May Garden Views

Come take a tour of the garden with all its May flowers.  Above you can see lots of spring green - except for the trees, which are still in the process of leafing out.  'Salmon Impression' and yellow 'Jaap Groot' tulips hang above 'Emerald Blue' creeping phlox.  The tulips have multiplied in the few years since I planted them.  They are very happy in the well-drained mounded beds.

That first photo was from a week ago, and this closeup shows the 'Blue Spectacle' tulips that are now blooming in pots on the front porch.  I meant to get these into the ground last fall but ran out of time and energy, so pots saved the day.  The new foliage of an 'Abraham Darby' English rose lines the bottom of the shot.

The west path bed is vibrant with basket of gold (Alyssum 'Compactum') contrasting with 'Axcent Blue' Aubrieta, plus deep pink and red-orange tulips.  Clusters of 'Blue Spike' Muscari round out the rainbow color scheme.  Soon the catmint, salvia and iris will fill this area with taller blooms in shades of violet and gold.

Just inside the back gate we find double pink tulips under a 'Spring Snow' crabapple.  This angle doesn't show it, but the blooms of an old fashioned bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) match the tulips.  The harmonious scheme is totally unplanned but much appreciated.

 Farther along the back path but still looking toward the south, we see the spring 'snow' has fallen that gives these crabapples their name.  Clumps of bearded iris and still-small peonies are getting ready to bloom in a few weeks.  Sweetly fragrant 'Katherine Havemeyer' lilacs are also in bloom right now.

As the 'Spring Snow' crabs finish blooming, the deep pink 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples in the NW corner start their show.  Majestic 'Victoria' rhubarb blooms beneath them, while a fluffy dwarf Arctic willow sways in the breeze just to the east (right).  Chartreuse 'Sem' Sorbaria sorbifolia peeks out from behind a 'Kopper Kettle' Itoh peony.  I bought this peony for its gorgeous flowers, but its deep maroon spring leaves are a nice bonus. 

Here is the view looking toward the east, with little lavenders in front of a basalt boulder.  Farther down 'Little Lime' hydrangeas leaf out in between a 'Green Tower' boxwood and several 'Green Mountain' boxwoods.  Just out of the photo is a vigorous 'Shasta' doublefile viburnum.  In a few years the stark white fence will be broken up by clematis and climbing roses.  Right now those plants are just babies. 

Here is a final shot of the garden directly east of the house.  A white dogwood (Cornus florida) blooms above chartreuse 'Ogon' spirea and assorted perennials and alliums.  I just installed the white screen this week to hide the air conditioner.  Eventually a 'Helsinki University' rhododendron will grow large enough to block most of the screen so it won't seem so stark. 
Though the backyard still has plenty of maturing to do, it has progressed quite a bit from this time last year (see photos here), when we had just finished a major landscaping project.  Documenting its progress on this blog has been a fun way to keep track of the changes.