In February/March the purple crocuses and yellow forsythia and yellow and white daffodils begin the show (along with some others like early pansies and purple hyacinths). Then the sequence follows pretty much as you described, except that I have tulips and irises and flowering trees blooming in the spring also.

As we move toward early summer, all sorts of perennials bloom for the first half of summer, including some daylilies that will re-bloom later in the summer. I also have more bulb lilies blooming in sequence from early summer to mid summer to late summer. My hydrangeas are also split up -- the Annabelles blooming the first half of summer, the paniculatas blooming the second half.

Crepe Myrtle and wild flowers like Black-eyed Susans keep the garden going through the dog-days of summer's end, and then the chrysanthemums start taking over--I must have somewhere between 50-60 of them, early fall, mid fall, and later fall blooming. In fact, the only thing blooming in my garden at the moment is some left-over mums.

And, of course, my roses are coming in and out of bloom during that whole time from May to November.

December and January are about the only months that have no blooms here, but there are flowers that aren't overly bothered by cold weather--like my pansies that are planted and bloom in the fall, are left in the ground over winter, and then start blooming again in April. Actually it is our hot summer they cannot survive--they give up the ghost about mid-June and are replaced with some blue lobelia (summer annual) when I can find it.

Here's a sample of the sequence:

Red tulips--before the roses start blooming

Here's some of my springtime mixtures--pink/white peony, purple pansies, 2 roses (Lady of Guadalupe and Easter Basket):

Springtime irises and red roses:

Here's a few more springtime irises, thrown in because they are new and I want to show them off.

Late spring/early summer roses and blue pansies covering up (partially) my neighbor's ugly garage:

Earlier summer blooming hydrangea (Annabelle) with wildflowers and hosta

Some early summer blooms, while Molineux (right front corner) rests after its early bloom cycle. (Blue larkspur, yellow bulb lilies, white bulb lily not quite open yet on the left; yellow yarrow; lgt. blue clematis in background. You can't see it, but Earth Song rose is just to the left of this pic.)

Mid-summer bulb lilies, wild flowers, and roses blooming

Later blooming hydrangea (Vanilla Strawberry)--paniculata--blooming last half of summer:

Golden mums starting to open early autumn:

Here's some fall blooming pansies with some white mums in background on right side.

Our Happy New Year snow storm, back in 2006; last good snow we've had around here (global warming, ya know).

Just a sample of some of the sequences found in my gardens. : )

Hope you enjoyed the seasonal tour. : )

Kate

I am reading a book, Margery Fish, by Timothy Clark. I had meant to read a book BY her but I have learned a lot from this book. She grew many plants on alkaline clay in shade that I never knew would grow there. Eventually I intend to read the books by her, especially Gardening on Clay and Lime. One I read long ago was We Made a Garden. The only thing that I remember, specifically, about it was the glass moose eyes rolling around the garden. These were from the taxidermy specimens that her husband had mounted as focal points, much to her disapproval.

Also, do try Eranthis hiemalis in your shade garden. It takes a while to form colonies but is then a very satisfactory plant.

I too have been thinking of and working on our tiny shade garden that I call the "woods". I have been thinking of planting some gold variegated Eleaegnus (Gilt Edge and some form of Maculata). Usually I recoil from gold variegation but it has been gradually infiltrating the woods garden. I think that it is due to the influence of the golden green moss. This is such a nice color in a winter garden when everything else is drab.

Cath

Ingrid

Cath, I will definitely keep Margery Fish and her books in mind (a Christmas present to myself?); thank you for telling me about them, they certainly sound like they could be useful. One of my current passions is sarcococca. It's that rarest of plants in my conditions, a glossy-leafed evergreen shrub (fragrant, too!) that grows in the shade in clay and takes summer drought. Unfortunately it's rather tender; most kinds are hardy only to Zone 7-8. I have winter aconite here, and agree with you about its charm. It's native and we dug some up years ago and planted it in the bed next to the house where it has been slowly increasing.
Like you I have a history of wariness toward yellow-variegated plants, but it has eroded. The big breach came when a friend gave me two yellow-variegated shrubs he had propagated, a ligustrum and the Japanese euonymus I mentioned in my first post. The latter had a bad reputation with me anyway: I remembered it perennially infested with scale. But what could I do? they were a gift: I planted them. And in fact the yellow-variegated Japanese euonymus is a shining example of the importance of right plant right place. My plant has always been completely healthy in its clay and part shade, and the bright variegation goes fine with the box and the fiery fall foliage of the crepe myrtle that grow nearby, as well as with the purple flowers of the lilacs when they bloom. And I love the sunny yellow of the ligustrum. I don't know how prone eleagnus is to reversion. The same friend gave me a yellow variegated eleagnus (he actually has a refined taste in plants, though you might not guess it from his gifts I've listed here), and I believe that it may have by now all reverted to green.

Ingrid, thanks.

Melissa

Shade gardens have the advantages of needing very little color and offering a lot of evergreen. They can be more intimate and more mysterious than sun gardens. And since many hybrid musks do well in part shade, they offer a splash of color at transition zones.

You phrased it just right, Melissa. "Different gardens at different times of year, all in the same place." I often refer to my spring gardens or my earlier summer gardens, etc., and people often give me puzzled looks. That one can have different gardens at different times of the year is evidently a foreign thought to many people. I know any number of people have expressed pity for me that I can not find one set of flowers that will bloom all season without changing. I of course look at them in amazement and wonder why anyone would not want the variety of ever changing gardens.

So there we are--different strokes for different folks.

: )

Kate

The Eranthis hiemalis grew slowly for me too until a seedling found its way to the bottom of the hill where it has formed large colonies. Apparently it prefers the moist woods at some point in its growth cycle but I must say that the woods can get very dry at times in the summer.

Cath

Ingrid

However, I don't know if it needs some cold winter temps. Almost all my gardening experience has included cold winters. I've never tried to grow it where the winters are warmer. You'll have to check that on the Iris Forum.

Two things about iris. When they bloom, they FLAUNT their beauty--they take over the whole scene!

Their bloom only lasts about two weeks--but their spear-shaped leaves look nice next to roses, even when there is no bloom.

Good luck. : )

Kate