Monday, June 18, 2012

Elegant Colors: Wild and Tame Flowers

Just in case you wondered if you could grow a rhododendron zone 1 or 2, well, here is some evidence that it is possible.  An enthusiastic local gardener has been growing this Finnish rhododendron for a few years.  The blooms this year are lovely.  The Helsinki/Finnish rhododendrons are bred to be hardy in colder weather, though I've even seen them growing in the Japanese garden of my zone 6 hometown.  This one looks most like the cultivar called 'Pohjola's Daughter'.
Finnish rhododendron

"Wildhof" Triumph tulip, still blooming strong in my garden mid-June.
The ubiquitous forest floor plant, Cornus canadensis (bunchberry).
The forest floor is quite pretty at the moment, with the pink ladyslipper orchids, the false Solomon's seal and the white flowers and elegant ridged leaves of the bunchberries (Cornus canadensis).  June 1 to 20 is the best time to see these pretty orchids.  We have many of them growing in the forest behind our house. 
Cypripedum acaule, the pink ladyslipper

2 comments:

Northern Shade said...

You've had a long tulip season with your variety of types. Wildhof looks so crisp in the sunlight with its dazzling white colour.

I've been growing Cornus canadensis under my spruce for the last three years, but it is taking a while to fill in, so I don't have the solid carpet yet like your wild shot.

Sandra Dogger Klassen said...

I call the pink lady slippers " Ditch Orchids". They thrive in bright sunlit areas in the ditches near Candle Lake.
~~~. Sandra