Thanks.

Correction: raised by friend from seed and bought as Iris missouriensis, Arlene.
As you say, it is apparently a Louisiana iris (Iris hexagona?).
The only Louisiana iris I've ever bought was 'Black Gamecock', but it was never planted in/near that location.

Campanula latifolia 'Brantwood', Cinda.
I like the big ones; however, need staking.
Several Campanula, like C. punctata, are terrible runners.

Today.

Lovely, Charlie.

very nice
A bit of envy here I love the Corydalis , tried it several times but it doesn't like my garden.

I love seeing that corydalis. I planted my first one this spring so it is small, but it is still blooming. I hope it takes and spreads.
The peony is really lovely, as are all your photos!

Thanks, All.

Corydalis lutea spreads around here, but it's a gentle seeder.
The big thing for me is that it grows from a shallow fleshy root and not a corm (latter, e.g. C. solida).
Means it's easy to pull out, even rake away, where it's not wanted.

As others have said, it's got to take our prize for the longest blooming perennial (just about the whole growing season).

Oh t

Oh that's good news, both that it blooms so long and that is manageable. I'm happy that I got some. Thanks for the information!

Maybe I should try starting some from seed ? maybe it would be more likely to adapt to my garden. I had a purple form for a few years that reseeded about but it too seems to have gone missing.

Cinda, it could have been Corydalis solida (fumewort) which is purple and is a spring ephemeral.

Another one I once bought was C. cheilanthifolia (fern-leaf corydalis).
Heard it was a bad seeder and put it in a restricted area where I do potting.
Got rid of it about ten years ago as a terrible seeder.
Still pulling out occasional seedlings (even two today!).
May relate, in part, to that area being where I water potted plants.

As indicated, C. lutea (golden/yellow corydalis) spreads but is easy to control.
Think it's a pretty little plant.

Charlie, I appreciate the info about the fern leaf corydalis...I just planted two this spring. I will take them out before they become a nuisance. They were all labeled as c. lutea and were too small at the time to be easily distinguished.
Thanks for helping me avert a disaster!

Jeannie, guess one never knows whether a particular perennial will really like a particular location, or more costly, really not.
I did never let fern leaf corydalis get into the main part of the back garden; an experiment I wasn't willing to try!

It would be interesting to know how long the fern leaf seeds remain viable.
Still it's easy (now and in that location) to pull up a few seedlings per year.

Beautiful plants and garden!

Thanks Caroline.

It's been really wet here, especially the last weekend when it rained just the whole time.
Can't garden in the mud, though it's was great for some cedars and annuals I planted in the days running up to that weekend.

I'm hearing it's the opposite problem out West; way to dry?

Garden's full of buds!

Today.
Japanese iris 'Jodlesong'



Astilbe 'Montgomery' in front of Hosta 'Patriot'.



Astlbe 'Erica'.
The reason the Phlox 'Glamour Girl' is already blooming is that it was planted this spring.



Astrantia 'Hadspen Blood'.



Delphinium elatum 'Guardian Blue' in front of Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'.

All so very pretty! The last combo is terrific!

Thanks, Arlene.

The challenge is to take a picture when things are looking good
or wait until it's (1) potentially even better or (2) it's been heated down by rain!

...or fried by the heat of the sun.

Charlie, I noticed your Astrania. It's beautiful. I bought one this Spring to try in my yard. Arrived in the mail as a bare root. Planted it, following all instructions, but nothing ever grew up in that spot. I know for sure, as I had marked the spot. I'm quite disappointed and trying to decide whether to try again next year. Do you have any suggestions or tips to pass along?

Thanks.
Sorry, don't know much about bare-root plants, Connie.
Am lucky to be located relatively close to various garden centres and the like.

I have read on-line somebody talking about a bare-root purchased astrantia which did little after planting,
but reappeared, in-health, two years later.

Am sure you read about the prime growing conditions for astrantia (e.g. semi-shade and moist (but well-draining) organically rich soil).
Apparently different cultivars may be more or less tolerant to variations from these.

Astrantia can also be grown from seed and some of ours do self-seed (though they're certainly not invasive, at least here).

I should actually be questioning the identification of the astrantia pictured above, as 'Hadspen Blood' (one of the reddest of the astrantia cultivars).
Still 'Hadspen Blood' is a hybrid, apparently between two species, so perhaps variation could be expected.

Below 'Roma' planted in dappled light (today).