I mentioned that I thought it was rather dry in my previous post. I was quite surprised when I checked the weather Monday night and discovered a weather alert—a red flag warning. I have several cities listed in my weather app, so I thought I must have somehow switched to Arizona. No! Not Arizona—it was my hometown, as well as the rest of southeastern Michigan. Due to high winds, extremely low humidity, and high temperatures, there was a serious risk of fire starting and then spreading very easily. A red flag warning means no outdoor burning.
I watered the hostas that I had rescued and replanted when I removed the Scilla bifolia ‘Rosea.’
Meanwhile, my magnolia has bloomed. The house, partially in deep shade in this photograph, was such a distraction that I photoshopped it into a uniform blur. These flowers really were dancing in the sun.
Magnolia stellata is a lovely sturdy little tree in our rather erratic climate—“If you don’t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.” Of course, they said something very similar when I lived in Syracuse, NY.
The other pink flower of the moment is a species tulip, which I believe was labeled Tulipa persica, although prowling online, I do not see this particular coloration. I bought a few bulbs many years ago and stuck them in on the east side of the house, where they sulked until I relented and moved them to a sunnier spot. They are very, very slowly increasing in number.
They have a very brief blooming period, which is true of other species tulips that I have, but they are lovely—and like the other species tulips—unpalatable to rabbits!
Tulipa tarda is a sunny yellow species tulip that reminds me of waterlilies when a patch is in full bloom. The flowers last barely a week, and only open when it is sunny. They are 2 or 3 weeks behind this year because of our chilly April.
This tulip multiplies happily. It goes to seed, which I scatter where I want them to grow. The original plants grew from bulbs.
The bluebells are creating a great blue haze that positively vibrates at dusk. All of my bluebells are descendants of a plant I brought home a few years ago. They will finish their business in a matter of weeks, and keel over and go dormant. This patch will be hidden by hostas; in the north flower bed, Solomon’s seal will hide them; and in the rain garden, they will be hidden by lady ferns.
Lastly, this scorcher of a day was blown in on a stiff wind that stripped the twinleaf flowers bare.
Now they look like little green aliens who got mugged by the wind. This heat will change things rapidly, so there will be more photographs soon.