What's Blooming on Shore Drive - June 14th Edition

We have gotten so much rain in the past week. And its been chilly too; highs in the 60's, lows in the 50's. Everything is holding up well, however. They wouldn't mind some sunshine and a little heat, especially the vegetable garden, but the flowers seem happy.

I had some Maple Leaf Viburnum blooming along the rock wall, but I waited a couple of days too many to take their picture. They were very fleeting this year, now you see them, now you don't.

Doesn't this guy have a great bug sitting on it!

I have a variety of Asters blooming in the wilder spots in the garden. There are so many Asters, and they are difficult to identify, even for experts. And DNA testing has made it even more complicated, as they keep moving the Asters around to different genuses. I think I will be content to call any wild daisy-like plant an Aster, and leave it at that.

My Peonies are even more spectacular than last week! All the rain has made them pretty droopy, however. And they will go from extreme beauty to blowsy overdoneness in the next week, probably. I'm enjoying them now. I do have a problem in the bed that contains the strawberries and clematis, as well as the peonies. The peonies have gotten large enough that they seem kind of crowded this year. Maybe next spring I will move them somewhere else.

Speaking of clematis, the pink flowered plant has finished blooming. I have another clematis with delicate white flowers that is blooming now. It won't stay for very long, however. I wish I had a late summer clematis. Maybe if I move the peonies there would be room in this flower bed to add something that likes to climb an arbor and blooms later in the season?

My roses are starting to look wonderful. I really lucked out with the varieties I chose last year, because if they do the same thing this year, I will have roses blooming for most of the summer. I just need to remember to deadhead!

This little coral bell is starting to bloom this week. It looks a little lonely...I think I need more coral bells!

I bought some Lambs Ears a couple of weeks ago at the Windham Garden Club sale. I bought them for their foliage; I had no idea they had pretty pink flowers too!

Remember the spirea from last week? See how its not blooming that much this year? And how big it still is, even after pruning? I want to prune it more, but I don't want to discourage the blooms too much. I have a chart that explains when to prune various plants; I better refer to it before I attack these plants again!

The dogwood's flowers are slowly turning pink, but they have a ways to go.

I think containers have a place in any garden, don't you? Here's one I made with sweet potato vines, coleus and nasturtiums. It will look especially nice when the nasturtiums bloom, don't you think?