“Winter is many months of the year
But now at last Maytime is here;
And birds sing from a leafy screen
In the trees and hedgerow freshly green;
And the wood-anemone is out in the shade,
With its blushing petals which too soon fade;
Once more the bracken is unfurling there,
And bluebells gently perfume the damp air.”
– Veronica Ann Twells, Maytime
Although it is the end of May my wildflowers are blooming as if it were just the beginning of May. We had one warm, dry week and then it has been cooler and definitely wetter. But as you can see my creeping phlox has made a grand appearance. The background picture is actually a photo that I manipulated in a Mac app called PhotoArtista-Oil. It takes any photo and creates many different styles of oil paintings. Only wish I had the time to paint the real thing. Maybe when I retire I will finally have time to really get into drawing and painting. I’ll add it to the list.
The native violets have come out in full force in many areas of the garden. I couldn’t name these, but I love the colors and how they just fling themselves hither and yon. The background picture is a hardy geranium. One of the first blooming and just gorgeous.
This bed is mostly native plants. It is well protected up against the back of the house which is North facing so it gets lots of shade and stays moist. A wonderful environment for natives here. In the bed starting in the back left is native columbine, Mayapple, Aconitum unicinatum or Monkshood, Bloodroot, Yellow Trillium, Carex muskingumensis or Palm Sedge, Twinleaf, Actaea rubra, Virginia Bluebells and Aruncus dioicus or Goatsbeard. Also in the bed are ferns (some native, some not), Hosta, Bergenia, Lady’s Mantle, Lungwort and Brunnera. In the smaller photos are all the different trilliums I have scattered throughout the garden in back. These were not here when we moved in since they stripped the land to develop it. So I brought in white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), yellow trillium (Trillium erectum which is an erect yellow flowering form) and the gorgeous mottled leaves of Trillium sessile with its unusual red flower. The pink trillium is actually how the flower of white trillium looks as it ages and fades. It is a stunning rose pink color. The other two flowers are: Dodecatheon meadia (Shooting Star-white flowers) and Virginia Bluebells close up.
Other natives found showing their stuff in May are (clockwise from top left) white tiarella flowers, hepatica, actaea rubra (Red Baneberry) in flower, Vibrurnum dentatum “Blueberry Muffin”, pink tiarella flowers, Heuchera “Miracle” sporting beautiful variegated leaves and just putting out flower buds and Jack-in-the-pulpit. The bottlebrush flowers in the center are from the native shrub Fothergilla.
As I have been dealing with the loss or under performance of plants due to conditions here in my zone 5 garden, I have begun to add more natives in hopes they will survive the wetter conditions. In the meadow, we planted two Viburnum trilobum or American Cranberrybush. It will get wonderful red berries to feed the birds and reaches 10-12 feet in height and width. These are in the back of the meadow, and will be a great back drop for the smaller native viburnums we planted in early spring.
This is smaller variety of Cranberrybush called Hah’s which gets to 6-8 feet. We planted it near the rain garden where it gets wet. This shrub loves the moist to wet conditions and clay. Perfect for my meadow and yard.
Finally columbines are blooming with Amsonia (bottom center) just beginning to open. Top left is wild blue phlox blooming in my white garden. Looks like we will be moving that once it blooms.
Robin Update
Momma robin has started laying her eggs and we hope to see her on the nest and babies hatched by early June. There are 4 beautiful eggs, and she is staying very close to the nest. To get the pictures below, I had to endure a stern talking to from momma. She caught me bending over the tree to take a picture of the nest and her face in the bottom right picture says it all.
“The world’s favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.”
– Edwin Way Teale
Special Note: Come celebrate Wildflower Wednesday at Clay and Limestone and Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time this week.
Monthly (usually around the 10th) I guest blog at Walkabout Chronicles. I hope you can join me for my most recent post and interview.
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