Flowers Throughout the Year

Since we’re in the dead of winter with snow covering everything, it’s a good time to think about flowers. I’ve already started receiving seed catalogs, but I’m not sure how much ordering I’m going to do this year. I seem to be on track with my seed saving, so we’ll see.

I wanted to see when all the perennials we have here start blooming. Mainly to see what needs some help from annuals, but also maybe moving something around or adding something.

Blooms by Month (when the flowers first appear):

March
First to bloom every year are the snowdrops.

image of early snowdrops in bloom

Next is something I’ve been calling Siberian iris but I think that’s wrong.

image of Siberian iris in bloom

And the yellow crocus arrives before …

image of yellow crocus in bloom

… the purple crocus.

image of early snowdrops in bloom

And then come the species tulips.

image of early tulips in bloom

Hellebore usually appears around Easter. This stuff spreads everywhere and is tough to pull and get out of places I don’t want it. But it is evergreen, for what that’s worth.

image of hellebore in bloom

The daffodils also appear around Easter.

image of daffodils in bloom

April
I’m counting bulbs as perennials too. Here are some daffodils (first to appear).

image of some daffodils flowering

And tulips (last to appear (in April)).

image of some tulips flowering

Not much in April, but don’t worry – May will make up for it.

May
Crabapple tree – one of my favorite, I wish I would last longer. On the plus side, I’ve found several seedlings from it, so in several years I should have multiple trees blooming like this.

image of crabapple tree in bloom

Bleeding hearts – both red and white varieties.

image of bleeding heart plants in bloom

Some unknown ground cover-type thing. Nice thick leaves.

image of some unknown ground cover

Another unknown ground cover-type thing.

image of some unknown ground cover

Another unknown ground cover-type thing. This one blooms blue but then the blooms fade to purple.

image of some unknown ground cover

image of some unknown ground cover

Yet another unknown ground cover-type thing.

image of some unknown ground cover flowering

Ok, last ground cover for May. This one looks like Lamium.

image of some unknown ground cover flowering

Allium start appearing.

image of some allium flowering

One of our dogwood trees likes to bloom in May. This is the variety with the fruit you should not eat.

image of a dogwood tree flowering

Our chives also bloom in May. Note they are closely related to allium.

image of some chives flowering

Next is columbine.

image of some columbine flowering

An unknown flower, this time it’s not a ground cover.

image of some unknown flower

And the oakleaf hydrangea also blooms in May.

image of an oakleaf hydrangea flowering

I think the honeysuckles just grow wild along the treeline, but I’m counting it.

image of some honeysuckle flowering

And the woody peony blooms in May, earlier than the other kind.

image of a woody peony flowering

And that’s it for May, which seems to be the busiest time for flowers blooming.

June
First up for June is the wisteria. This is the Kentucky version, not the Chinese version.

image of wisteria in bloom

And then more allium. These are the bigger blooming variety.

image of allium in bloom

Astilbe.

image of astilbe in bloom

June is when our other dogwood blooms. This is the kind with the edible fruit in the fall.

image of dogwood in bloom

I call this a low-growing flower, not a ground cover. It’s Siberian bellflower.

image of Siberian bellflower in bloom

And our catmint. Not catnip.

image of catmint in bloom

There are a number of clematis around the house. This one is the first to start blooming.

image of clematis in bloom

Then the rose bush starts blooming. That keeps blooming until hard frost. The first couple of frosty mornings don’t bother it.

image of white rose bush in bloom

I call this a rock garden flower, not a ground cover. It’s creeping phlox.

image of creeping phlox in bloom

Now in June the other peonies (non-woody stems) start to bloom.

image of pink peony in bloom

We have a smoke tree. All the catalogs I get seem to call this a Pink Smoke Bush, but it’s got to be about 25 feet tall, so I think it’s a tree.

image of pink smoke bush (pink smoke tree) in bloom

Another rose, this one – the one they call Piñata – is supposed to climb, rather than be just a shrub. It has not progressed very far yet.

image of climbing rose in bloom

These are our little lilies. They stay under 2 feet tall.

image of small lilies in bloom

And our foxglove.

image of foxglove digitalis in bloom

And some dianthus.

image of dianthus in bloom

And last for June, baptisia. It’s more of a shrub than a plant. It takes up a lot of room for not much blooming show. I’m thinking of moving this one.

image of baptisia in bloom

July
I just planted this yarrow the year before. It should get bigger.

image of yarrow in bloom

This is ajuga reptans. Also planted the year before. I got it more for the foliage color than the blooms, but it does bloom so here it is.

image of ajuga reptans in bloom

The mallows didn’t do so well this year. I hope they come back. My wife calls these German hollyhocks.

image of mallow in bloom

Tickseed. Not sure about this one, as I certainly don’t want to be feeding ticks (nor planting them).

image of tickseed in bloom

Another clematis

image of white clematis in bloom

And daisies. These are practically weeds around here.

image of diasy in bloom

This is our tall lily. It’s around 4 feet tall, but it’s never that high since it doesn’t stand up straight.

image of lily in bloom

This is the fun garlic. It reminds me of swans. It could also be geese, but I don’t like geese. I suppose it’s not actually blooming in this photo, but to me this is when it’s most picturesque, when the seed heads start curling.

image of wandering garlic in bloom

I’ve heard this is called California firecracker. Not sure what it’s doing in Michigan, but it has done well enough.

image of California firecracker in bloom

This is the regular hydrangea.

image of hydrangea in bloom

And now the tall phlox starts blooming.

image of phlox in bloom

Blanketflower.

image of blanketflower in bloom

And a purple clematis.

image of purple clematis in bloom

Hardy geranium.

image of hardy geranium in bloom

We have normal milkweed that just grows wherever. It’s a weed. But we also have this showy milkweed that I planted specifically. It has much better blooms than standard milkweek.

image of showy milkweed in bloom

Coneflower. We have purple and white varieties.

image of coneflower in bloom

Some purple flowers. Not sure exactly what they are. I could look them up if I wanted, but they’re just filler (not focal points) so I’m not going to bother.

image of purple flowers in bloom

August
Scabiosa. This is the dark flower, mixed in with the showy milkweed I already showed you.

image of scabiosa in bloom

This is a type of aster that I planted earlier that year. I think they didn’t come back the next year, so either they weren’t perennials or my weeding was too aggressive.

image of some asters in bloom

I want to like delphinium, as the flowers have a rich hue. But so far they’re not very cooperative. If they come back this year I’ll upgrade their stakes.

image of delphinium in bloom

September
Not much happened in September, as far as new blooms goes. I think what happened was our September was not cold enough for the fall bloomers to activate.

October
In October the hollyhock finally did something.

image of hollyhocks in bloom

The matchstick mums appeared.

image of matchstick mums in bloom

The pink flowers also appeared, but I have no idea what they are.

image of pink flowers in bloom

And finally, last of all for the whole year: anemone!

image of pink anemone in bloom

image of white anemone in bloom

I did not get pictures of the flowering fruit trees, but we have apple and cherry and peach and plum trees that bloom in the spring. Oh, and elderberries too. Probably something else flowering too, but I think that’s enough for one day.

And on the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers;

Exodus 37:20

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This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:40 am and has been carefully placed in the Life category.

One Response to “Flowers Throughout the Year”

  1. js Says:

    “ajuga reptans” sounds like a Mexican dinosaur.

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