Current garden favourites

The spring flowers are rapidly disappearing, but there's a greenness in the garden that is full of promise.  We still have some flowering shrubs flaunting their colour - Azalea, Viburnum, and of course the Redbud graced us with it's frothy pink clusters, but now is the time to look at some of the subtleties and textures that necessitate a closer look.

Primula veris

We have many of these dazzlers throughout the front garden and they are gradually spreading. Their bright yellow flowers radiate out atop a rigid stem, and due to their relatively low height they look particularly good at the front of the garden beds.

Epimedium

Epimediums are hardy perennials that flower in the spring. The flowers are borne on delicate stems that rid cup above the bronze-colored leaves. Flowers are spider-like with four petals and come in a range of colours - we have four different kinds, three of which are shown above. The leaves become more reddish in the fall, making them a very attractive ground cover.

Euphorbia

Euphorbia or spurge are heat- and drought-tolerant plants that often have rigid stems and somewhat bizarre floral structures.  Even when they are not in flower, they provide architectural interest. The lower image is a close-up of the flowers of the common Donkey Tail Spurge.