Wednesday, June 03, 2009

June: Made in the shade

It's a chilly, overcast day, expected high in the low 60s. Not quite what we envision for June but hey, it's better than 90 and humid! Let's go see what's blooming in the McGarden today, shall we?

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The shade garden has filled in nicely, and the Rhododendron 'Roseum Elegans' is in full bloom. My iron sunbathing frogs are getting lost in the foliage. I'll have to move them elsewhere.

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My lone Siberian iris. I bought lots but multiple years with unexpected January thaws took their toll, and this is the only one left.

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Tradescantia ohioensis, spiderwort 'Little Doll' (left) and T. bracteata, prairie spiderwort. One of these is dropping volunteers all over the place but I won't know which until the little ones bloom. 'Little Doll' desperately needs dividing before it swallows the little bluestem grass to its left. Add that to the "to do" list!

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Baptisia australis, blue false indigo. It's just not as impressive as the ones at Lurie Garden but I love it. Fabaceous plants have the neatest floral structure. Let's look closer:
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And closer still:
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The standard forms the upright banner, the wings protrude forward, and the keel is tucked inside (you can see a keel on the leftmost flower because it's missing a wing). The fruit will be an inflated legume which when dry makes a rattling sound when shaken.

5 comments:

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

How do you keep your Rhodie so happy? Most of the ones I see around here look pretty sad. I also love Baptisia. Last year mine bloomed for the first time, but I didn't get to enjoy the seedpods because a deer came and ate it. I'm going to make sure I protect it this year.

Diane said...

MMD - The rhodie is hiding in a shady corner that gets approx. 30 minutes of sun, first thing in the morning. It's also kind of damp b/c the neighbor's downspout leaks. It doesn't grow very fast, just a couple of inches a year, but that may be all I can hope for!

Cathy S. said...

Hey, Sorry to have missed you at the spring fling. Please stop by my blog I have an award for you.

Layanee said...

Your garden looks beautiful and I do recognize you but we did not have any deep conversation....yet! Did you come late and leave early? Life does get in the way doesn't it. Nice to find this blog and another Chicago garden.

LINDA from Each Little World said...

Diane — so glad your picture is on your blog! I am still trying to keep everyone straight and it was great to be able to immediately put you in context.

I love Baptisia; we had one at our last, very sunny garden. It took awhile but eventually it was a big fat, floriforous shrub.

Thanks so much for stopping by our blog and we will be keeping an eye on yours.