Thursday, June 11, 2015

For most of the history of our species we were helpless to understand how nature works. We took every storm, drought, illness and comet personally. We created myths and spirits in an attempt to explain the patterns of nature. ~ Ann Druyan





The peonies follow the iris and usually mark the Memorial Day weekend.  This year they are  over
two weeks late.  The cool weather has thrown them off their schedule.  Usually we have a doozy of a storm including hail and strong winds just as the peonies open.  Again the pattern is broken because the rains have been gentle and without hail.  It’s never good luck to criticize mother nature but it’s been especially pleasant this year not to find the newly opened peonies beaten to the ground and covered with mud.





The backdoor garden has a pasture fence for a backdrop.



June is Rose Month


Griffin Buck's Country Dancer is, in my opinion, one of the finest roses for the upper midwest.  Absolutely hardy with no cane damage from our sub zero winters.  CD doesn't seem to suffer from blackspot or other fungal diseases.  This year it's a 7 foot tall climber completely covered in pink roses.  Most years it doesn't get this tall but it has outdone itself this spring.





Once we start deliberately messing with the climate systems, we could inadvertently shift rainfall patterns (climate models have shown that rainfall in the Amazon might be particularly vulnerable), causing collapse of ecosystems, drought, famine, and more.
Jeff Goodell




Above is an heirloom gallica rose.  Absolutely winter hardy and disease free, but gallicas have the annoying habit of suckering all over the garden.  It would be best controlled with a lawn mower.  They have no disease and no fragrance but they do have that wonderful cabbage rose shape.  

Below is a Meidiland shrub rose bred to be a groundcover.  I couldn't dedicate enough real estate to this rose to make it groundcover so it's now a climber.  It suffers a lot of winter dieback but regains size quickly.  No disease.



Pretty poppy seedpods.


Below two petunias that caught my eye this week while shopping for a garden hose.  

The first one is a PW hybrid Pretty Much Picasso.  I think it's the cutest thing.  There is some discussion about the smell of this petunia and  while potting it I did  search for the source of the smell with pooper scooper in hand.  Then I read the comments on Dave's Garden.  It seems to only be offensive on hot, sunny days.











10 comments:

troutbirder said...

Wonderful garden collection, Marnie. And quotes too. I love my old fashioned grandmas roses for the fact of no work required. Theresa Bugnet is my favorite...;)

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Wow those peonies! I need some white ones too.
Love photos. So good to see blooms!

Rose said...

Gorgeous peonies! Everything in my garden seems to be a little early this year, probably because spring lasted about two weeks here before turning into summer.

Nadia Radzyminski said...

What gorgeous lilacs and roses.......


Every flower that grows in the wilderness or in a nursery is unique and different from all of the other ones.

A Black-Eyed Susan found near a highway can be sort of similar to a French Chantilly Rose.

The only difference between most flowers is how species are raised, and in what environment they have matured.


Nadia Radzyminski

Lowcarb team member said...

June is generally a lovely month for Roses ... and the smell from many of the varieties can be wonderful. I love all your pink roses, pink being my favourite colour.

We cannot do anything with the weather, we have to deal with whatever is thrown at us. We had some very heavy rain overnight, which the plants and trees did seem to appreciate, they are not battered too much, which is good.

As I am typing this on a Saturday ... I wish you a good weekend.

All the best Jan

Rambling Woods said...

My poor peonies hit the mud after several storms in a row... Your roses are beautiful and I am happy to learn about them as I know little about them.... Michelle

BeadedTail said...

Such pretty flowers! We don't have any peonies but I've always loved them and their pretty scent!

Beth @ PlantPostings said...

I didn't have as many Peony blooms as I usually do. I think it's because the trees got their leaves early and shaded them out. Gosh, they smell wonderful, don't they? I really liked your earlier post about your Irises, too.

tina said...

I think it has been a wonderful spring too. It is a delight to see your peonies and think of spring when we are in the hot and humid throes of summer.

Lowcarb team member said...

Just taking time to stop by ... hoping your week is going well.
Thank you for your comments on the low carb diabetic blog, it is always good to read them.

All the best Jan