Colourful and Fragrant Blooms
Perhaps inspired by the proliferation of blooms around them, Chester gardeners took advantage of warm weather last week to devote themselves to garden chores and to invest in yet another season’s worth of new plantings. Some new plantings along with a few old favourites are featured in this post.
The first blossoms of a few blue Salvia plants (above) hold the promise of fuller blooms once the new plantings become established. Below, an Azalea (Brazil flame) was just beginning to open on May 31st and then, four days later it was in full bloom.
Rhododendrons and azaleas do very well in our climate. The white flowers below are on an Azalea named Chelsea Reach, which has a lovely fragrance.
The name of the peach-coloured azalea below is lost in the mists of time but it too gives off a heavenly perfume as one walks by.
Although many lilacs are past their “best before” date, the pale pink variety seen below is just coming into its own and continues the scent-filled tradition of its mauve cousins.
Water gardens are sometimes overlooked in our area, perhaps because our daily lives are so marked by the vast ocean at our side. Instead, it is earthy garden beds, orchards and farms that dominate the landscape in our county. There are, however, many ponds, marshes and lakes in the surrounding area and some gardeners have started to take an interest in water features for their gardens. The Iris pseudacorus (below) is an early bloomer, followed later in the summer by waterlilies. (The fish are resident in the pond year-round.)
Another yellow beauty in full bloom now is the unidentified shrub below. It started as merely a few cuttings from a friend’s garden. They took root, thrived, and developed into the exuberant plant we see below. The yellow flower heads are like pom-poms and I can’t find its likeness in my plant encyclopedia. If anyone can advise me of its botanical name I would be grateful.
Many gardeners of all interests and specialties will gather next weekend in the Annapolis Valley for the annual convention of the Nova Scotia Association of Garden Clubs. Guest speakers, tours of gardens and vineyards, as well as the opportunity to brouse vendors’ displays, will make for a busy program.
0 Replies to “Colourful and Fragrant Blooms”
I saw the yellow flowering shrub in the May 2012 issue of Gardens East “Who Loves Dry Shade.” It looks like Kerria japonica.
Thanks, Grace, for clarifying the name. The photo in my encyclopedia didn’t do the shrub justice. Perhaps the pom-pom look is because of its double-flowering habit.