A Morning of First Blooms

Posted on June 18, 2015 by johnvic8

I walked through the garden this morning with my usual  cup of coffee and the camera slung over my shoulder. After a week or so of relative quiet in the garden, I was delighted to see several new things in bloom to add to my excitement over the vitex. I always take pleasure in seeing a long anticipated blossom come forth…a”first bloom” has a special place in my gardening heart, particularly from a plant making its initial appearance.

The two dark leaved hibiscus ‘Midnight Marvel’ have been showing fat buds for several days, so it is not a surprise to see them beginning to open. Their flowers are huge and a bright pink, about as close to red as anything in the garden. In their third year they are well established and seem to be standing up well to the intense heat we are experiencing.

Hibiscus Midnight Marvel

I am growing fewer daylilies, in the face of the high likelihood of deer visitation and the stoop labor involved with keeping them tidy. The ones remaining, however, are favorites and include these “first blooms:” ‘Daquiri,’ ‘Queen Dorothy,’ and ‘Early Red.’

Daylily ‘Daquiri’
Daylily ‘Queen Dorothy’
Daylily ‘Early Red’

Last spring I picked up several bags of bulbs at a garden center to try this year. Normally it has not been my practice to try these, but the whim was greater than my caution. Thus I planted several dahlias and gladioli. The success rate has been much less than complete, but I was pleased to see these two in bloom.

Gladiola
Dahlia ‘Zirconia’

It is encouraging to see these “first blooms” this morning in the face of what is for us most unusually hot days. The thermometer on my screened porch has registered 100F for four days running. I know that’s not unusual for readers in some parts of the country, but that is right at record levels for us. The hydrangeas particularly and plants put in this spring seem to be wilting in the heat, so I am being careful to monitor and hydrate as needed.

 

About johnvic8

John Viccellio retired after 24 years in the U. S. Navy and began to dig into gardening when he could finally land in one place. He completed the Master Gardener course in 1992 and has since designed and constructed two of his own gardens. He wrote a monthly garden column for ten years and was a regular contributor to Carolina Gardener magazine. John published his first book, Guess What's in My Garden!, in 2014. He lives in a retirement community in Matthews, NC.
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9 Responses to A Morning of First Blooms

  1. pbmgarden says:
    June 18, 2015 at 7:39 pm

    I can relate to your affection for “first blooms.” Your lilies are lovely, mine are still in bud. This heat is unprecedented in my memory and the garden is suffering mightily. Worried about shrubs and trees at this point.

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  2. Cathy says:
    June 19, 2015 at 2:08 am

    What a stunning Hibiscus flower! I hope your heat doesn’t last too long. I know how it shortens the life of some of my favourite blooms too.

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  3. bittster says:
    June 19, 2015 at 10:08 am

    Great first blooms! I think that’s one of my favorite things to do, the morning stroll checking up on everyone. Hope you get a break from your heat, it’ll be a long summer otherwise.

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