Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2014

May Bloom Day is upon us! The end of last week and over the weekend we had some warmer weather during an otherwise cool Spring. It took just those handful of days for the tulips to bloom and the trees to leaf out. My allergies have also been telling me the garden is now is full swing.

Last season we had three arborvitae removed from in front of our porch. They were planted very close to the porch and also had grown tall enough to block our view. This left a large area we decided to plant with a variety of early to mid spring tulips.

051514_Tulips-South-Bed

051514_Yellow-Tulips

This next little plant is Rock Cress (Arabis sturii). There are rocks placed behind our backyard gate door, so a ground cover was needed to dress up the area. This plant receives morning sun and doesn’t grow much larger than shown.

051514_Rockcress

All the Labrador Violets are in bloom around foundation in both the backyard and along the east side of the house.

051514_Labador-Violets

Last season Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) was planted in the backyard on the north side of the house. It isn’t quite in bloom yet, but I’m not sure if it will make it to June Bloom Day. We placed the Woodruff near our finch feeder at the kitchen window to help camouflage the discarded thistle seed. This ground cover is quite content in the shade.

051514_Sweet-Woodruff

This is one of my favorite plants on the Lot. The Foam Flower is so delicate and pretty, yet quite a tough plant. In the foreground of the photo, the Snow Angle Coral Bell is just beginning to send up its flower stalks.

051514_Foamflower

This is the Bleeding Heart, one of the first perennials we planted on the Lot when we moved into our home in 2008. Even after a tussle with an aggressive Trumpet Vine last season, it’s still going strong. There are a handful of Forget-Me-Not and Grape Hyacinth in the foreground.

051514-Gate-Bed

Here is the Cranesbill brightening up the walkway back to the compost bin beside the garage. This plant lived on the Lot before we did.

051514_Cranesbill

The variegated Solomon’s Seal is in the process of blooming at the edge of Loki’s flowerbed.

051514_Solomons-Seal

This is the remainder of that same bed. The Lenten Rose, Forget-Me-Not, and Grape Hyacinth are all blooming here.

051514_lokibed

Here is the Mt Airy Fothergilla putting on its Spring show. The flowers are likened to bottlebrushes in appearance. Upon further inspection, this is because the flower on Fothergilla are only filaments and have no actual petals.

051514_Fothergilla

Here are more Grape Hyacinth! It seems I will never have to plant a single one of these bulbs on the Lot again. Oh, there is also the lovely dandelion in the bottom left.

051514_alleybed-grape-hyacinth

That is all to share from the Lot this Bloom Day. Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in gardens around the rest of the world!

8 thoughts on “Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2014

    1. Thank you, Linnae. Some of the garden bloggers specialize in shade gardens, so I’ve received many ideas from them over the years. I am so happy to be able to provide some ideas for your garden as well!

    1. Thank you, Jason! Our fothergilla has a very mild fragrance. You do not notice it unless you have your nose right near the flowers.

  1. Your shade garden looks great. It’s wonderful to get rid of overgrown shrubs and be able to plant some perennials. What are you planting with the tulips? You have many favorites of mine. I especially like Hellebores for late winter bloom and hardy geraniums.

    1. Thank you Hannah! In place of the three removed shrubs, there is now a smoke bush (still a twig of a thing), monarda, and a shrubby cinquefoil. All are much more suited size-wise to the space.

  2. Hi Jane, It is definitely spring, but ours in SE Nebraska is also cooler than usual. We had some frost this morning.

    I enjoyed your blooms. That white bleeding heart sure is pretty!

    1. Thank you Sue! It’s pretty happy and only begins to fade just as the maiden hair grass really gets going.

Comments are closed.