June is Bustin' Out All Over

So what's left to bloom in June? Lots really. I obviously cannot cover every blooming thing but I am going to highlight the things that I find outstanding or that are doing well in the gardens that I see or that I have some vested interest in or that I have helped in some way to make more beautiful. I will also soon start highlighting more vegetables that are liking this early hot and humid weather. The first few snow peas were eaten this past week (perhaps they have been too hot) and the early spring radishes are almost ready for a hoe-down.

Really showy last week were the tree lilacs. Client P. and Aunt V. both have lovely mature trees.

Tree Lilac

Here is another shot with the burgeoning hostas on the side:

Tree Lilac and Hosta

Also blooming large are the Giant fleeceflowers (Persicaria polymorpha) which are in their third year and are finally beginning to be the showoffs that Aunt V. wanted. They grow to 4-6 ft. tall and wide. The trick was finding a location in her full yard. They tolerate moisture and they have it in the back of the large front perennial garden, both from the sprinkling system, which draws from the pond, and with the recent abundant rains which tend to pool in that area.

Persicaria polymorpha

Black Lace Elderberry (Sambucus nigra)

This shrub that looks a little like some exotic Japanese maple has become recently trendy. The blooms are said to have a light lemon fragrance but I haven't detected it so far. I thought I cut it back "hard" last year but it is still living way too large and I will have to do a hatchet job on it after it blooms or it will take over this space which has daylilies and shastas and tall asiatic lilies and a bridal veil vine over an arbor. The elderberry produces berries, but we will not let them develop this year. It needs to be cut down to size first before we let it make berries!