Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for May 2022. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana, it’s suddenly hot like summer after a spring that never seemed to warm up.
Now everyone and every plant seems to be in a big hurry to get settled before real summer arrives.
I thought at one point that I’d try to see how many different pictures I could take that included violas in some form or fashion, like the picture above which includes columbine (Aquilegia sp.), Viola ‘Etain’, and a bunch of Sorbet Series violas that I unceremoniously booted from their containers so I could pot up summer annuals. I planted the violas out just to see how long they’d last and if they’d set seed and do a bit of self-sowing.
If you look closely, you’ll also see the last of some white trilliums (Trillium grandiflora) in bloom and the beginnings of blooms on sweet woodruff (Gallium oderatum).
But that’s not all, let’s keep walking over the the side of the garage.
That’s where I planted a border of pink flowers last year. It’s taking off now with some hardy ground orchids (Bletilla sp.), Clematis ‘Acropolis’, and newly planted pink gaura, Gaura ‘Rosy Jane’.
The bed is dominated for the moment by ‘Bath’s Pink’ dianthus.
“That’s a lot of pink, Carol.” It is a lot of pink and not all of the pinks match that well. But I like it, and that’s what matters, right?
To counteract the pink, how about some blue from an Amsonia?
Beyond the Amsonia you can see the bed of lettuce I’ve been picking from for a while now. Every morning, I head out with the basket from the salad spinner and pick lettuce for lunch. The bed to the right of the lettuce bed is filled with strawberries in full bloom. The bed to the left is weeds. Soon, though, it will be a corn patch.
Around in the front, Geranium ‘Biokovo’ looks great with those violas, doesn’t it?
I wish I could take credit for that combo but alas, that ‘Biokovo’ took itself right over there from another bed where I planted it. In that other bed, it doesn’t like nearly as robust.
This geranium reminded me of something Anna Pavord wrote in The Curious Gardener which I am currently reading.
On the other side of the house, I have three ‘Miss Kim’ lilacs which have only a few blooms.
I know why, though.
It’s because last year I cut these back almost to the ground to rejuvenate them. They are now one-third of the height they were before I whacked them back, on purpose. Next year, they should have a lot more blooms.
But elsewhere in the garden, other lilacs are in their glory.
If you have lilacs that aren’t blooming and aren’t sure why, you can check out this article about that very subject that I wrote for Family Handyman.
You know what else isn’t blooming right now? The peonies, including this ‘Bartzella’ peony.
I’ve been waiting three years since I planted this for it to finally decide it was ready to flower again.
When it flowers, I may follow the advice of a lost lady of garden writing, Alice Harding who wrote, “No garden can really be too small to hold a peony. Had I but four square feet of ground at my disposal, I would plant a peony in the centre and proceed to worship.”
I’ll pull up a chair and worship accordingly. Maybe I’ll give it its own blog post, too?
And that’s probably enough for this bloom day post. What’s blooming in your garden on or around the 15th of the month? Join in for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day and show us. It’s easy to participate. Just post on your blog about the blooms in your garden, the come back here and leave a link in the Mr. Linky widget and a comment to tell us what you have to show us.
“We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence
Some of the potted plants on my porch! Good day to all you gardener/bloggers!
Your gardens are looking so green and lush and love the violas! Spring weather has finally arrived here with lots of buds and blooms! Happy Bloom Day! 😊
Beautiful!
Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
I suspect we’ve had similar weather to yours. I enjoyed your pink bed and your “self arranged bed”. Well, actually, I enjoyed them all! I think this is going to be a wonderful year for lilacs here in the Southern Tier of New York. Our Japanese tree peony is just starting to open and this year (it’s three years old) it has 10 blooms on it. Can’t wait!
My neighbor’s lilacs perfume my yard. Good thing, mine succumbed to bracket fungus, rotted from the inside out. Now I have a corner of the yard to plant something else though!
Love the violas tucked into any convenient patch of bare dirt. They are so charming and, like you, I think you can’t have too many!! Interesting about your bartzella peony… I bought two (@ $35 ea.!!) when they first came out. Was that 4 or 5 years ago? Blooms have been declining ever since and this spring each plant has 1 bud. The plants look great! Healthy, clumps getting larger, etc., just no bloom to speak of. I feel hoodwinked!
If I ever see a bloom from the Itoh peony I planted years ago, I might just build a church around it. I hope some of your violas self-seed before summer takes them out. Enjoy the rest of May!
Wow, the stretch of Bath’s Pink dianthus is spectacular Carol! My Miss Kim lilac just started blooming this morning; I thought the buds were burnt from the deep freeze a few weeks ago but she pulled through. Happy May everyone!
Those pinks are fantastic Carol . My Dianthis ‘Key Lime Pie’ is in my Bloomday post but it seems paltry compared to your abundance.
Happy Spring and Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
It is ALL about the pinks this time of year 🙂
What a joy to see your garden in full bloom! May is such an exciting time of year! Thank you for sharing other garden bloggers sites with us!
note to Carol: I tried using a cell phone to enter my garden bloggers site this morning instead of my computer and the part of your post with other bloggers did not show.
I love your riot of pink – and pinks! Thank you for hosting , especially in this, your namesake month!
Hi Carol, love your garden this month, especially the Amsonia, which I’ve not seen, nor heard of in Australia. I’m participating in Bloom Day for the first time but linked to my preview post, not the published one! Eeeep! Can you please remove the link for me and I’ll update with my published post? Thanks! – Horticat
Fixed!
Wow! Your gardens look so alive, green and lush! Love it. I love May– always full of expectation with everything that is blooming!
“But I like it, and that’s what matters, right?”… yes! I knew you were a Fearless Gardener Carol. Happy May Blooms to you!
Hi Carol, nice showing for May. I’m told by my partner that we need more lilacs…
Carol, It sounds like your weather has been similar to ours here in Maine — a long, cool spring, followed by sudden warmth last week. When I first started reading your post, I thought your garden wasn’t as far ahead of mine as it usually is at this time of year. But then I scrolled down and saw all the flowers that are nowhere near blooming in my garden — dianthus, and amsonia, and geranium ‘Biokovo.’ They all look wonderful — a preview of coming attractions for me. -Jean