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 Pink Chrysanthemums on November Bloom Day On this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day in Greenfield, Mass, still boasting only a Zone 5 rating, my very late blooming pink chrysanthemums are still blooming. We have had frost, and some rain and wind, but these dependable beauties are still going. They are the only thing blooming outside.We are still not having freezing night temperatures as a regular thing, though it does get down below 40 degrees.
 Prostrate rosemary in bloom This prostrate rosemary was taken out of a pot and put into Greenfield soil this summer, and has seemed to tolerate the move into another pot for the winter. So far she has been able to live on the enclosed side porch. I admit you have to look pretty close to see those few tiny blue blooms.
 Red Thanksgiving cactus This Thanksgiving cactus never seems to do much. Probably needs repotting. However she always blooms on schedule.
 Thanksgiving cactus in a pale shade In the guest room window a pretty pale pink Thanksgiving cactus is just starting to come into bloom. I bought her last Thanksgiving and she is doing pretty well. You can at least one of my holdover amaryllis will actually bloom again. This might be the first time I have managed a second year’s bloom. Although I never tried very hard before.
And so ends Bloom Day. I am barely getting in under the wire.
Thank you Carol for hosting Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day on May Dreams Gardens which allows us to see all the blooms across the the nation by clicking here.
 Montauk daisy on Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day I am a day late with Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, but yesterday was spent moving the last big items from Heath to our new house and garden in Greenfield. This post records what little is in bloom in Heath on my last Heath bloom day and what is in bloom in my very unfinished garden in Heath.
Heath Garden
 Colchium atumnale These autumn crocus still blooming in all their weedy glory. They are in a bad spot for display – but I never got around to moving them.
 Sedum ‘Neon’ Sedum ‘Neon’ is looking very healthy. I did take a piece down to Greenfield where it blooms in the hellstrip.
 Thomas Affleck rose Thomas Affleck is not quite the last rose of summer. We are still enjoying a few Fairy roses as well.
 Sheffield daisies Sheffies, Sheffield daisies are very late bloomers. I thought I brought some down to Greenfield, but alas no. Maybe there is still time.
 Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ The Heath hydrangeas are doing very well this year. Mothlight is as huge as ever, Limelight doesn’t look too lime-y, but looks great next to Pinky Winky.
Greenfield Garden
 Nameless hydrangea This hydrangea came with the house. I don’t know anything about it so far, except that the former owners cut it down to the ground last fall. And look at it now. I guess it is time to cut it back again. The new hydrangeas that I planted, Angel Blush, Limelight and Firelight seem to be doing OK, but they are not really photo-worthy right now.
 Dahlia ‘Firepot’ This dahlia came from the Bridge of Flowers and I think it is ‘Firepot.’ I also have a wonderful purple dahlia from the Bridge. I plan to have more dahlias next year.
 Gazania It took a while but this gazania finally took hold after our dry summer. I did try to keep watering.
 Joe Pye Weed I planted Joe Pye Weed because it is tolerant of wet sites, but once we began our dry summer it only had one chance, after 5 inches of rain one day, to show that it was happy in the wet.
 Perennial ageratum A few divisions of this perennial ageratum, sometimes called mist flower, was given to me by a friend. I had to cut them back substantially when I planted them in August, but I still got bloom. I have been told to expect a good increase next year.
 Chrysanthemum I can’t think how I acquired this floriferous late blooming chrysanthemum, but I love it. I have some growing in the hellstrip, but with only a bloom or two, although lots of buds, because it is so shady.
 Chelone or turtlehead I cut back the chelone before I moved it down to Greenfield but here is one bold blossom.
 Woods blue aster I brought a few low growing woods blue aster to Greenfield because it is such a good spreader and late bloomer.
 Tricyrtis or toad lily At the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale we sold a lot of tiny Tricyrtis, or toad lily plants, but we had many left. I have been growing them on and you can expect to see these hardy and very interesting plants at the Plant Sale next May.
 Pink Drift rose This pink Drift is not quite the last rose of summer either. Again The Fairy in Greenfield still has a few blooms.
And that is my first Bloom Day in Greenfield. A hard frost is predicted for the next couple of days. And maybe even snow!
Many thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting Bloom Day!
 Anemone Robustissima, cosmos, Achillea The Pearl Bloom Day in Heath
Bloom Day in Heath has wild asters and cultivated asters and autumn is in full swing. The photo above shows a tangle of Japanese anemone ‘Robustissima’, annual cosmos and Achillea The Pearl. But there is more.
 Thomas Affleck rose I will let dependable the Thomas Affleck roses that are blooming less floriferously – The Fairy, the Meidelland roses, and Champlain, one of the Explorer roses.
 A surprise – foxglove I couldn’t resist including this photo of a surprise foxglove – a reminder of the generous bloom for a good part of the summer.
 Sedum ‘Neon’ with bee I only caught ‘Neon’ with one bee, but the sedums, along with garlic chives in bloom now, physostogia, and bee balm all lure lots of pollinators.
 Achillea I don’t know the name of this golden yarrow with the heavy silver foliage, but it is the latest blooming yarrow in my garden this year.
Bloom Day in Greenfield
 Hydrangea ‘Firelight’ The hydrangea ‘Firelight’ is standing in for the other hydrangea, ‘Limelight’ and ‘Blushing Angel’ which are also blooming. They have had a pretty good year and were almost the first shrubs I planted in June.
 Dahlia ‘Firepot’ I planted three dahlias in the rose and shrub border, counting on them to fill up a lot of space with color, and they have come through. The roses all seem to be settling in safely. We’ll see how they come through the winter.
 OSO Easy rose “Paprika’ I couldn’t resist this bright orange-y rose when I saw it in bloom in the nursery. It is one of the small, and newer disease resistant roses that is on the market. I have it planted in a spot that is very sunny and has slightly better soil.
 Joe Pye Weed Joe Pye weed is a native plant but this is a hybrid with variegated foliage. It is a big plant and I think it will look great next year.
 Artemesia lactiflora Artemesia lactiflora, which I also have blooming in Heath, doesn’t photograph very well, the flowers are so fine, but it is a great plant with dark stems and foliage, and a good increaser.
 Alma Potschke aster Alma Potschke blooms in Heath too, but the former owners of this house kindly left this generous clump for me. I love Alma. And so ends Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day in Heath and Greenfield
Thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day and click here to see what else is blooming around the country.
 Bloom day tangle Coneflowers, phlox, cosmos and Russian Sage On this Bloom Day it is clear I haven’t spent as much time as usual on the Heath Garden. And yet, there are blooms like this tangle of phlox, coneflowers, Russian sage and cosmos. I can always count on cosmos to fill in. I’m trying not to capture the vigor of the weeds.
 - Echinops
There is also a tangle of Echinops down in a corner of the Sunken Garden which I often fail to mention.
 Casa Planca lily and phlox In all the tangles the Casa blanca lily looks calm and serene.
 Black Beauty lilies and Bee balm The bee balm is a tangle with the Black Beauty lilies that are still going strong, although the blossoms are not as large as usuaal. Crowded? Needing more compost? Investigation required.
 Ann Varner Daylily The Daylily Bank is going by, but Ann Varner, a late daylily, is keeping things going.
Of course t here are a few other things in bloom, heleniums, hydrangeas, thalictrum, Henrii lilies, and the Thomas Affleck rose. At the Greenfield house the new Knockout Red rose is blooming, as are the hydrangeas. Next year should be much more floriferous on the Shrub and rose bed. I hope. For more views of what is blooming across this great land go on over to visit Carol, our host, at May Dreams Gardens.
No irises in bloom now, but if you want to take a chance on winning the beautiful book Beardless Iriises: A plant for every garden situation click here and leave a comment at the bottom of the post. I will draw the name of the lucky winner on August 19.
 Angel Blush Hydrangea On this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I am celebrating blooms in two gardens, although I dearly hope it will not be too long before I am once again tending a single, small garden. In Greenfield the hydrangeas in the Shrub and Rose border are beginning to bloom even though they were planted only a month ago. Angel Blush is joined by Limelight and Firelight. These hydrangeas will form a beautiful privacy fence.
 Buttonbush Buttonbush was only planted two weeks ago, but once in the very wet ground it finally burst into bloom. It has been waiting in its pot for over a month.
 Thomas Affleck rose In Heath the Thomas Affleck rose continues to endure the rain, and all the other oddities of this year’s weather. Needless to say, another Thomas Affleck has been planted in Greenfield, but not permitted to bloom this year.
 Purington rambler It has not been a great year for many of the rose bushes, but the Purington rambler hasn’t minded the bitter winter, or the undependable spring and summer. I wish someone could tell me how to properly weed such a vicious plant. I suppose putting it up on a fence might help instead of letting it tumble on the Rose bank.
 The Fairy rose Only a very few rose blossoms elsewhere in the garden, but I can always count on the Fairy even though she is a bit more petite this year.
 Achillea Terra Cotta and yellow loossestrife I am taking bits of the the various Achilleas and the old yellow loosestrife down to the new Greenfield garden.
 Coneflowers The coneflowers are blooming in front of the pink cosmos which you can’t see, but they are very pretty together.
 Daylily Bank Daylilies never mind any kind of difficult weather and this is their season.
 Daylilies Some of these daylilies are making their way down to the Greenfield garden.
 Mothlight hydrangea The Mothlight hydrangea in Heath is about 12 years old and has never been so exuberant. Will the Greenfield hydrangeas look like this? Limelight and Pinky Winky are also just coming into bloom.
I thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day which gives us all a chance to share our gardens, and see what is blooming all over this great land. Click here for more blooms.
 Flowery Mead aka The Lawn On this June Garden Bloggers Bloom Day we feel summer has finally come to our hill in western Massachusetts. Consistent warm weather has been a long time coming and some plants show cold damage that arrived all too late in the season. This section of our lawn remains a flowery mead because I have planted daffodils here and we have to wait this long before mowing down the spent daffodil foliage.
 Rugosa Apart At this time of the garden season we are madly preparing for the Annual Rose Viewing on June 28. This year it is the Last Rose Viewing because we will be moving to Greenfield very soon. This rugosa rose, Apart, is as beautiful and fragrant as ever, but the bush did take a winter beating and is rather smaller than usual.
 Harrison’s Yellow rose Harrison’s Yellow is one of the earliest bloomers. There won’t be much left by the Rose Viewing.
 Therese Bugnet rugosa Therese Bugnet has the delightful energetic spread of the rugosas, but her foliage is a bit smaller and finer. She is wonderfully fragrant. Other roses aare blooming, Dart’s Dash rugosa, two unamed but vigorous roses, one low and one tall, Rosa Rubrifolia (or Glauca), yellow Alchymist, Woodslawn Pink, and Purinton Pink.
 Thomas Affleck rose Thomas Affleck is an astonishing rose, blooming early and late. I planted him near the door because the catalog promised fragrance, but that has never appeared. You can see there is a little cold damage from a night or two ago. More roses have yet to bloom.
 Mount Blanc rugosa and iris This isn’t a great photo of my favorite white rugosa, tall and fragrant Mount Blanc, or the iris, but I wanted to give them both credit for helping with bloom day. There are white and blue Siberian irises blooming here and there. I’ll take some to Greenfield for the new garden.
 Herbaceous peony Years ago I moved all the peonies I had planted right in front of the house. Somehow I left a bit of peony root – which has grown into this beautiful clump, surrounded by weeds, right next to the vegetable garden – also in dire need of weeding. The very pretty white lady’s bedstraw is a curse. Many of the peonies in the ‘new’ Peony Bed are late varieties – so chosen to make sure there is another spectacular plant in bloom for the Rose Viewing.
 Foxgloves These foxgloves were given to me by a friend in the middle of last summer. They endured transplanting at an inauspicious season and are beautiful in this season.
 Daylily This is the first daylily to bloom on the Daylily Bank in front of the house. This will start to be a full Bank of Bloom once we get into July. I have brought a couple of these plants to the new garden in Greenfield.
 Campanula ‘Joan Elliott As you can see, this clump of Joan Elliott has not been deterred by dividing and removing. Bits of root continue to grow and make flowers. I’m taking a bit of Joan from the lawn to Greenfield as well.
 Columbine Several native columbines are blooming here and there. These are not the fancy columbines, but I treasure these – in white, pink and purple as well as this red and yellow. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day gives me a chance to praise these modest flowers.
 Allium I can’t find the name of this tall, large allium. I won’t plant it among the peonies ever again.
 Salvia “May Night’ The blue of ‘May Night’ seems blue-er this spring.
 Trollius This clump of Trollius is paler than others, but lovely all the same.
 Mock Orange The large mock orange is planted at the corner of the Cottage Ornee where its fragrance can waft inside.
 Griffith Buck rose ‘Applejack’ Every day we are closer to the Last Rose Viewing. Applejack will greet visitors as they arrive. This is one of the oldest roses at the End of the Road.
This is the last June Garden Bloggers Bloom Day at the End of the Road, but there will be many more to come in Greenfield. I thank Carol at May Dreams Gardens for giving us all the chance to show off our bloomers all across this great land. To see more click here.
 Old apple tree in bloom It has been a while since I have been able to post on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, but May has brought many blooms to the end of the road. Old apple trees and wild cherries are blooming in the garden , along the road and in the fields.
 Apple blossom closeup Blooming trees are wonderful, and each blossom is a delight.
 Sargent crabapple The Sargent crabapple could not fit any more blossoms on itself.
 Sargent crab blossoms Didn’t I tell you no more blossoms could fit on a branch?
 Cotoneaster in bloom I never get over my initial surprise that cotoneaster bears flowers!
 Ornamental plum blooming How is it possible that I never noticed blossoms on this ornamental plum? Could this year be the first time? The tree has to be at least 15 years old in this spot.
 Bluets Sometimes bluets appear in the fields, or the lawn. These bluets seem almost white
 Epimedium sulphureum This clump of Epimedium sulphureum has increased so much. So has Epimedium rubrum on the other side of this lawn bed.
 Daffodils, Waldsteinia and tiarella My idea was to get rid of grass, and this area on the road side of the Peony Bed is coming along. Waldsteinia or barren strawberry is a native groundcover that has little yellow strawberry-like flowers. This isn’t a good photo but in the upper portion of the photo, up against the peonies is a growing section of tiarella. The white blossoms are so foamy that they don’t show up in a photo – even from this little distance.
 Lilacs Not a great photo, but these are great old white lilacs that have been at the end of the road since long before we arrived. There are old lilac lilacs, too, but we have added pink Miss Canada and Pocahontas, the white Miss Ellen Willmott and the Beauty of Moscow. I just this moment noticed that these are all ladies.
 Dandelions and violets There are other bloomers: the forsythia is going by; grape hyacinths in the lawn here and there; a pot of sunny pansies; and of course, that common weed, the dandelion blooming in the lawn with violets and ground ivy. My own springtime flowery mead.
Carol, I am glad to be posting on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day once again. Thank you so much for hosting over at May Dreams Gardens. New dreams are coming true this May.
 Thomas Affleck rose Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day arrives this October after two hard freezes. The trees are richly adorned adding most of the garden color at this time of the year. The roses are very nearly done, but Thomas Affleck, right near the door, has nearly a dozen blossoms left. In the rest of the garden there are a few scattered rugosa blossoms, and The Fairy is still making a bit of magic.
 Sedum ‘Neon’ This is the second year for Sedum ‘Neon.” I will have to do some dividing. The Fairy is right behind her, as well as a snapdragon and a foxglove blooming at this odd time of year.
 Chrysanthemum ‘Starlet’ “Starlet’ is a very hardy quilled mum that I keep moving around the garden.
 Sheffield daisies The Sheffield daisies are just beginning to bloom! At least I have been calling these Sheffield daisies all year before they came into bloom, and now I am thinking they are some other very vigorous chrysanthemum. I have one clump of ‘mums’ not yet blooming. Maybe that is the Sheffie clump.
 Asters This low growing and very spready aster is definitely ‘Woods Blue.’ I just found the label while weeding today.
 Montauk daisy I am coming to realize that the Montauk daisy has quite a short bloom period. Maybe it doesn’t deserve to be so front and center.
 Autumn crocus A flower that does deserve to be more front and center is the Autumn Crocus. It is invisible in August when it should be transplants. Out of sight. Out of mind. Maybe next August.
 ‘Limelight’ hydrangea The ‘Limelight’ hydrangea has had a good year and is doing better than ‘Pinky Winky’ planted at the same time, and the native oakleaf hydrangea. The enormous ‘Mothlight’ is also still blooming.
 Lonicera sempervirens I am going to have to do something about this honeysuckle. She has grown enough this first full year and deserves to be arranged so she is more easily admired.
 Cuphea This annual potted Cuphea has given me a lot of pleasure this summer. Endless bloom.
 Nasturtiums I plant these nasturtiums on the slope between the Daylily Bank and a bed of the Early garden right in front of the house. Such a cheerful flowers.
 Love Lies Bleeding And finally, in a knocked down tangle is Love Lies Bleeding. A right bloody mess. I expected long drooping tails of blossoms, but this looks like ropes of chenille balls.
What is blooming in your garden this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day? Check Carol at May Dreams Gardens, our welcoming host.
 Daylilies on the Bank On this July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day the Daylily Bank is just starting to come into bloom. By August my garden in the upper elevations of Western Massachusetts should be filled with gentle, but riotous color.
 Buckland Rose At the same time there is still enough rose bloom to be enjoyed from our dining table. The Buckland rose bush began a little late and so is quite floriferous now. The same is true of the Meideland red, and white, as well as Rachel, Celestial, Ispahan, Queen of Denmark on the Rose Walk. I had given up hopeof ever seeing Rosamunda, a striped rose, but she woke up too.
 Passionate Nymph’s Thigh The Passionate Nymph has been just amazing this year. She put out lots of strong new growth and is STILL blooming.
 Purington Rambler The vigorous Purington rambler also began to bloom a little later this year, like any number of flowers in my garden.
 Hydrangea “Mothlight’ “Mothlight” is the oldest and largest of my hydrangeas, but the oakleaf, “Limelight” and “Pinky Winky” are producing some bloom – having survived deer, bitter cold, and the town plow.
 Astilbe I was able to give some of the pink astilbe to the Bridge of Flowers plant sale in May, but it is hardly missed. Another pink astilbe, “Bressingham Beauty” blooms in the South Lawn Bed. In general the year has been so cool that I still have many many pansy and johnny jump up volunteers in full bloom.
 Achillea “Terra Cotta” I just love the shades of Achillea “Terra Cotta.” I have given away several clumps of this strong grower.
 Achillea “Paprika” This is supposed to be “Paprika” but I have my doubts. I ordered it after I saw a truly paprika orange achilea (yarrow) in a friend’s garden, and this has never matched that spicy hue. I think I will have to buy “Paprika” again and see if I have any better luck.
 Yellow Loosestrife Yellow Loosesstrife is not an invasive plant, but it is persistent. This plant was growing here when we moved in in November 1979. Well, not actually during the winter, but in the spring of 1980, and very welcome were those sunny blooms.
 Cosmos, snapdragon, echinacea purpurea Of course I have dependable annuals to make sure there is always some bloom in the garden. Here are cosmos, white snapdragons, and Echinacea purpurea just coming into bloom.
 Cuphea llavera I tried some new annuals to the standard pots of petunias, geraniums, and million bells. This is Cupea llavea or bat-faced cuphea. You have to use your imagination to see the bat face in the purple and with scarlet ears, but I love the intense color. This is described as a shrub so maybe by the end of the summer I’ll have a really substantial plant sharing pot space with this silvery foliage.
 Love Lies Bleeding I first saw Love Lies Bleeding at Wave Hill many years ago. Growing in the ground it was a large lush plant with lots of those drooping flowers. My reaction? What IS that?! It is not as eye stopping growing in a pot. I put two seedlings in the ground and they haven’t yet caught up. I am watching to see how they develop. Of course, I have not Wave Hill’s climate, and maybe not its soil either.
 Torenia and daisies I have a number of other annuals, daisy like,-like flowers in white, yellow and blue. These blue torenia are not spreading quite as I hoped but they are beautiful ground huggers. They are also labeled deer resistant and I have to say they are doing better that some of the other plants in the garden.
In spite of all the weather trials this yyear I am quite happy with all the bloom. I thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Bloom Day and giving all of us a chance to show off, and to admire gardens all across the country.
 Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – stocks On this sunny, cool (72 degrees) but breezy, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, bloom is beginning to arrive. These stocks are in the Herb Bed right in front of the house, where there is also an array of potted geraniums, petunias and such. They are not doing terribly well because the weather remains so cool.
 Rhododendron ‘Calsap’ Calsap will stand in for all the plants in the corner that have gone by, the 2 tree peonies, as well as Boule de Neige and Rangoon rhodies. The herbaceous peonies are late, but there are a couple of fat buds. The advantage to me, and visitors to the Annual Rose Viewing on June 29 is that there will be lots of peony bloom, as well as rose bloom.
 Siberian iris Siberian irises are just beginning. White ones too.
 L. martagon ‘Album’ I didn’t really have any idea of the delicacy of this martagon lily when I bought it from Old House Gardens. This is my first bloom year with it and it is only about 3 feet tall, but it is said to need some patience. Perhaps next year it will be a bit taller. I think it is just beautiful.
 Rugosa rose ‘Agnes’ I’ve mislabelled this elsewhere, but this is the ‘Agnes’ the first of the rugosas to bloom. The rugosas in general are the first roses to bloom and I have quite a few.
 Scabrosa Another rugosa, Scabrosa, is spreading every which way on the Rose Walk.
 Rugosa Therese Bugnet Therese Bugnet is a dependable rugosa, even after like the winter we have just “enjoyed.”
 Blanc Double de Coubert Blanc Double de Coubert, a popular white rugosa took a beating this winter, but it is reviving.
 Dart’s Dash rugosa On the other hand, Dart’s Dash is spreading beautifully on the Rose Bank. You can see the distinctive ribbed rugosa foliage on all these plants. No bugs. No disease.
 Purington’s Pink is a rose that just exploded. You can see all the new growth in this photo. It didn’t mind the winter at all. Purington Pink was given to me by Herb and Barbara Purington who farm in Colrain.
Rose season is just beginning. Other perennials in bloom are May Night Salvia, Joan Elliot campanula, Achillea Paprika, trollius, and a host of volunteer pansies. I do not object to pansies or any other volunteers. I do object to deer that have eaten lily buds, Japanese anemone and veronicas!
Thank you Carol for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens. There is a lot to see in gardens all across the nation at this time of year.
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