Memories of May

Wow, was my last post really May 5th? I think that may be the longest I have gone without blogging. I thought when my night web design classes ended I would find myself with more free time. That wasn’t the case. I was playing catch-up with the garden like a madwoman, plus I have had one vacation and two long weekends since then. When I wasn’t away, I was working overtime at work. Feel like I am constantly trying to get back on schedule.

What was May like in the garden? Well not much as far as the Kitchen Garden was concerned since I was so late getting my seeds planted. The Flower Garden had more stuff happening, though. Here’s what it looked like.

The Flower Garden in May

Let’s take a walk through the garden gate and see what was blooming in May... 

Actually, before you walk through that gate, take a gander to the left and you’ll see my vertical garden and hanging ferns. I used this same idea here last year to dress up my fence that is falling apart.

The first thing you will notice as you walk through the gate this time of the year is the Wisteria.  You might actually smell it before you see it. I missed getting it at its peak bloom time this year. It was covered in lavender blooms, and covered with bees, as well!

I have mentioned many times that I have a love/hate relationship with Wisteria. May is love time. The rest of the year is hate. In fact, I just had to prune some Wisteria that had made its way through my upstairs window air conditioner unit into the bedroom! Yep, no lie, there was Wisteria growing in the bedroom.

The Wisteria tree didn’t do as well this year. I think maybe the tree next to it is shading it too much.

Azaleas and Clematis grow up against the shed/workshop. They are in their Sunday best in May. 

May is also baby bird time. I love watching the mommy birds feed their babies in the birdhouses that are on the shed. (Gotta fix those lights. Haven’t worked for some time now and no, they’re not leftover from Christmas. We keep them up all year round on the shed.)

The Weigela blooms in May, along with the pink Roses and Climbing Hydrangea on the arbor. Apparently cats bloom in the Flower Garden in May, as well.

I wish the arbor looked this pretty all season, but alas, it is just like this in May.

I never managed to finish pruning back my Roses this spring. I did some here and there, but not all. The Roses didn’t seem to mind too much and bloomed away, just maybe a little taller than usual. The Catmint is a true workhorse in the spring and the bees and Cabbage White butterflies love it.

I always forget about this yellow Rose until it blooms, then I can’t stop admiring it. It is a David Austin Rose called Graham Thomas.

This is another David Austin Rose called Abraham Darby.

I admit that I like Roses this time of the year, but they always start to look crappy not long after they bloom.

A view of part of the Flower Garden from the back porch steps.

Spring wouldn’t be spring without my purple Columbine.

It self-seeds, but I try to gather them up before they drop and spread them where I want them to show up the next year.

The purple Columbine plays well with this magenta Peony.

My one neighbor comments on the color of this Peony every year. He finds it amazing. It really is a bright splash of color.

One plant that didn’t do as well this year was my purple Siberian Irises. I really think they need dividing.

The bearded Pass The Wine Iris did pretty well, though.

I had planted this miniature tulip-looking bulb a few years ago – a few in the Flower Garden and a few in front of the shed. They did well this year. I wish I could remember exactly what it was called, though!

Part of the Flower Garden, as seen from the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

This is a view I don’t show very often. This is Winnie’s view of the garden (Winnie is the statue).

This is the path that I finished last year that goes from Winnie to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Rhododendron just last year, I think. It bloomed nicely this year.

It’s like I’m playing Where’s Waldo with my neighbor’s cats when I weed in the garden. You never know where you might find one. I almost weeded BJ (aka Stubby)!

Looking from the tree in the back towards the back porch.

My Tiarella Sugar and Spice (Foamflowers) did especially well this year. They are planted under the tree that is near the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Asclepia tuberos (Butterflyweed) on this side of the yard just this spring. Hoping it will attract more Monarchs.

In between the potted Boxwood are tall containers with Sweet Potato Vine and Cannas. If you look closely you’ll see a Molly growing from a pot inside the back porch. There’s and Izzy in there by the door, as well.

Here’s another shot of that Molly plant that grows on the back porch. It sure is a cute, fuzzy thing.

While we’re on the subject of pretty things on the back porch, I cut some Lily of the Valley and put it in vase on the back porch (where the girls couldn’t get to it, of course) and I loved how it filled the entire porch with its scent. Lily of the Valley is one of my mom”s favorite flowers. I can see why, with its dainty, nodding bells and marvelous fragrance.

Sage, Thyme, and Oregano grow along the edges of the porch. Makes it easy when I want some herbs with my dinner. I am also trying some Orange Mint in this area this year.

On the other side of the back steps is Chives, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint.

The Peppermint is a favorite in my iced tea and mojito!

Looking from the Kitchen Garden towards the Flower Garden.

The Kitchen Garden in May

Spinach that I planted last year! I have never had Spinach overwinter before. It still tasted good, too!

In fact, I was eating quite a bit of Spinach early in the Spring. Here I added it to my gluten-free pasta, along with tomatoes and asparagus (which were NOT from the garden).

I also had to make one of my favorite dishes, Scallops and Spinach with Gorgonzola. I posted the recipe in 2012.

One thing that comes back every year is the Sorrel. I sure do love Sorrel in my salads.

This year I made Sorrel Pesto, a new recipe from the book “Preserving By The Pint” by Food In Jars blogger Marisa McClellan. Bright and tangy and delicious.

I usually like to get my seeds planted under row covers by mid-April at the latest. This year it was more like the end of April - beginning of May. Much too late, if you ask me. April 23rd was my last night web design class of my certificate, which was a week later than it should’ve been due to snow earlier in the semester. I was so busy finishing my last project that I got behind with my gardening schedule by about two weeks or more. Therefore, things seem to be slow to come up this year - other than that Spinach and Sorrel, that is. 

My neighbor’s cats didn’t seem to care that I was behind with my gardening chores. They also didn’t seem to realize that the hose was on a timer and about to go off...

The Columbine and Peony in the Flower Garden seemed to be trying to hide the fact that there wasn’t much growing in the nearby Kitchen Garden yet. Thanks, guys!

There was stuff growing in there, I promise.

I have learned from my experience this year. I will never be so late getting my seeds planted in my Kitchen Garden ever again. I hope...I seriously hope...

The Flower Garden in April

As I mentioned a few posts ago, April is crazy-time. It is always a mad dash to get both the kitchen garden and flower gardens prepped for the season. I am so behind this year, but now that I finished my web design certificate and no longer have night classes and homework, I am frantically trying to get caught up.

One of the first signs of spring around our house is when Molly decides she wants to stay out on the back porch with Izzy. Izzy doesn’t mind hanging out even in the winter sometimes (look, Izzy’s checking you out), but Molly is like me and prefers the warm sunshine.

Things start out pretty drab in early April.

But then, after a big yawn, the garden plants stretch out their green branches to the sun, and slowly wake up. Or not so slowly it seems when you are behind with your garden chores.

The lush green color of spring starts to take over, including the lawn.

The birds are about looking for food...and mates.

I sometimes joke that my garden is x-rated in April because there is a lot of bird sex going on, as well as nest-building. You know there will be baby birds soon. (We have our first batch of spring chicks in one of the birdhouses now. The first of what I am sure will be many.)

This is the first year I put out a finch sock in the spring. Boy, was it a hit with the goldfinches. I figured they must be hungry when their fav, the Purple Coneflowers, aren’t in bloom yet. I love watching them from the screened-in back porch.

One of the earliest spring bloomers is the Helloborus ‘Bridal Queen’ in what I refer to as the Secret Garden.

This Hellebore has done so well every since I first planted it several years ago. The leaves stay green throughout the season, even after the blooms have faded.

‘Bridal Queen’ is a double variety of Hellebore. I absolutely adore the white ruffled leaves with pink freckles.

I have another Hellebore now called ‘Onyx Odyssey.’ One I had planted last year and the other I just planted this spring. The deep purple, almost black, flowers are really alluring.

The Crocus bloomed about the same time. This is the only patch of Crocuses I seem to have left that bloom. I think the squirrels must have gotten the rest.

And of course there were daffodils.

And more daffodils...

They are such happy-go-lucky flowers.

An old-fashioned favorite this time of year is the Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart). Those interesting flowers never get boring. They make me think of a girl with funny pink hair.

I planted Chionodoxa forbesii a couple of years ago to remind me of a hidden abandoned garden I remember as a child. They sport that pretty blue that I love oh-so-much.

These are planted near my old cat, Montague’s, little burial stone. A flower with a special memory for a special place.

I have come to the conclusion that one of my favorite shrubs is this Spirea that is about 2-3 feet big that is near the back porch. I think it is ‘Magic Carpet.’ This thing changes like magic throughout the season. In the spring it has these bright pinkish red buds. Later it gets bright, lime green leaves, then pink flowers, then turns tinges of red as the weather gets cooler. It is a shrub for all seasons.

Speaking of red...or maybe it is more orange-ish...the Tulip Ad Rem flowers were really lovely this year. They start out orange and then turn more red. They also get this yellow trim on the petals sometimes.

Normally they only have one flower per plant, but this one had a whopping four.

The Ad Rem are planted near some white Iberis (candytuft), which seems to make the red color stand out even more.

The Iberis were full of white flowers and still are. I have one that is in a more shady spot and that doesn’t do as well as the two that are more in the sun.

The Fritillaria meleagris (checkered lily) really fascinates me with its almost geometric-like pattern on its petals. Why did it take me so long to plant these and why don’t I have lots more????

Another plant that has fascinating flowers is this Epimedium x rubrum (red barrenwort). I have to get down on my hands and knees to really appreciate the tiny, fairy-like, nodding flowers and they make me smile every time. There is something almost clown-like about this variety. The rubrum is in the Secret Garden.

I have another variety of Epimedium called ‘Rose Queen.’ The flowers are a little more spider-like and form in clusters. I have three of these in the shady area under the tree on the left side of the back yard (my newest flower bed that I cleared out a couple of years ago).

There is something really fulfilling watching the garden come back to life each spring. I feel like Dr. Frankenstein – it’s alive, it’s alive!!!! But in a different, less scary way. Something that I have nurtured and loved for the past, gosh, how many years now, almost ten, keeps coming back to see me and makes my heart smile every time. Oh what joy there is in the garden in spring!