May's beginning was very exciting with the publication of Country Gardens magazine's summer edition featuring my garden. Right there on the cover it states, 'English Garden Style: For Tough American Climates' -- that's my garden! What an honor to appear in a national magazine. I wrote about the photo shoot HERE describing those events when famed garden photographer, Rob Cardillo, and producer, Samatha Thorpe, came for two days in July. Rob's pictures are just spectacular and Samantha did a wonderful job writing a very accurate article. I thank those of you who read the feature and told me how much you enjoyed the article and the pictures of my garden.
After that excitement, the nonevents of the stay-at-home order were a bit of a letdown. The weather didn't help. As I described in my last post, temperatures fluctuated from plant-killing frosts to mid-summer-type heat and humidity. As a result, bloom times have been off kilter this May. If you look at the photograph at the top of the posting you will see that 'Globemaster' allium are in bloom in the cottage garden but not the peonies. Usually, the purple allium and red peonies bloom together, making a very striking picture. (The flowers on my pink peony, however, are opening.) Another anomaly this month is that the viburnum was in full bloom before the crabapple tree lost its flowers. I had thought that frost damage would prevent the crabapple from blooming at all, but its blossoms were late and spectacular. Other spring-flowering shrubs and perennials performed right on time.
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| The pink peony is blooming. I wish Blogger enabled you to smell these beauties |
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| Top: The rain garden decorated with petals of crabapple blossoms. Bottom right: Blooming crabapple (Malus species). Bottom left: Maries' Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii'). Pictures taken on the same day. |
I tend to post similar photos every year, so I'm happy to show something different. The viburnum below was not doing well for its first few seasons in my garden, probably because of deer damage, but now it is filling out and showing its lovely flowers.
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| Pink Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense 'Pink Dawn') |
May is English bluebell time; I picked some for the kitchen counter. Every year, on this blog I say the same thing, "How I miss the bluebells of my homeland." I grow them along Bluebell Creek to evoke wonderful memories of my childhood.
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| English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) |
Some of my favorite white flowers, right on time, at the front of the house:
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| Top right: lilac (Syringa Vulgaris var. alba). Top left and bottom right: Snow azalaea (Rhododendron mucronulatum). Bottom left: Bridal veil spiraea (Spiraea vanhoutte). |
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| Love my iris |
Of course, May is one of the busiest months in the garden. After dividing plants, weeding, and mulching, I planted the window boxes, and sowed and planted the Kitchen Garden. Duane and I put out pots and ornaments. I am so happy to display the new fish sculptures, a gift to myself as nobody took the many hints I dropped.
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| Five window boxes on the tractor shed planted with Supertunia® 'Vista Silverberry', Supertunia® 'Vista Bubblegum', and purple fountain grass. |
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| Top: Real koi fish Bottom: Ceramic fish sculptures by Maine artist Tyson M. Weiss |
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| Empty pots all around waiting to be filled. (Actually, I started that task and several are done.) |
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| All the direct sowing is completed in the Kitchen Garden |
Every day brings changes at this wonderful time of the year. Walking around my gardens this evening, I found more blooms: rhododendron, columbine, and amsonia. Their pictures are for next time. But before I close, let's take a Critter Walk and see the wildlife to be found in my garden this week:
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| The scarlet lily beetles, doing what beetles do, on my Turks' cap lilies. I've been hand picking them and dropping them into soapy water, but they have done a lot of damage chewing through leaves. |
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| Top: I find the antics of the chipmunks fun to watch. Bottom: Momma Robin on her eggs. |
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| Top: Bambi looked over by his Mum. Bottom: Young deer watching baby foxes at play in our upper field. |
The stay-at-home order has been lifted, finally, in my county, although with many restrictions. My first trip out will be to a garden center; I don't have enough plants for all those pots.
I am linking with Sarah in England for her 'Through the Garden Gate' meme. Thank you, Sarah, for hosting.
Wishing you a safe and healthy June, dear gardening friends.
Love,
Pamela x
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