Susan’s Minnesota Garden, Part 2: Spring and Summer

Hi GPODers! We’re back in St. Paul, Minnesota (Zone 5a), for Part 2 of Susan Warde’s garden tour! Earlier this week, Susan shared a look at her garden from late July through October. Today we’re heading back to spring to see what was growing earlier in the season. Let’s take a look!

Here are some photos from late May through July.

Shaded Minnesota back garden, Blue Ivory hostas, silver-blue and cream variegated foliage, Japanese maple, ferns, wild cranesbill

The back garden. Wild cranesbill (Geranium maculatum, Zones 3–8) in the upper left corner is the only plant in flower at this time (late May), but the foliage is pretty, I think. The dominant hosta is ‘Blue Ivory’ (Hosta ‘Blue Ivory’, Zones 3–9).

Pink flowering Rosy Lights azalea, layered front garden, Japanese maple, hostas, ferns, stone birdbath, Minnesota spring garden

Front garden (late May). I think the azalea is ‘Rosy Lights’ (Rhododendron ‘Rosy Lights’, Zones 3–7) from the Northern Lights azalea series.

Cherished tall bearded iris, pale cream and yellow ruffled flowers, yellow beards, green foliage, late spring perennial garden

Tall bearded iris (Iris ‘Cherished’, Zones 3–9), late May.

Sultry Mood tall bearded iris, deep purple ruffled flowers, upright buds, late May blooms, Minnesota perennial garden

Tall bearded iris ‘Sultry Mood’, late May.

Pale lavender Siberian iris, purple-veined petals, upright flower buds, narrow green foliage, spring perennial garden

A Siberian iris (Iris sibirica cvs., Zones 3–9); I don’t know the cultivar name (late May).

Acropolis clematis, deep magenta flowers, Kansas peony, stone birdbath, flowering vine, early June garden

My earliest clematis (Clematis ‘Acropolis’, Zones 4–9), with ‘Kansas’ peony (Paeonia lactiflora ‘Kansas’, Zones 3–8) in the background (early June).

Cream Asiatic lily, burgundy-speckled petals, unopened flower buds, lily foliage, July garden, Minnesota

This Asiatic lily (Lilium ‘Stracciatella Event’, Zones 3–8) was labeled ‘Stracciatella Event’, but it doesn’t look like the photos of that cultivar. Within a couple of days of this photo, taken July 6, the lily was demolished by scarlet lily beetles, which ultimately made mincemeat of all my lilies. The foliage looked so terrible that I had to cut them all down.

Lavender Moonchild daylily, pale lavender-pink flowers, yellow-green throats, unopened buds, summer perennial garden

‘Lavender Moonchild’ daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Lavender Moonchild’, Zones 3–9), mid-July. Deer are a very rare occurrence in the city. I hadn’t seen one for years, but this summer two young bucks roamed the neighborhood, and every night they snacked on daylily buds and blossoms. They were not deterred by either of the sprays I tried.

Marquee Moon daylily, pale cream ruffled flowers, yellow throats, green perennial foliage, midsummer garden

This daylily is ‘Marquee Moon’. Set farther back in the garden, it was spared by the deer (mid-July).

Minnesota side yard garden, blooming daylilies, pink garden phlox, purple coneflowers, yellow black-eyed Susans, blazing stars, curved green lawn

A view of the side yard (July 25). Daylilies, garden phlox (Phlox paniculata cvs., Zones 4–8), coneflowers (Echinacea cvs., Zones 3–9), black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia cvs., Zones 3–9), and blazing stars (Liatris cvs., Zones 3–9) are all in bloom.

Thank you for sharing another look at your garden, Susan! I especially enjoyed seeing your collection of irises and daylilies, although I’m sorry the deer and lily beetles caused so much trouble this year.

If you missed Part 1, you can see Susan’s garden from late summer through fall.

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