Blooms in the Serenity Garden in May

Serenity

Vision of stillness

breathtakingly beautiful

peace, serenity.

Phyllis Babcock

The shade garden was not so serene two years ago when we removed the silver maple. The cutback in the amount of shade, the damage caused by fallen branches, and the resulting bareness of the beds made me very sad. Two springs later, serenity has returned to this favorite garden spot of mine. The plants have filled in the spaces and our serene lady once more dips her toes into a pool of blue grape hyacinths. The garden is enhanced by layers of foliage from dark green boxwoods and chartreuse spirea to climbing hydrangeas. Click on the pictures below to enlarge and see what I mean. You will notice the lacy ferns, the delicate white blossoms of lily-of-the valley, and a red bleeding heart, each adding its own beauty.

At the other end of Serenity the layered look is continued with mounds of hostas, a burgeoning turtle head, and an evergreen (the name of which I have forgotten) in front of the old cedar tree. The beautiful angel on the trunk of the cedar tree was gifted to me by my daughter more than ten years ago. The two plants in bloom in this area are lamium and calycanthus.

Serenity

Tranquility of Nature's best

turns troubles to trivialities.

Joyce Johnson

I know I post pictures of the same flowers every year, but I never tire of May blooms: Jacob's ladder, lily-of-the-valley, bleeding heart, brunera, calycanthus, and violets -- all flowering in Serenity today. You've seen them before; here they are again:

Jacob's Ladder or Greek valerian (Polemonium caeruleum)

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost,' pink Lamium, and the faded flowers or Helleborus 'Ivory Prince.'

Clockwise from top left: Lungwort (Pulmonaria), Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum), 

Miniature Hosta, Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus) 

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra sp.)

I planted numerous hostas in Serenity, with miniature ones in the fairy gardens. It was not so serene when I chased the deer out. I sprayed a deterrent, but with all the rain lately ...

Deer nibbled the hostas

There are violets all through Serenity ...

Violets (Viola sp.)

                                                                                             .... and more in the Cottage Garden:

Violet (Viola sororia 'Freckles')

In the Cottage Garden, violets and primroses, oh, my.

Also in the Cottage Garden the allium buds are ready to burst open.

Allium sp.

I am late for Garden's Bloggers' Bloom Day, celebrated on the 15th of each month, but I'm participating anyway. If you go to our host's blog, May Dreams Gardens, you will see that Carol's blooms are so much more advanced than mine even though her Indiana garden is the same zone 6 as here. Until fairly recently we were classified as zone 5 which I thought was much more accurate. Looking at Carol's columbine and clematis, I'm hopeful, however, as I feel the promise of blooms to come. Check it out!

The storms this week brought terrible devastation to much of the Northeast. We didn't lose power and my gardens were not impacted except for minor flooding. And I saw my first butterfly. I feel blessed! Wherever you live, I hope you are safe and enjoying your May garden.

Love,

Pamela x

Morning Cloak butterfly on Crabapple

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