June in my garden

 This veronica - speedwell - grows in the cutting garden.  Despite the shade from the trees surrounding this garden room, the Veronica is doing well.  I have added a pink one to the mix this year.  It grows 12 - 14 inches tall.  The spikes are good for bouquets and the butterflies like it. I have a taller white veronica that has been a good plant for many years, growing in the boulevard garden.

 Ventian depresso, although I cannot find a listing for that name.  I bought it at the VIRAGS show and sale this year.  I is blooming so I guess it is happy in its new spot in the little rockery in the back garden.

 The Lychnis Coronaria are looking great this year.  The seed has produce a lot of plants.  They grow in the front strip of the boulevard garden next to the plum tree.  There is a little veronica that grows there, that I must move, as this garden room has taller plants in its mix.  I must see if I can get some foxgloves and perhaps a lupine to grow in this area.  The front of this strip is bordered by pinks.

 This lysimachia punctata grows to about 3 - 4 feet.  It is very vigorous and should be divided every 2 years.  I have not divided mine yet, and it is several years old.  Its a good looking plant with dark green leaves.  It is backed by the cedar privacy hedge and the neighbours.

I found this pot of Lewisia cotyledon 'rainbow' at Cannor nursery a few weeks ago.  It has 2 Lewisia plants - yellow and pink.  Since this photo I have divided them and now have the three plants in one pot.  I may have to move the little cabbage looking plant.  I think it is an auricola primula.  I got it at the VIRAGS plant sale last year.  It is a slow growing plant.  It does not seem to like the bright, hot light. 

The honeysuckle in its tall white plot on the deck bloomed quite profusely this year, but the blossoms did not last very long.  It is suppose to be evergreen and fragrant.  It seems to me it is neither.

The white jasmine is in flower now and the fragrance is all over the back garden.  The heliotrope is finishing its blooms, so it will be dead headed.  The corsican mint in the stepping stones path is heavenly when stepped on.  The garden is full of weeds but I have not had the energy to get out  and clean it up even though we have had some perfect gardening days this week. 
I received my 20 seeds of Showy Milkweed today.  I need to plant them out in November.  I think I will put them into pots so I will be sure to recognize them when they germinate.

June in my garden

The malvas are short-lived perennials.  I allow them to self seed all around the garden.  This is a malva moschata, a cousin of hollyhocks.  Good in the cutting garde, butterflies and humming birds like them.  Can grow to 2 to 3 feet high.

 This Scabiosa, pin cushion flower, is in a pot.  These are very lovely plants and I need to get more of them in my garden.  Can grow 12 - 18 inches high.  Well liked by butterflies and bees.

 This Campanula Glomerata came from Sandy and Ralph's cottage at the lake.  It is a fine plant for my garden, now.  It can be invasive, but I need good strong plants to populate my garden that is becoming more and more low maintenance with pockets of special plants here and there.  It is a good cut flower, can grow to 28 inches with a 2 - 3 foot spread.  So, should be divided every 2 years or so.  I can see some of this plant growing with the Lychnis (magenta flowers) in the boulevard garden room. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees like it.

 The Achillea, Moonshine Yarrow, grows in the strip in front of the peonies, on our driveway side of the boulevard garden, with verbenas (purple flowers) French lavender, lupines, decorative blue grass, and thyme as the carpet.  Needless to say the bees and butterflies love this garden room.  The yarrow is spreading around a bit.  There are other yarrows, some pink and others a buff color. 

 Lychnis chalcedonica, Maltese Cross, grows in the inner garden room at the front, with the above mentioned campanula.  It is an old garden favourite.  My mom grew it in her garden years ago.  It grows a 3 - 4 feet high and can be quite floppy, so usually needs support.  Tomatoe cages work well for this.  There is a silver/red sedeum as the carpet in this garden room, and the burgundy colored smoke bush, along with a few smaller blue perennials, a hebe, a Mrs. Bradshaw geum, some alliums. I have other Maltese Cross plants in the cutting garden and in the area around the fig tree at the back.

These are pine siskins relaxing on the deck railing, just above the bird bath.  They are nice to have around the garden.

I have found an excellent list of some of the more common garden plants here:  An excellent list of perennials with good descriptions