The Dawn of Summer, Part III



This is the third installment of my ongoing series on summer's sprouting. Today we're going to see some of summer's best beauties, as well as a big, expensive toy. For more on that, read on.

 

To begin, here is a white clover flower. It isn't big, or showy, or even in focus, but it does make one more hesitant to use broadleaf herbicides on the lawn.

 



This picture sums up my feelings about irises: they're regal and always surprising. I've seen the lavender/periwinkle color before, but the pink/purple/gold variety is new to me. I don't think you can go wrong with color combinations when it comes to irises.

Even the necrotic tissue below that bud is elegantly shaped. That's impressive.

Here's a better shot of the multicolored blooms. Each color brings new sophistication to the whole. Stay tuned to my next couple of "Dawn of Summer" posts for more iris configurations.

The other great flower I noticed while I was home was peonies. According to my mother, peonies smell like roses used to. It's a vaguely sweet smell that enters your nostrils subtly, like the scent of marigolds. However, the smell of peonies is less controversial than that of marigolds. We had some peonies in my house for a couple of days over the weekend, and it was a pleasant experience.

See the sign on the tree in the picture above? That's a "No Trespassing" sign. However, I braved the warning to get a better shot of some peonies hanging out with yet another color of irises. The gold and maroon remind me of a crown.

I'm not entirely certain about the identity of this bush. The flowers look like dogwood flowers, but I've never seen a dogwood bush. The plant sure stands out, though. It must be fifteen feet tall.

See? The petals have the characteristic notches that dogwood flowers do. I wonder if dogwood can be trained or bred into bush form.

Lastly, a random neighborhood shot. This Corvette looks like something Adam West would drive.

Have you ever seen a plant in a form you didn't think possible? What colors of irises have you seen lately?

Next post: possibly potherbs.

The Dawn of Summer, Part I

I'm back in College Town, USA, all moved into my apartment. All my plants made it more or less safely, and I'm really happy with all the space I have. But before I show all that, I'd like to begin an ongoing (for a while) series of posts about the plants I saw thriving at home while I was visiting. I took a long walk around the neighborhood(s) to photograph irises, but I found an even greater aesthetic bounty than I anticipated. So that's what all these "The Dawn of Summer" posts are about. Without further ado, let's get started!

The first thing that stuck out to me when I arrived in town was that honeysuckles were in bloom. I could waste hours sucking on honeysuckles, but in this case I merely snapped a shot of an aggressive honeysuckle bush.

This journey of mine really begins, though, in my backyard, which is where it will end. These hulking bushes are pyracantha (also known as firethorn). When pyracantha aren't fiery, they are sweet as can be, pictured here.

I can see the appeal of these plants. They are the best of both worlds: a dramatic accent in the fall and a subtle delight in the spring and early summer.

Next we have a planter full of Vinca major (better known as periwinkle). I like this bush because it only produces occasional flowers. There is room in this world for knockout roses that are taken over by blooms, but it is nice to see a plant that merely nestles a few in between its leaves. I'm also a fan of the variegated leaves on our periwinkle.

While horticulturally insignificant and often overlooked, clover flowers are as good an announcement of summer's approach as any other.

Down the street a ways are some clematis. Talk about an accent plant. Clematis' blooms are bold and big, and eventually this plant will reach the top of that trellis and then it will steal all the attention.

Next to the clematis is the first blooming hydrangea I've seen this year. Whatever variety this is, it would be perfect in a moonlight garden. Peonies are out too, and they would be perfect as well. You couldn't combine them though. You'd have to choose between them, I guess based on how much you value smell and how tall of a bush you wanted. I have no idea what I'd pick in that instance, as both plants hold a lot of nostalgia for me, and both are valuable plants.

Have you seen any hydrangea blooms yet? What's been stealing the show in your neighborhood?

Next post: my plants' new home.