Why I Oughta...

This post is going up in early July, but these photos are from a week ago - in late June.  The combination of the pink blooms from a pair of Stachys 'hummelo' paird with the long, white barrel-shaped blooms on the Little Henry Sweetspire erupted together.  At the same time.  They're both planted in our front yard, right along the front walk from our driveway.  Below is a look at the Little Henry Sweet Spire Spirea in full bloom: And, tucked right in front of the shrub are a pair of Stachys Hummelo with their pink blooms standing tall on the top of stalks.  I *really* need to plant more of these. Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' with Little Henry Sweetspire Spirea It was humid out when I took this photo, but below you can see them working together: Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' I also should expand this bed out this Fall - with the 'lazy bed' method.  Noted for my [Fall 2025] task list.  

The treeform Doublefile Viburnums that we have in our backyard are in their full, Spring-blooming glory this week.  At least one of them, that is.  The shrubs have a layered set of branches that are home to clusters of white flowers that spread out from these little green dots.  The result is dramatic pop of white.  Below are a few photos - showing the full treeform viburnum and some close-ups of the white Doublefile Viburnum flowers.   Here's a post from a year-ago that shows the blooms on these same shrubs in Spring 2024 .  They were a few weeks ahead of this year.   A couple weeks ago, I added two more Doublefile Viburnums to the backyard - Pink Beauty .  They are shrubs - not treeform - versions that (I hope) will provide some pink-hued blooms in the coming years.  

Pops of chartreuse have been showing up in our backyard shade garden in various ways over the years.  One of the most successful was born out of a whim:  this Lemony Lace Elderberry shrub that I planted in the Fall of 2022 as part of a [Fall Planting] sprint .   The Lemony Lace Elderberry provides late Winter/Early Spring interest with wild-looking purple buds and some deep-red foliage .   This week, it started to bloom.  Below are a couple photos showing how it has filled out this Spring: I have a pair of Eiffel Tower Elderberries on the other side of the backyard that are a little behind this one.