Crabapple Blossoms On May Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

 "The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May."

-  Edwin Way Teale

Spring arrived very late this year, but was worth the wait. After nearly a week of warm, dry, sunny weather the crabapple burst into rosy bloom.

Crabapple Malus sp.

 The red azalea at the front of the house bloomed, also, and the white azaleas have flower buds ready to open.

Korean Azalea Rhododendron yedoense var,

Around the pond, spikes of ajuga make mats of jagged purple.

Bugleweed Aju

One pretty veronica plant blooms in the perennial border.

Veronica Veronica 'Christy'

The heady smell of lilac fills the air. The wren must be intoxicated by the lilac blooms at her front door.

Lilac Syringa vulgaris

In the shade garden, the lamium's purple flowers carpet the ground ...

Deadnettle Lamium

... and sweet lily-of-the-valley blooms there.

Lily-of-the-Valley convallaria majalis

Most of the daffodils in the perennial border have faded, except for the tiny, white ones that my mother called jonquils.

Daffodil Narcissus

But May is not only about blooms, it is about important garden work. This is my busiest month of the year, necessitating several trips to the garden center. On one such trip, to purchase mushroom compost, I found this lovely cast-concrete flower-fairy. More expensive than I was prepared to pay, I noticed she had a broken wing, and persuaded the storekeeper to sell her to me for $20.

I found just the spot for her with her back to a wall, so you cannot see the broken wing.

H.H. and I set to work mulching the rose bed ...

... and the perennial borders.

I decided to extend the shade-garden into the corner by the picket fence, building up the corner using a no-dig (lasagna) method: layering newspaper, compost, and peatmoss, just like making a lasagna. The completed new bed will house three large hostas that I must relocate into a more shady spot than their current home.

 

Talking of hostas, the bed planted by H.H.'s mother promises to grow higher than ever this year-

But May is not just for flowers, blossoming trees, and spring-garden chores. I look forward to the birds' morning chorus, as I take my early stroll around the garden each new day.  I watch the tree swallows checking out the blue-bird boxes, looking for a place to build a nest. I see butterflies and bees, again. The frog sings to his ladyfriend. They think they are completely hidden in the parrot's feather plant.

Every afternoon, in the top field, a red fox pup plays and rolls around, until his mother makes him return to the shelter of the woods.

In the kitchen garden the promise of summer lies in the first strawberry flower.

Strawberry 'Allstar'

Spring came very late this year, but was worth the wait. After a spell of warm, dry, sunny weather the crabapple tree burst into rosy bloom.

Now it is time to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see blooms around the world on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Please join me there!  

Pamela x

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