Thursday, May 29, 2014

May Dreams

English Bluebell

May was especially beautiful this year. Perhaps because for me winter was so cold, so full of pain, so sad, so very long. Now all the promises and dreams of spring are realized in my garden. Every lovely bloom is a surprise of color and delight of perfume. The shade garden came to life first, with spikes of blue grape hyacinths between the greening shrubs.

English boxwood, grape hyacinths, and golden mound spirea.

Now the shade garden is lush with hostas, ferns, brunnera, Jacob's ladder, all pushing through beds of lamium and  sweet woodruff, against a backdrop of climbing hydrangeas.

The shade garden in May.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' grows bigger and better every year.

Jacob's ladder Polemonium caeruleum -- another native plant for shade

May saw the return of my morning ritual -- walking through the garden, coffee mug in hand, when the chorus of birds is at its symphonic best. I see that my dreams of England are realized in the thick clumps of English bluebells, more dense and starting to spread, along Bluebell Creek. 

Bluebell Creek

The native English bluebell can be a nuisance in gardens in England, spreading like weeds, but they are more restrained and therefor very welcome in my garden, bringing happy memories of my childhood.

English bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta

This morning, I am joined by an unexpected guest in the Woodland Walk. He, or she, sniffs the bluebells' heady scent but does not eat them.


Walking toward the cottage garden, I pass my favorite shrub (today) vibernum with its amazing array of blossoms.

Vibernum

In the cottage garden, foxgloves are in bloom and peonies are in bud. A pale blue iris is just unfurling its petals.

Foxgloves, and an iris by the sundial.

The first yellow water iris is blooming in the pond.

Unbelievably, there were some daffodils flowering as late as last week.

Daffodil Narcissus 'Pheasant's Eye'

'Pheasant's Eye' is a very fragrant daffodil.

Primrose Primula is beginning to fade.

On the front porch I placed a basket of flowers given to me by my dear friend, Janet, to remind me of my mother's garden. The warm color is dramatized by the contrasting white-on-white of the azalea and the bridal-veil spirea.


Azalea and Bridal-veil spirea

On the deck, a robin has built a nest on the pergola, under the grape vine. We are entering and leaving the house by the back porch as often as we can so as not to disturb her ...


Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

-- Langston Hughes

 All the promises and dreams of spring are realized in my garden in May.

Pamela x




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18 comments:

  1. What a delightful May it is in your garden Pam. Despite the slow start you had to the year, it's all coming on now.
    Love Bluebell Creek - it must be such a pleasure having a meander through there.

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  2. Pam I'm so glad you are finding comfort in your beautiful May garden. The bluebells are lovely, and I think the shade garden is especially beautiful. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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  3. Oh Pam I am so happy to see all the spring beauty of your garden especially the bluebells that I have never been able to grow...fabulous May garden.

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  4. So lovely to see your garden all lush and green. I know you had to wait a bit longer than usual this year, but now it seems to have caught up. The bluebells are beautiful and I loved your white, enormous azalea.

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  5. Your Pocono Gardens look fresh and spring-like, Pam, so Pretty.

    The bluebell creek is such a delightful idea. I planted mixed bluebells one year. I still have Pinkbells among my gingers. The blue and white were not so hardy.

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  6. Your garden looks like a sanctuary--very peaceful color schemes. I'm glad it's feeding your soul this spring. That's what I've decided: flowers are food for my soul! Take care.

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  7. Hi Pam. Well, you want to have an English Garden and I'd say you've succeeded! ;) Blue bells just say 'England' to me. Not sure if they have the deer or not, though.

    Have a great week.

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  8. Lots of ideas there for my shady woodland garden. A beautiful May in your garden.

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  9. Hi Pamela, I'm sorry your winter was so difficult. I think all of us are glad it is behind us. And now, look at your May garden. so lovely that even a deer decided to mosey in for a visit and a robin couple felt safe enough to raise their babies. Don't you love this time of year!

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  10. If you ever decide to have a header pic ... I vote for the faun at Bluebell Creek! Would be a perfect icon for your garden at its magical best.

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  11. You have such a beautiful property, Pam. Love your shade garden, so lush and green with those splashes of color.

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  12. Your garden is looking beautiful, as always. I planted a yellow water iris in my tiny pond a few years ago and it's never flowered yet, but I can see the slightest glimpse of yellow at the moment so I'm hopeful that it's going to bloom soon.

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  13. It looks beautiful Pam, so lush and green. Definitely remind me of England, even without the bluebells :-) How sweet to have a robin nesting in your garden.

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  14. Ditto to all the previous comments...your garden is a sanctuary x

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  15. How lucky to run into the deer on your morning walk. She's beautiful. Like you I'm appreciating this spring all the more after such a hard winter.

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  16. It looks absolutely beautiful! I love all the fresh growth in your shade garden.

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  17. Foxgloves are one of my favorite flowers. I am growing them as well. My garden is mostly containers due to the fact that we are renters. I planted Foxgloves in containers and just a few in the ground. They did well both places. I would love to have a cottage garden someday. It is my dream.

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