~photoblog of a WNY zone 6 gardener

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

My Wisteria and Other blooms from May

I haven't posted about anything blooming in the garden for some time now though I've taken a lot of pics! Life as usual has been way too busy. As my GardenWeb gardening friend, Gottagarden, said recently, "What are people thinking holding family events during prime gardening season?" : )
So the garden has really come alive and lots of plants have been blooming. My wisteria which I've been training in to a standard was covered in blossoms this year. It has been amazing.
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The pics though I don't think do it justice. Of course the barren ground around it somehow detracts from it. I have only myself to blame though, I taught my dog, Sammie, to run around it as a game and now that she has her young companion, Charlie, to play with, they have trashed the yard.

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I've read that wisteria floribunda doesn't have much of a scent, but I have to disagree. The scent on mine is quite noticable. Here's a close up with my hand.
Wisteria

The shrub to the back left of the wisteria is Viburnum Carlcephalum. The scent of that shrub is amazing like some wonderful vanilla laced baked good just absolutely yummy. The large bloom clusters start off as pink buds and open to white flowers.
Vibrunum Carlcephalum

Behind the vegetable garden fence, my tree peony has bloomed. The blooms are huge! In an earlier post, I wrote of how people complain and exaggerate about the briefness of lilac bloom. Well, tree peony bloom time is short! It only lasts a week or so. It is a glorious week of bloom, but yes, it only a week. I'm not exaggerating. Thankfully, the leaves are very attractive so its brief bloom is tolerated. Also I have it placed in the vegetable garden so it blooms while the garden in there is bare.
Tree Peony

Ok, one last photo for the night. The alliums have been blooming and I've grown to love them. I received my first alliums a few years ago in trade. I never planted any previous to that time since the photos really didn't do that much for me. Some plants just look better in person. I'm glad that trader sent me a few bulbs to try. I was missing out on a very neat looking group of plants.
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Saturday, May 23, 2009

An Amazing Crabapple Tree!

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Malus 'Brandywine'

When attending the Lilac Festival, there was an amazing tree in bloom. It was Malus 'Brandywine'. The likes of which I've never seen. It was covered in blooms. The semi-double blooms looked like roses which of course makes sense since they are very distant cousins.

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I like crabapple trees in the spring. They go well with lilacs. This is the first time though that I saw one and had to investigate just what tree it was. It is simply lovely!

Brandywine Crabapple
My friend Hilde posing with 'Brandywine'

I almost forgot to mention the blooms smell good! The scent is like a high quality floral soap if that makes any sense, lol.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Lilac Festival!

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In Rochester, NY, often referred to as the lilac capitol of the world, they have a Lilac festival every May, of course. There is the normal carnival atmosphere with rides, lots of food, etc. but as you step away from the fair grounds and cross over into Highland Park, an amazing treat awaits you.

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There are hundreds of lilacs in bloom! It is a wonderland of the senses. If heaven isn't like this, I don't want to go.

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My friend Hilde and an old lilac

If you have never smelled a lilac in bloom, I hope one day you do. It is intoxicating. The scent carries on the wind beckoning you find it. A whole park full of lilacs is dizzying! It has a surreal quality, very dream like. Yes, it was like a being awake in a dream.

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Some people complain that lilacs only last a week. That isn't true. A hot spell can cause the flowers an early demise, but a cool May will be long with blooms. And if they only lasted a week, I would still love the lilacs.

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The season can also be lengthened by plantings of various cultivars. Lilacs have been hybridized for a long time so there's a lot of choices out there.

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Sensation
'Sensation'

Lilacs are extremely long lived shrubs. In the countryside in this part of the country, you can often see a huge lilac in bloom seemingly out of place growing wild. The lilacs are markers of where a home once stood years ago. Nothing from the garden remains but the lilac.

Firmament
'Firmament'

Some varieties sucker from the base and some just get cool old gnarly trunks like the one below.
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I, as always, could go on posting pics, but then the page wouldn't load! So I'll stop here : )

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Plantaholic, from annuals to perennials, from tomatoes to roses. You name it; I love it! I often get very busy with my business and life and don't post as often as I would like.