GBBD: May Flowers in Spokane Valley

I've been meaning to join the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day fun over at Carol's blog but haven't had many flowers in recent months. I do have a few blooms right now, though I'm cheating a bit since several were purchased in bloom from the garden center this spring. Here are a few shots taken at sunset today.


My 'Spring Snow' crabapples are perfectly sweet as they bloom for the first time in my garden- and they have a pleasant fragrance, unlike the stinky flowering pears in nearby yards.


My friend Robyne gave me bunches of these dwarf purple iris last year. Their early blooms have been much appreciated this spring.


The flowers on my dark pink (red?) dogwood are almost fully grown, and so lovely. Blooms on my light pink and white dogwoods are starting to appear, but they get less sun so the show is delayed.


And here the cheating begins - this 'Mrs C' clematis was purchased from WalMart last week.


'The President' clematis also came home from WalMart. I now have five types of clematis: one white (Candida), two light periwinkle (Will Goodwin and Mrs. C), and two deep blue-violet (The President and Bonanza). All are babies but should put on quite a show in coming years.


This white thrift (Armeria) is a recent purchase but would be close to blooming even if planted last year, as my pink varieties are nearly there.


I'm unsure what type of muscari this is, but the blue color is very interesting. This is the second year of bloom for them, and they have multiplied into little clumps.


This 'Caradonna' salvia came home from Lowe's last month. I'm excited to use the flowers in arrangements.


It's hard to get the colors just right on the computer screen. This salvia is 'May Night', and the flowers are a very similar color to 'Caradonna', though without the dark stems. This one is a recent purchase from Home Depot. The three others I planted last year are just showing buds.


A number of candytufts - started from seed two years ago - are blooming their heads off in the front yard. I'll probably give them away eventually, though, as I find that I'm craving color in the spring.


All of my snowdrop anemones had to be dug up and moved into pots, as their roots were extremely aggressive in my sandy flowerbed soil. The flowers ripen into puffy seedheads that look like cotton swabs.


Ivy geraniums like this one have to be treated as annuals here. I hadn't ever seen a double-flowered plant until I noticed this one at my local nursery (Gibson's). Don't the flowers remind you of spray roses? They're a favorite cut flower of mine as well.

That ends the bloom day tour of my yard. Carol named her blog after her favorite month in the garden. I'd have to say that June is the very best month for my garden, so I'll definitely try to participate next month as well.