Caradonna salvia with Lightning Flash coreopsis. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
The roses (Rosa) are in full bloom for this Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, including the Flower Carpet and StoryBook brands. I love all of them even though I hate thorny plants.
This spring, I tore out the Knock Out Red because it was in the wrong place and because I was tired of it and tired of seeing it everywhere.
StoryBook Rose ‘Little Women’ pink; StoryBook Rose ‘Moby Dick’ white; StoryBook Rose ‘Showboat’ red. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
The StoryBook roses are well-named, lovely relief. The flowers are very floriferous and the plants are small and compact. They are the ones I see from my bedroom window.
The StoryBook roses came from Jo Robertson, a member of Garden Writers Association, who regularly attends the annual symposiums. She’s also the person associated with All-American Daylily, plants that are very garden worthy.
The Flower Carpet roses, introduced by Anthony Tesselaar International Plant and promoted by PR guru Sally Ferguson, also are quite attractive this year. They are a bit smaller than Knock Outs and their colors seems more pleasing to me. I particularly like Scarlet and Amber, two babes that make good companions for ‘Walker’s Low’ Nepeta.
A few weeks ago, I got another 32 rose plugs from a California grower. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them…maybe put them at the end of my driveway with a sign: Free!
Elsewhere, the ‘Caradonna’ Salvia fronts the light blue false indigo (Baptisia) that I’ve lost the tag for. Also in the bed are Blooms of Bressingham’s ‘Amethyst in Snow’ and ‘Amethyst Dream’ (Centaurea). The latter was moved from the front yard, along with a tall, yellow leaf coreopsis that I got years ago from Terra Nova Nurseries. But ‘Lightning Flash’ (Coreopsis tripteris) lost its gold color because it was in too much shade. Today, it is golden, making a nice contrast with the blue perennials already mentioned.
Penstemon Prairie Twilight. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Penstemon ‘Prairie Twilight’ has just been a delight. This is its third year and now I’m on the hunt for more penstemon. This spring to early summer perennials is another Blooms of Bressingham intro.
One of my mother’s favorite plants is blooming now, too, a mock orange (Philadelphus). It is hard to ignore because of the ever-so-brief fabulous fragrance. This particular plant was given to me by my friend Linda and it comes from her family’s farm in Illinois. We figure it’s more than 100 years old. White Dome hydrangea (H. arborescens) is ready to burst into bloom, too.
Thanks to May Dreams Gardens for being the host of Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. If you have a blog, consider posting what’s going on in your garden on the 15th of the month.
Mock orange and White Dome. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Loved seeing your blooms. I’m sick of regular red Knockout too, and yet, mine are so healthy and luscious, I keep them. 🙂 Double Knockout is pretty this year too, and the bed where they are is so neglected. Oh well. Happy Bloom Day my friend. Here’s to plenty of rain in the Hoosier State.~~Dee
I only have the yellow Knockout rose and hasn’t bloomed all that much yet. They are huge and I may cut them back a bit. Love the penstemons, too. Gotta have more of them.