Last Days of Spring

I know the last days of spring have arrived when the Mock Orange and Kousa Dogwood bloom. Both have been blooming for over a week now and they are a glorious way to close the season.  I planted the Mock Orange (Philadelphus Belle Etoile) below 23 years ago.  It is 8-10 feet tall.  I have dug cuttings five or six times for friends.  Some nice Foxglove in the bed in front too.

The Kousa Dogwood blooms after it has leafed out and about 6 weeks later than native dogwoods.  This one is about five years old and is flowering better each year.

Another shrub that I appreciate more each year is Summersweet (Clethra alinifolia).  This guy is in dry semi shade when it really likes moist to wet soil.  It isn't as big as you would expect for a 10-12 year old specimen but it's blooms are delicate and hold for a long time.

A new perennial that I bought this past fall at a small nursery in Clarkson Nebraska is Alkanet (Anchusa azurea).  It was just a small 2" pot on sale at the end of the season. I potted it in a bigger pot last fall and set in the garden this spring.  It put up an eighteen inch flower stalk with bright tiny blue flowers.  After admiring it for a week or more I thought I'd cut it for church flowers.  I won't do that again--within 5 minutes it was sagging like a string of spaghetti. Thankfully I took this picture before I cut it.

Some other flowers blooming in the garden this week are Lychnis, Sundrops, and Red Hot poker.

And this weeks church flowers.