Bogturtle's Garden- April 16 to end, 2023

 Started early, but so much is blooming that the beginning of the Month is loaded. 

Camellia 'Red Jade' again.

Kerria japonica 'Plena'. Must remind people of marigolds.

A few blooms on the flowering quince. Probably genus Chaenomeles, but of a unique color. C.'Cameo'. 

Dicentra spectablilis 'Alba' again. 

Another flowering quince, with a Japanese name I may not be able to find. This is the one that grew gigantic, and I cut it back last Fall. Probably most of the potential buds, unfortunately. 

Another Epimedium. And this one with lemon yellow blooms. Epimedium pinnatum ssp. colchicum, apparently. 

The blooms on this shrub make me think it is a Viburnum, and, perhaps, a cultivar of the species carlesii. The Spice Viburnum. And it does smell nice. Over the years I have assumed it was a Hydrangea.

The absolutely ground hugging evergreen, from New Zealand, comes in the normal purple pink, but I prefer the white flowered clone. Mazus reptans 'Alba', reptans related to creeping along, as many reptiles might. 

Enkianthus perulatus would never be a choice for bloom alone, even though it has these thousands of typical heath urn shaped little blooms. But the shrub is one of the most brilliantly scarlet in Fall. Particularly with a good bit of Sun.

While the flowers on any Epimedium may be impressive, if a cloud, the plants are actually, at least, as valuable as a weed surpressing, bright green, or red tinged ground cover. They crowd out Periwinkle, which is quite an accomplishment. 

Asarum europeaum is also looking its best. The flowers may be interesting, if you ever see them. The tight growing, glossy, deep green leaves seem to thrive in considerable shade.

Gelsemium sempervirens, I believe. The Confederate Jasmine is a southern vine. Mine trails high in the Spicebush by the lattice behind the little rock garden. Seems to have a nice odor, while not strong.

Only a few flowers, this year, on another  Epimedium. E. nivea, I think. The species name is about snow. 

The Spanish Squill is related to the famous English Bluebell. It is slowly becoming more and more common on the property. These are the nearest to blue it gets, while, along the front drive assorted shades, white, pink, purple pink, are along the walk edge and among the stepping stones.

Another color of Epimedium I am glad to have here. This is E. warlyense. I hope it increases.

Fothergilla 'Mt Ayrie' (sp?) is among the commonest and tallest growing clones of this wonderful shrub. Still, very underused. And these interesting flowers are only part of the attraction. This and many other clones can have the most spectacular flaming foliage in Fall. 

This native wildflower, the Celandine Poppy, Stylophorum diphylum, must be named for the color of the foliage. Celandine green seems to be a noted Chinese type of ceramic glaze. I don't know why these flowers are marred in any way. The plant must die down later in the year, having taken advantage onf the forest light that eventually gets excluded as all the trees come into leaf. Such plants are, generally, called Spring Ephemerals. This plant is a chance seedling. The parent plant is no longer where it once was, dying out for some reason. 

Here is this beautiful wildflower from a past year.

Lunaria biennis, the Money Plant grows one year and then blooms the second. Parts of the seed pods end up kind of flat and silvery, looking like coins. An extremely old choice for gardens with another common name, Honesty. As if growing it would bring wealth. 

Likely to be shown again, Viburnum 'Popcorn' is the most impressive of the many shrubs and trees around the back yard.

Lily of the Valley grows in several places here, but this group is just underneath the kitchen window, between the addition landing and the old part of the house. Slowly spreading, as the plant will.

Here is another species of the Serviceberry, Sarvis Tree, Shadbush, Juneberry. Amelanchier stolonifera.  Because, as the species name infers, it will spread with stolons into a colony, it is also called the Running Serviceberry. The berries, coming later, really taste good, while small and seedy.

Here is the white blooming clone of Akebia quinafolia.  Originally recommended to me by a book published by Reader's Digest. They suggested plants that were really 'no fail'. In fact, stand back. This vine reminds me of green surf and shows up far from its place on the lattice fence around the pool deck. Smells sort of like chocolate. 

Unlikely there is a pinker clone of Squilla hispanica. This clump grows at the edge of the walk to the front door. Originally planned as alternating pink, white, and so called blue. Nah! A colorful mess.

And seeds are germinating in the front walk. Too pretty to destroy, and most often the dominant blue-violet that is the color of the wild species. 

The Japanese Maple 'Bihou', I believe. Yellow barked, it showed up brilliantly and I took the photo through a window. 

The old cedar planting barrel was well rotted, so I found this plastic one, stained it my favorite driftwood gray, with the bands stained with black shoe polish liquid. Looks good, but how it will fair I cannot say. 

Just one end of the lens shaped bed behind the addition, with Mazus reptans 'Alba' blooming away. The shrub is the Double Red Knockout Rose. Big bushes were drastically pruned to a foot high, and are coming back even better than hoped. Already small buds at the tip of each ascending branch. After each rain, I try to get out there and spray with Deer and Rabbit repellent. Really needed.

So we do have one dwarfish clump of white Spanish Squill. More clumps growing from seed among the stepping stones of the front path than remain planted as bulbs along the path side.

In the little rock garden one white bloom is on the dwarf Iris from our Southern States called Iris cristata 'Alba'. Usually blooming blue-violet, a nearby clump of leaves of that normal form are showing no blooms, presently.

One of the first perennials ever purchased was Geum boresii. So long ago that the wonderful company has gone out of business. I think other Geums did not endure, but here it is in bloom again. And an evergreen.

The southern tree called the Silverbell, Halesia diptera, blooms briefly and beautifully across the yard from our bank of windows on the addition.

I repeat as the collection of plants goes through the yearly cycle. Viburnum pragense is a fine, dark green evergreen. A hybrid, apparently from the city of Prague, in Europe. The leaves are smaller, and don't hang like bassett hound ears, like one of its parents, V. rhitidophyllum do in cold weather.

Prunus arbutifolia, I think. The Chokecherry. An especially beautiful Fall coloration. P. a. 'brilliantissima'.

Another view of the area we walk past from screened porch to vehicles, with Asarum europeaum, shown before, Leucothoe, on the upper left, with lots of cream colored urn shaped flowers, Epimedium sulfureum again, the white bleeding heart and white blooming Fothergilla 'Mt Airy'. All shaded, to a degree, by the American Holly. 

Another Viburnum pragense, and, for some reason V. p. 'Decker'. Seems the same as the other, shown in these photos, recently. 

The other beautiful, if you like white flowers, Halesia. Just previously shown was H. diptera, that will form 2 winged seed pods. This, shown here, blooms a little later, and will have 3 winged seed pods. 

Halesia triptera. I imagine the British, or other, plant explorers, first coming to N. America, must have been overwhelmed with the beautiful new sorts of plants they found here. 

Viburnum 'Popcorn' again.

Strange that I see no blooms or any of this creeping Phlox, from our South, where I planted it in the main perennial bed.  It may be there. But here, with no explanation, one blooms in a pot with other plants, behind the pool. Phlox stolonifera.

Here, just next to the white form, recently shown, is the clone of the little native Iris cristata, or crested Iris. Iris c. 'Powder Blue Giant'.

This pale pink bloom of Clematis montana is among all the competing vines on the lattice that hides the pool side from where we park the vehicles. It can form absolute sheets of bloom, but, perhaps, only if not under this competition. Did have, and would order again, the pure white form, that seemed to have bigger flowers. C. m. 'Grandiflora'. 

Taken 4/29/23 since the camera was not working and only set up again yesterday afternoon.  The time and date need reset, but the temp. is, probably accurate. The picture does show how invisible a deer can be, if they don't move .