Backyard Gardens

My allergies are still bothering me but I felt well enough to venture outside to work in the gardens. I didn't last long and did not accomplish much before my sneezing and coughing drove me back inside. Before I left for the clean air indoors, I took these pictures of the backyard gardens:

This is a common iris but it has a fragrance of Welch's Grape Juice.

No kidding!!

Centaurea Cyanus or common name, Cornflower, Bachelor's Button

I love the electric blue color of this flower. They spread but are not invasive.

A view of the Columbine flowers. They are all kinds of pinks, blues and purples. The bees hybridize the Columbine and create all sorts of interesting colors and flower forms. Some are small, some large, some are double and triple petals. They seed throughout the garden and sometimes I help and spread the seeds myself.

This is a miniature pink columbine that I purchased. All of the others are volunteers from my neighbor Janet. She is an avid gardener too.

Columbine and Cornflower in the back north garden.
A large purple columbine in the large garden across the back of my yard. Columbine really prefer shady areas, but mine seem to do okay in the full sun as well.
A view of the "Red Dragon" Japanese Maple I planted last summer. I protected it with wire mesh filled with dried leaves over the winter and it seems to have survived. I was more worried about the rabbits eating the branches and randomly pruning it than I was about the temperatures.
A view of the shadier part of the garden across the back of the yard. The "Bloodgood" Japanese Maple was purchased several years ago at Horrocks on clearance. It was a pitiful looking plant but I nursed it along. One winter the rabbits severely pruned it and miraculously the tree just sprung to life the following spring and has really taken off. I am very fond of Japanese Maples and have six in my backyard.
I planted this Colorado Blue Spruce when it was just a seedling around 1992. It is getting very big and is the only Spruce in my yard since the seven original Spruce trees were sadly removed. Next to the Spruce are two hydrangea, the one in front is "Annabelle" and the one at the rear is a Paniculata Hydrangea "Limelight". "Annabelle" is very hardy.
I rescued these ferns a few years ago from my neighbors yard. They were growing on the north side of his garage and he kept mowing them down. One time when he was on vacation and had not mowed at his usual time, I rescued them and they are now growing quite hardily.
An up close of the rescued fern. I don't know the name of it. Do you??
My "Miss Kim" Korean Lilac is almost in full bloom. It is a miniature lilac meaning that the leaves and flowers are smaller than other lilacs. It still gets very tall. It blooms a few weeks later than other lilacs and often has a second bloom in late summer. It is very fragrant when in full bloom.
This is the only red flowered plant in my yard. If you know me, you know I really dislike the color red. This oriental poppy is the exception. The buds are currently white but when they "pop" the blossom is red. It has been in my garden for at least 16 years and never fails to astound me. It gets about 5 - 6 feet tall and has the most beautiful blue red flowers on it. They don't last long. I will try to post a picture when it is in bloom.
A view of the garden on the north side of my garage. The white flowered ground cover is Sweet Woodruff. It spreads like a thick carpet and likes the shade. It is an herb that is used to flavor May Wine. At the far left of the picture are some day lilies that I completely dug up and removed from this garden several years ago. I guess I missed some!!!! These are those common orange day lilies you see along the roadside. They are very hardy. I have some Hosta in this garden but they are being choked out by the day lilies and the Sweet Woodruff so I need to move them in the fall.