3 minute read
As Rare As A Day In June
By Jan Cashman
My husband Jerry’s favorite poem is, “As Rare as a Day in June” by Lowell. The poem is about plants and animals coming back to life in June after the long winter. Because so many plants are blooming, June is a favorite month for gardeners. Gardens have been planted and are up and growing. Lots of the work is done and the enjoyment begins. Let’s take a look at our favorite plants that bloom in June: Lilacs start blooming in late May but the later lilacs and Japanese tree lilacs flower in June. Dwarf Korean and Miss Kim lilacs bloom in June with wonderfully fragrant flowers. Hybrids of late blooming lilacs (Syringa villosa) such as Donald Wyman, a hardy and vigorous deep purple, bloom in June. Many shrubs such as the viburnums (snowball and cranberrybush) have white flowers in June. The very fragrant Mockorange is awash in flowers in late June. Roses are on the top of everyone’s list for their colorful, fragrant June blooms. The bright yellow of old-fashioned Persian and Harrisons yellow roses will stop you in your tracks along with the closely related Austrian Copper which has bright orange blooms. These three roses bloom only once a year, but when they are blooming, they are spectacular. Other hardy shrub roses bloom in June and then intermittently all season; some even flower continuously. A few of our best hardy shrub roses include the hot pink, rambling rose, William Baffin, the low-growing but vigorous red Adelaide Hoodless, and the small pinkish-red Winnipeg Parks that looks a little like a hybrid tea rose but is much hardier. The Morden series of recurrently-blooming hardy shrub
roses comes from Canada. It includes pale pink and bright pink roses, Morden blush and Morden Centennial, red-orange, Morden Fireglow, and a yellow blend, Morden Sunrise. All are superhardy and easy to grow. In June, German bearded iris flower in shades of blue, white, pink, and purple. Planted from corms in late summer, few perennials are as reliable and thrive like iris. The variegatedleafed irises make an interesting perennial in the landscape even after they have bloomed. Perennial flowers blooming in June include the bright, bold, orange Oriental poppies, lilies, catmint, and popular blue salvia. Salvia is popular for many reasons—their beautiful cobalt blue color, reliability, and deer resistance. One of my favorite perennials, hardy geraniums, comes in many sizes and flower colors. This perennial, which is nothing like the annual flower we call geranium, has aromatic foliage. Many of the flowers of the perennial geranium are a wedgewood blue color; they all bloom in June. There are many perennial ground covers that bloom in June: Thyme, lungwort, and candytuft are three. As I write this on June 12, my Sweet Woodruff and Lamium, both shade-loving, are in full bloom. Peonies are arguably the best perennial flower we can grow here. Blooming in June, and often into July, peonies are fragrant, long-lived, great for cutting, with big, red, pink, or white beautiful flowers. A yellow peony has now been developed but it may not be as fragrant as the traditional peony. When you are hiking in June, you’ll see wildflowers starting to bloom. The dry side of local hills are alive with large, bright yellow, arrowleaf balsamroot with hairy stems and leaves. The yellow of the balsamroot flower contrasts with the blue flowers of wild larkspur and lupine. “And what is so rare as a day in June? The flush of life may well be seen thrilling back over hills and valleys…Everything is happy now…Everything is upward striving…” says Lowell. June is the month of graduations, weddings, and Father’s Day. But more than these, June is the month of flowers and growth.
Jan Cashman has operated Cashman Nursery in Bozeman with her husband, Jerry, since 1975.
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