Like the little Iris. Love the variegated Polemonium. Vic I am surprised that your peonies are blooming so late. All of mine are currently blooming.

me too Mike - We had over a month of rain and no sun so that might be the reason. This is the 3rd day in a row we haven't had rain.

Vic are they loaded with buds?

yes

Great !

Vic, am seconding Mike's "Great !" re lots of buds. The peony blooming in our own garden is routinely almost all confined to the month of June.

Back from a flying visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake to meet up with friends from Ottawa.

Pictures from the Niagara Botanic Garden yesterday (quite sunny):
Geranium 'Orion'


Brunnera 'Jack Frost'


Allium cristophii 'Star of Persia' and Salvia 'Caradonna'


Chinese peony (hard to read the label; think it was 'Pride of Blandell')


Persicaria bistorta 'Superba'


Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus


Campanula 'Birch Hybrid'


Japanese painted ferns (var. pictum)


Geranium (label visible).


Down the road towards NOTL (Niagara-on-the-Lake).
A floral clock (pansies).


Public and private: NOTL itself really is well maintained.

Home; our peonies coming out now.
Yesterday:
'Miss Mary'


Edulis superba


'Celebrity'


Mislabelled at time of purchase, but been suggested is 'Charlie's White'.

What a fun getaway Charlie and all the photos are lovely. Your peonies are beautiful but Charlie's White is awesome!

Charlie's White is a perfect addition to your garden. My peonies are just about done. Love the other garden pics as well as the vacation ones.

Vic, Mike, our probable 'Charlie's White' is a favourite of mine too. I do wish, however, that the identification was certain.

The current weather here is more typical of July than June. Even with watering, iris, perennial poppy and peony blooms are not lasting as long as usual.

Today:



'Dublin'


'White Wings'


'Festiva Maxima'

Oh - poppies and I would love to stick my nose in those peonies. I love seeing red and white together. I have some red mandevilla growing next to white gardenias right now and it's so pretty.

Your red mandevilla and white gardenia combination sounds lovely, Vic.
Each year we always buy a mandevilla for the deck; actually got a white one this year. First white mandevilla I've seen.
As you'd expect, mandevilla's certainly not winter hardy here.

Unfortunately, we seldom see gardenias for sale; also for summer decks or as indoor plants.

Beginning to see perennial plant sales in garden centres here; sometimes hard to resist.
Just got several Salvia 'Caramia' on sale; excuse: interested to test claims (e.g. below) being made for it as compared to Salvia 'Cardonna'! 'Caradonna' seems to be a true survivor here.

https://www.greenhousecanada.c...

Both the mandevilla and gardenias have to come in. The gardenias spend the winter in the garage (we only have 2 in big pots) and the mandevilla's in Hank's shop in a south window. We got to 7 degree F this past winter and it got very cold in our garage even though it's insulated but not heated. I almost lost one of my house plants but it did pull out of it.

Love the color of that salvia.

Lovely blooms Charlie. I am going out on a limb to say that white is your favorite color. In the early stages of my daylily addiction I bought a lot of white ones.
I have been tempted in the past to buy Mandevilla's. I am reducing my bring in the house footprint.
Wish I had a greenhouse. Thinking of using solar panels to keep a small area in the garage heated for this purpose. I could just wheel whatever in there.

That's cold, Vic! From here I tend to think your particular location in North Carolina is humid subtropical, which would sound pretty good to me. Still, didn't realize your winter's do have from mild to cold temperatures. Think you and Hank need to be meeting us in Florida!

Mike, you really are (no - really was) out on a limb! As you know I try to garden for herbaceous perennial flower colour, which tended to make me scoff a bit at white. I'd forgotten that white really is a colour; albeit an "achromatic" one. Still I'm coming round to white, especially as maybe a background colour because it shows up so well. Gertude Jekyll had lemon yellow (I think) to set off other colours. I'd go for white for the same sort of reason. It's also a great colour in the background. As said, we're actually able to see the white trillium at the back of the beds in spring. Am, however, still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of "white gardens"; perhaps too pure for motley me!

But I love colour and realize that annuals and shrubs are also great reservoirs of colour. Trying to keep the changing perennial flower colour going throughout the whole growing season really is a challenge. Mid to late June, except for the peonies, is a slow time in our garden. Find the regular irises (June) don't tend to do well in our mixed perennial beds.

Wish we had a greenhouse too, Mike. Was formerly an avid succulent collector, in England, when we did have one.

This past winter would definitely have been a good one to meet you in Florida

I wouldn't want an all white garden either but I do see how white can make other colors seem brighter, even the green of leaves. I remember when I first started gardening, my cousin, who has stunning gardens, told me white will make the other colors in your garden pop.

Charlie I know a few gardeners here that have moon gardens.
Ok, I fell off the limb

I work nights. I have done moon gardens. They are very interesting. The foliage disappears and you appear to have floating flowers. Friends have been impressed with the effect.

That does sound like an exotic effect, Gary.

Today
Still have peonies blooming, especially in less sunny parts of the garden.
'Bowl of Beauty' (bloom seems a bit anomalous).


One corner of the back garden is getting shaded by several trees. Too shady for peonies there, so removing and planting hostas, etc..
'Rainforest Sunrise' in front of 'Thunderbolt'.


Goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus) in a very neglected location between a neighbour's and our own house.


We really get a lot of mileage from the Salvia nemorosa cultivars (notably 'Ostfriesland' (East Friesland) and 'Caradonna'). Those in the picture are close to being deadheaded; deadheading correctly really extends their bloom time. Also just bought several 'Caramia' on sale; said to be "developed to replace" 'Caradonna' according to the reference below.


The penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red' looks good every year. Also have cultivar 'Dark Towers' and just got 'Blackbeard'.


Astrantia major 'Roma' is another long-term survivor in our garden.

All very nice Charlie. I love Astrantia major and yours is beautiful. It's too hot here to grow.