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A Closer Look at Winter Damage

But first, take a look at this gorgeous rainbow that we had on Friday! The five-day stretch of warm temperatures last week really jump-started the garden. Now that plants are putting out new growth, it is easier to see what kind of damage the winter left. Back in mid-January, we experienced five straight days of below-freezing temperatures. This caused much damage in Portland and areas where frigid winds were a factor. Here, we were fortunate to not get the wind and the cold temperatures were dampened by a blanket of snow. That said, it was a tough time for the garden and there are noticeable casualties but no outright deaths that I have seen. The bottlebrush ( Callistemon 'Woodlander's Red') did not like the cold at all. It was planted six years ago, in the north-facing garden no less, and I've not experienced die-back on it until now. A local expert said to cut it all the way back so that is what I did. If it doesn't make it, I won't be too distraught. It is

July Bloom Day

I'm a day late for Gardener's Bloom Day. The garden is a wild mess right now and I've got to get out there and start working. The mosquitoes are terrible this year and for the first time in my life, they seem to like me. We've been getting a lot of rain and everything is lush and green. And as a result, more blooms than you'd normally see this time of year.

Lily "Scheherazade"

Aloe Vera - I didn't realize that the aloe vera bloomed but it does!

Orange Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)
Lily "Caravan"

Tiger Lily
Naked Ladies (Lycoris squamigera)
Naked Ladies (Lycoris squamigera)
Italian Arum (Arum italicum)
Fleece Flower (Persicaria 'Red Dragon')
Crinum Lily
Begonia
Rose of Sharon "Bluebird" (Hibiscus syriacus)
To see what is blooming in other gardens all over the U.S., check out Garden Blogger's Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. OMG...I'm in love with your Lilies! I just planted 'Sarabande' this spring...and it looks like it might have one or two buds on it...so excited!

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  2. I see the tiger is roaming your garden too. I have fallen in love with lilies. I am going to try to find more to plant. Happy GBBD.

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  3. Happy GBBD! I see it's lily season on a lot of blogs right now. I don't tire of seeing them though. So beautiful! (BTW, we are seldom bothered by mosquitoes here in Washington state. I'm not completely sure why. Although we get a lot of rain, possibly it doesn't really get hot enough for them to proliferate.)

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  4. Beautiful Philip absolutely beautiful

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  5. Beautiful Philip absolutely beautiful

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  6. Hi Philip! Is it just be or is your photography improving by leaps and bounds? Not that it wasn't excellent before, but I'm finding myself just soaking it in... Sheherazade is absolutely gorgeous in your capture!
    Larry

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  7. Oh yes, Alison's right, just one more reason to move to paradise. Or Portland:) Your blooms all look beautiful!

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  8. I have always liked lilies and those Naked Ladies are every bit as pretty as their namesakes.

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  9. "seldom bothered by mosquitoes" - you guys are killing me!

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  10. I'm growing Persicaria 'Red Dragon' for the first time this year and loving it. I've already cut it back once to keep it in bounds a bit. It is flowering again. Such a dainty flower. It all looks great there.~~Dee

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  11. Lovely blooms! We are finally getting some rain-maybe I'll get some relief on my water bill! Have a great week! Blessings

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  12. Beautiful blooms. Remember the tiger lilies from way, way back. The begonia and container are awesome paired together!

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  13. My Scheherazade is blooming, but my Naked Ladies haven't yet. I lost several lilium last year, but still have around 20 varieties.

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  14. Hi Phillip, Love your naked ladies. I've planted them a couple of times and got nothing. Is there a secret to them, do you know? Love your garden!

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  15. My garden is a mess right now, too, but the heat is keeping me out of it even more than the mosquitoes. I always thought mosquitoes liked me because I was sweet, but now I find out they like people with type O blood:)

    All your lilies are beautiful! I've been "touring" your garden via Tina's posts--what a magnificent garden you have, Phillip!

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  16. So jealous of those naked ladies. Maybe I should give them a try even though I am technically out of their zone range. Perhaps with a good layer of mulch they will not notice.

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  17. Amazing lilies! That orange daylily is perhaps the most striking I have seen. And how interesting to see blooms of aloe vera - here it grows only indoors as a houseplant, never blooms. Very cool.

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  18. "Scheherazade" is amazing! Tiger Lily is 3-D, what a wonderful shot!

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  19. Everybody is out there posting all these gorgeous lily pix, and I'm over here fussing over my one lonely lily! Lovely Phillip, truly!

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  20. As usual, beautiful photos. I much enjoyed my visit today. I try hard here on the shores of Lake Michigan, but I'll never get the kind of photos you have. They are awesome.JC

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