus and the oak leaf hydrangeas backed by pink and orange are particularly striking. I also enjoy any garden with combos of blue or purple with yellow or orange.

Gorgeous flowers, Bill!

Itea virginica Henry's Garnet (Virgina sweetspire) is blooming now, to the delight of the bees and other pollinators.

Naturally, the itea couldn't wait for the Blue Billow hydrangea to bloom (the hydrangea is just starting). Hopefully they'll overlap within the next week or two.

The native Carolina rose has started to bloom.

Claire

Claire, I like that rose. My hydrangeas won't bloom this year.....too much winter dieback, so I had to cut them quite low.

How can it be June 29 and I haven't been visiting this thread? Everyone please imagine that I clicked "like" on all your photos. Deanna, your walkways with lambs ears and dianthus is stunning. NHBabs, I love your mishmash. And I love all the other photos, too. It's so much fun to see what people are growing. Thank you.

Lauren’s grape poppies are popping.

Bill, try Oakleaf Hydrangea. I haven't had one summer that they have not bloomed.

A bunch of my clematis are blooming.

Clematis texensis Tarpley River form

I think the one below is Rosemoor

Romantica

Serious Black

Venosa Violacea

Anne (Prairiemoon) I do have a huge Oak leaf, It's two of the photos posted above.

Nhbabs, those are some lovely Clematis. How big does that texensis get? Any repeat, or does it just bloom once?

Nekobus, I think that this is its third season in the ground here. My texensis is a bit rangier than many hybrid clematis and the nursery says 10-12’. Mine has gotten close to that, but it is difficult to judge since it climbs a 5’ trellis and then rambles across and through some shrubs. I know it had a relatively long bloom of several weeks, but not a lot at any one time. Unfortunately, I only took photos early in the season around now, but was gone for a good chunk of July and August, so I don’t remember exactly how long it bloomed for. I will try to keep better track this year.

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I'm looking into getting some additional US-native Clematis varieties, and it's tough finding reliable information on how some of the more southern ones do in New England.

Bill - now that you mention it - I did see your photo of the Oakleaf Hydrangea and it is a beautiful example of one that is well cared for. :-)