Linden time

A friend of mine claims linden trees ( Tilia sp. )  always bloom for Fathers' Day. And so they are this year. That ubiquitous pleasant (sometimes saccharine) fragrance in your neighborhood is probably a linden tree opening its nectar-laden flowers — one common name, "bee tree," seemed appropriate this morning, as I witnessed a bumble bee working over the specimen pictured below.

If you look closely, lindens have a rather odd flower configuration. Is that single asymmetrical leaflet a bract?  And the way the stalk originates mid-blade — and seems to pierce it — reminds me of Uvularia, particularly U.  perfoliata.

Linden blossoms on W. 101st Street.

Pleasing purple

Here's a beautiful sweep of East Friesland salvia, or meadow sage (Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland') in the garden of Master Gardener Diana Tsingopolous at the clay tennis courts along the Hudson River Greenway in Riverside Park. 

Compared to some other salvia, East Friesland doesn't re-bloom all that well (deadheading will produce sporadic subsequent flower spikes), but if you have the space to mass it, the initial flush of flowers creates an eye-popping display. 

Swallowtail feast

Here's a lovely little combo in the garden of Miriam Kahn at the clay tennis courts in RIverside Park. A female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) enjoys some phlox nectar ( probably P. maculata ), but found the peonies (Paeonia) and flags (Iris) equally tasty. She was either delighted or camera shy as she fluttered her wings at an unusually high speed and was very difficult to photograph. I saw my first tiger swallowtail about a week ago, but couldn't catch up to it with my camera.

Peonies a-poppin'

Peonies (Paeonia sp.) are beginning to pop. Here are some just beginning to open with bearded iris (Iris germanica). As with other species, this year's bloomtime seems quite late. I could not find any photos of peonies from last year, but cockspur hawthorns which are in bloom now too (see May 26), bloomed on, or about, May 16 last year, so we are about 10-14 days later this year. Oddly, roses seem on time. Why are some flowers blooming late while others seem unaffected by the cool spring?

​Peonies and bearded iris finally blooming in late May on the Hudson RIver Greenway in Riverside Park

Black Swallowtail

Here's my first black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) sighting. I have been seeing painted ladies (Vanessa cardui) for at least the past couple of weeks but haven't been able to catch up to one of the flighty gals to get a photo.

​Male black swallowtail buttterrfly on hydrangea foliage in Riverside Park

Unusual, but artful, combo

Here's a bloom combination I would have never thought of: coral bells and roses. Roses love sun, while Huechera is generally thought of as a woodland plant. Yet, here they are thriving together and blooming.

What an artful combination too. Not only do the flowers — red and pink — harmonize, but the burgundy foliage of this 'SIlver Scrolls' cultivar completes the chromatic chord with a deeper shade of the hot red 'Knockout' rose.

And let's not overlook the complimentary textural variety. Or the added sensory experience of the spicy boxwood fragrance. ​

Kudos to the designer.​ (And early apologies for borrowing this combination in my future work.)

​Broadway & 73rd plaza planter