Garden scenes are changing with each passing day

I’m binge-watching these days, but not TV. I’m out in the garden each morning bingeing on the new season that’s unfolding.

It’s summer now and there’s a new show daily. It’s the start of an all-new series that runs from now until fall. I can barely keep up as the scene keeps changing. Plants I haven’t seen in more than six months are reappearing and new ones I planted last year are up for the first time.

And it’s just like TV when I’m saying to myself, “who is that actor?” I might recognize the plant, but it takes a while for the name to come to me. I have to go look at my somewhat disorganized spreadsheet to confirm. Sometimes it’s listed, except I don’t always get around to adding a note when I move a plant. Hey, the garden is a far different world than one filled with spreadsheets. Some gardeners like to keep tags with their plants, but I have so many the place would soon look like a cemetery full of little plastic tombstones.

Regardless, it’s an exciting time. One new plant that has excelled is Silene dioica ‘Clifford Moor’ and it’s a welcome addition to the rugged perennial bed. Sometimes called red campion, it has pinkish-red flowers and variegated leaves. It’s not a fussy plant and it will grow in dry, sandy or even rocky soil, although it appears to be happy in my clay loam.

Blooming too are a group of pale blue bearded iris before a clump of creamy yellow lupines. They’re a perfect combination (I get it right sometimes). The iris are the flamboyant ones while the lupines are the supporting cast, though eminently qualified to play a leading role.

I grew the lupines from seed a couple of years ago and this year they’ve excelled. And, I’ve yet to see an aphid on them, as it’s not unusual for those pests to find them. I will lightly hose them off when I see them, which is an effective way as any to deal with them.

My veronicas, also known as speedwell, have a longer bloom time than that pair. First up was the blue one called ‘Dark Blue Moody Blues.’ The pink variety should be flowering soon and there’s a small one in the rock garden — I think. Checking the plant list and discover I should have six or seven varieties. Reading it is a bit like watching the movie credits scrolling by too fast to keep up. The Hydrangea macrophylla with large pink flowers has been blooming for a couple of weeks now. A bit early for hydrangeas, you might be thinking. It’s a variety of bigleaf hydrangea called ‘Paris,’ one in the Cityline series from Proven Winners. At a couple of feet high, this is one of the smallest hydrangeas available and it never needs pruning.

I grew one in the garden a few years ago; however, it only ever produced one or two blooms. This is because macrophyllas bloom on ‘old’ wood and they can have trouble holding on to their flower buds through cold winters. Ideally, good winter protection is necessary to ensure flowering. I eventually gave up on it and last fall I stuck one in a

planter instead. By wintering it over in a dormant state indoors, followed by a short spell in the greenhouse this spring, it has bloomed beautifully.

So much for the flowers. In the vegetable garden, I’m already eating lettuce. Meanwhile, the tomatoes are advancing up their supports and the zucchini is advancing on everything within range. I love it. It might not be quite as exciting as the floral area, but what’s growing there is good for me — like watching a documentary.

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