June 15th Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

Today is June 15th, Garden Blogger's Bloom Day!!

What's blooming in my garden today?

Yellow Iris

Perennial Geranium macrorrhizum 'Variegatum'

Perennial Bachelor Buttons - Centaurea montana

Climbing hydrangea

Siberian iris and allium moly

Climbing rose

Climbing rose

Climbing rose

Feverfew - Tanacetum parthenium (frantic self-seeder)

Serviceberry - Amelanchiar canadensis (the robins are making pigs of themselves over these!)

Coral bells - Heuchera brizoides x

Astilbe japonica 'Deutschland'

Shrub rose (buds are apricot - flower is white - so sweet!)

1996 Perennial of the Year - Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'

Clematis jackmanii

Shrub rose (that's grown 10' high this year!!)

Lysimachia punctata - Yellow Loosestrife

Lysimachia nummularia - Creeping Jenny 

Lady's Mantle - Alchemilla mollis (which is really more famous for how raindrops shine in the cupped leaves after a rain shower)

Climbing rose 'New Dawn'

Climbing rose 'Blaze'

Perennial geranium sanguineum (that I got from a dear friend)

The very very VERY last of the peonies

This is kind of cheating because the Oakleaf Hydrangea is barely beginning to bloom :)

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is a Meme created by May Dreams Gardens http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

Gardeners post images of what's blooming in their garden on the 15th day of every month. All are welcome to participate.

Rosedale Garden Tour, Toronto

Today my friend Sheila and I went on the annual "Through the Garden Gate" tour put on by the Toronto Botanical Garden society. This year's homes were in the resplendent Rosedale area. The brochure describes the area: "…We've been to Rosedale four times and these have been our most popular tours. So it's fitting that we're back for this special anniversary year (their 25th). Everyone loves Rosedale's spectacular properties, the serpentine streets, the sense of neighbourhood, the old trees and many ravines, not to mention the downtown location..."
We had a fabulous day! I took waaaay too many pictures so I will trim them down and give you just the highlights.

We couldn't decide if this was an old house or a new house built to look old…?

Yellow rose

Globe allium with yellow roses

Allium bulgaricum (I thought it was a fritillaria!)

This one was worth standing in (10 minute) line for!

Interesting water feature with coloured rocks and crystal clear water

Quiet sitting area with water feature

Lap pool with covered seating

There were so many wonderful Japanese maples in the area

Formal white columns and stone entryway

Container with tree and scaviola

Wonderful white gate flanked by white birch

Everyone was speculating if this was from the top of a church

Gorgeous entryway with pineapple sculpture atop white columns and some globe topiary

Trompe l'oeil

Grand backyard with towering Japanese maple

I'm a sucker for yellow roses!

A beautiful side entrance way...

…with a great focal point at the end of it!

See how effective it is to make groupings of the same plant?

This was the fanciest garden - first a wall of climbing roses

Then the Guest house

then the Exercise House (I'm serious! It was full of gym equipment and machines!!)

Rose garden...

…and fountain. It was a very formal space and looked like a well manicured park.

A MOST fabulous arbour!

Climbing roses

Very appropriate garden ornament

Our last garden featured a wonderful relief fountain.

I LOVE garden tours!!!