Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa) and Thermopsis villosa in background
A review of what is happening in my garden this week:
Mountain laurel (above), (Kalmia latifolia ‘Carousel’) is the best I’ve ever seen it and many local gardeners are reporting the same about their mountain laurel. The native white form grows in filtered light along the edges of acidic woodlands and disturbed land, such as under power lines. Some places look like great billowing mounds of snow have been dumped upon the land.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is peaking and there is a white one in the deck garden bed that is six feet tall. I think it has found an ideal place to live!
Allium azureum (below) is looking vibrant, although the photo doesn’t quite capture its cobalt color. I have wanted to grow this bulb for years and finally got around to putting some in last fall. I’m glad I did!
To the right is one of my last peonies (Paeonia lactiflora). I’ve really enjoyed their sweet fragrance this year and will miss them when they are done blooming.
The Korean dogwood (Cornus kousa) is looking great. Its blossoms look like hundreds of white butterflies have alighted on its branches.
Below is some form of Siberian iris hybrid, possibly an Japanese iris cross. I got it off a roadside cart, so have no idea its name. I love its perfect, striped buds. If anyone knows its name, please let me know.
And lastly, the catmint (Nepeta mussinii) is putting on a great show and the bees are loving it.
I’m linking up with Gillian at Country Gardens UK for her weekly ‘Looking Good’ garden showcase. Her flowers this week, as always, are looking quite beautiful!
Eliza Waters 
I love your garden! I liked that Catmint the most! 😊💖
Thank you, Trini! 🙂
🌸🦄👸🏼
Oh I want to sit here and read~
Something I love to do on a hot afternoon, in the shade of the maple trees. 🙂
I was going to say I love your garden, Eliza, but that Trini beat me to it! 🙂 Haha! Hi Trini!
Isn’t it funny how we all end up on each others’ sites? Like a big family.
Such great color in all your happy flowers. They look well loved.
Thanks for sharing.
Peace
Mary
Thank you, Mary. Yes, we are one big family! 🙂
I really love the foxglove.
Thank you, Kim. I love the way the fat, fuzzy bumblebees squeeze up inside the blossoms, buzzing happily!
I adore Nepeta (think maybe I was a cat in a former life!) and your mountain laurel is so pretty.
Thank you, Ann. The show has been pretty amazing this year. (I think I’m part cat, too! 😉 )
That iris is gorgeous 🙂
Thank you, Sue! So unusual an iris, I haven’t ever seen anything like it.
Neither have I…very beautiful!
🙂 thanks!
I particularly like the description of the Korean dogwood
Thank you, Derrick.
oh yes it is all ‘looking good’. Those foxgloves are fantastic and I also like your description of the dogwood.
Thank you kindly, Dorris!
What a beautiful display!
Thank you, Belinda!
I always hate to see the peony season end, but the lilies are starting. My catmint is looking good as well. Have a great weekend. 🙂
Thank you, Judy. It was a busy weekend – hope yours went well. I’ve given up on lilies, the European lily beetle has defeated me. 😦
What a great foxglove! I am interested to see your Oenothera fruticosa, as this is one I would also like to grow. It looks wonderful in a large clump. And your dogwood tree is so pretty. 🙂
Thank you, Cathy. My vase this week has a lot of sundrops in it, a good cut flower. Very easy to grow and spreads readily, but not invasively.
Truly ‘looking good!’ What a gorgeous display. You have some of my most favourite flowers.
Thank you so much, Debra!
Your garden is looking good indeed! I just love this time of year–everything is blooming. Do you grow clematis? I’m looking for one that can tolerate part shade/filtered sun. I’m considering Clematis virginiana, but am afraid it might be invasive.
Thank you, Ellen. I do grow several species of clematis. There are a few that will tolerate part sun. ‘Nelly Moser’ is the most common. C. alpina and C. paniculata are two species that will do well. C. virginiana will take over and is best left on the wooded edges, if you have any.
Thanks for the suggestions!
You’re welcome!
That white foxglove is amazing Eliza!! You have so much blooming right now. Lovely captures!
June is my favorite time in the garden 😎
Thank you, Val. June has so many wonderful flowers blooming. It really is a great time of year.
Absolutely beautiful.
Thank you, Gigi.
I adore catmint but so do the neighborhood cats who, unlike mine, aren’t confined to the indoors. The last time I planted it, 3 plants were eaten to the ground within a week and my Pipig went a little crazy seeing drunken cats lounging in her backyard.
LOL – that must have been a sight. I also have catnip plants, but the few neighborhood cats rarely venture through the yard. The dog scares them away.
My big ol’ Maine coon (RIP) used to head to the catnip patch every summer afternoon, feast, then pass out in the cool shade of the plants. I’d often find him there all blissed out. 😉 I miss that guy, he was quite a character.
Beautiful plants Eliza. It always amazes me that you are so far away and have a much harsher winter and yet we have many of the same plants flowering at the same time here in the UK. Isn’t nature amazing? I love your blue Allium in particular. Thanks very much for joining in with Looking Good.
Thank you, Gillian. I’ve thought the same. Your garden starts earlier, but ours catch up!
The secret serene garden…becomming more and more colorful and beautiful. Amazing 🙂
Thank you, Ann. 🙂
I don’t know what that iris is, but it sure is striking!
Thanks, Lisa. I’m beginning to think it is a breeder’s cross that didn’t make the big time! 😉
Really looking great this week, the white foxglove is stunning, the pink ones are pretty lovely too. The Nepeta isn’t one I know, it looks great, I must look out for it. Have a great week Eliza.
Thank you, Christina! I think Nepeta would do very well in your garden. Anyone who grows it, raves about it. A great plant!
It must be so amazing to take a walk through your garden! I would love to! But your photos help make it feel just like actually being there so that’s the next best thing! These are all beautiful! Thank you for sharing! Flowers are one of my favorite things about Spring & Summer! Not just the colors but the fragrances that fill the air. ❤ Also, just the feel of being around flowers is so calming and uplifting. 😀
You said it all, Kim. 🙂 A delight for all the senses!
You have an amazing display of flowers, that sure takes quite a lot of work, I am too busy to give enough time to my garden and it is a bit on the wild side but well, it is still a very rewarding place to be 🌼🌸🌱
Thank you, Annie. As long as you find respite in your garden, that is all that really matters!
A beautiful assortment! Your post here reminds me that I will miss the mountain laurel that grew on my property in Southern New Jersey. Here in Colorado I have a lot of that catmint … where I want it and where I don’t!
Thank you, Denise. Catmint can spread, but not as badly as catnip. I dig it out all the time!
Your gardens are a knockout, Eliza. I love your butterfly simile for the dogwood blooms.
Thank you so much, M!
Were you vacationing or just taking a tech hiatus?
A tech hiatus. Trying to get the biz website up & running. With 1000’s of pieces of inventory to be photographed & Photoshopped, I should be done by the time the next ice age starts.
😀 Oh, gawd, I feel for ya!
Don’t forget to come up for air. 😉
It looks like heaven. Beautiful plants, flowers and arrangements, Eliza. ❤
Thank you – greetings to the Fab 4!