” If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created not just as it looked when we got through with it. ”
~Lyndon B. Johnson
I love this quote, and it has significant meaning for me as I age into the autumn of my life. It is one of the main reasons I wanted to garden with native plants….to leave the world maybe a little better than I found it.
Over the years, my garden has become an oasis of natives that have seeded themselves, and volunteered much like a meadow especially in the back gardens. And while I have not been able to do what I had wanted in designing gardens full of natives, I still have many prized wildflowers that bring me joy especially in May. I especially wanted to highlight the wildflowers that bloom in May, for Wildflower Wednesday that is hosted by Gail@clay and limestone on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
You can read more about many of the native plants that bloom in my garden on my Favorite Native Plants page.
Trilliums appear on forest floors around my area of New York in May. Here is Trillium luteum, and at the top of the page is Trillium ovatum, which is technically a native of the western U.S. not the eastern U.S. where I live.
The leaves of Twinleaf are fully developed, while the white flowers I showcased last week have faded. Interspersed between the leaves is Jack-in-the-Pulpit.
Here is a close-up of the amazing flowers of this native plant, Jack-in-the-Pulpit. I have been in love with this plant and its name since I was a young child. And am so happy to have it growing in my garden.
Another amazing foliage wildflower is Mayflower. It has a sweet little flower that blooms under the leaves later. But it is the foliage, that spreads and fills in at the edge of woods, that is beauty of this plant.
Solomon’s Seal is just starting to bloom. I love the graceful long stems that bend and bow with these little flowers.
And more violets are blooming too. And this time it is the native Common Blue Violet or Viola soraria.
Many native ferns are just starting to unfurl. This is delicate Maidenhair Fern my absolute favorite fern.
And it wouldn’t be May without Virginia bluebells. It took several years to get these to flower, but now they have multiplied and volunteered all around my back shade garden. What a delight they are.
There will be many more natives blooming in the coming months, and I hope to highlight them monthly.
What are your favorite native or non-native May flowers? Do you grow any native plants?
A Native Vase and A Surprise
First the surprise…..one sole tulip bloomed again this year. I think it was spared from the deer because it was surrounded by alliums. So of course I needed to cut it, and put it in a vase to preserve its beauty and watch it fade.
With all the natives plants blooming, I wanted to make a vase to showcase some of my favorites. I only used 3 native wildflowers for this vase. A few Mayflower leaves acted as chicken wire to separate the Trillium erectum luteum flowers and hold them upright.
Then I tucked several Virginia bluebell flowers under the Mayflower leaves and all the way around. I am so pleased with the result. It is a vase that will last a long time, and can be viewed from all angles. I think this may be my favorite native plant vase.
I am joining Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her wonderful In A Vase on Monday meme. The pictures shared here were created with my iPod Touch camera and two free apps, Pixlr and Prisma.
I am posting poetry, almost weekly on Sundays, on my other blog, Living From Happiness. You can read my latest poem here.
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