Photo Friday: June Bloomers

Here’s a quick look at some of the things we have blooming here in early June. I’ve got petunias planted in various containers and planters, and they are all in full bloom now. This one in the below photo in the hanging basket is Easy Wave Red. The red flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, and I have also seen swallowtail butterflies getting nectar from them and other petunias. The spiderworts are blooming behind the petunias, and I have several of the seed grown South Pacific Orange cannas nearby that should be blooming in a few weeks.

This year I planted Tidal Wave Red Velour in our old wheelbarrow. I set three plants in there about a month ago, and they have really taken off.

Tidal Wave Red Velour is a 2015 AAS Winner, and this is my second year growing it. The blooms do like they are made of velour, though the photo doesn’t really do that justice.

This spiderwort is one my wife had growing at her old place and dug up to move to Happy Acres. It looks much like the one my parents had growing in their backyard for many years. The blooms only last for one day but they keep blooming and blooming for a long time.

Another spiderwort we have blooming now is Blue and Gold. The bluish purple blooms contrast nicely with the golden yellow foliage. Spiderwort is a troublesome and invasive weed in some areas but is pretty well behaved in our garden. It does throw up a few new plants here and there but no more so than our coneflowers, which should be blooming soon.

The next bloomer is a plant that is perhaps more fragrant than showy. The flowers of Valerian are quite attractive to pollinators, and offer up a sweet aroma when we are working nearby. The roots of the plant are the parts that are used for medicinal purposes, and it is a popular tea to help with insomnia.

Another white flowered plant is very showy, but not so fragrant – at least not to me. The Brandywine Viburnum (Viburnum nudum) has large, rounded clusters of white flowers now that are followed by pinkish-purple berries later on. The flowers are attractive to pollinators and butterflies, while birds eat the berries when they ripen. This shrub is native to the eastern parts of the U.S. and gets about six feet tall. The deer leave it alone too, which make it a plus for our location.

In the edible department, the first blooms on a container grown Patio Baby eggplant mean that fruits will not be far behind. I did a Variety Spotlight on this 2014 AAS Winner last year, and it is a great eggplant for growing in containers.

Another edible that’s flowering is some mizuna I have planted in a cold frame bed. It has bolted, and I will leave the plants for the pollinators and beneficial insects. Some of the brassicas do have fragrant blooms, but not this particular mizuna.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at some of the things we have blooming here this first day of June. I will be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!