Last Day of May

Sunny days are here again and my yellow bulk-purchase tulips are blooming nicely. My only disappointment is that they are not very tall. My Single Late tulips are much taller.

(1) Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule) -- bright yellow flowers all summer! Commonly also found in orange and cream colors. If you're lucky you can find some pink ones too.

I am happy to see all the plants did well in the newly built raised beds, as there were concerns about the hardiness of plants in this situation. However, the dry-stack rock walls are two feet thick and probably provide a reasonable amount of protection.












(2) Yellow Tulips, exact variety unknown (bulk deal -- I shouldn't really complain).
(3) Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantia) with pink Phlox subulata in background-- this fuzzy silver-leaved plant gets a bit taller and eventually produces some inconsequential purple flower stalks, but I prefer it at this stage. It is easily divided and my one original plant is now five! Looks excellent in the rock garden. It creeps out at the edges and if not divided regularly, may die out in the middle. Those gardeners who call it invasive probably live in wimpishly mild climates.