Scenes from the May Garden

We're well past tulips by now, but I'm finally getting these May shots posted.  Above are 'Shirley Double' tulips with blue 'Jack Frost' brunnera and 'June' hosta in the background in the east backyard garden.

The color combinations in this area were fun this spring.  In this view you can also see the 'Negrita' purple tulips and lilac colored creeping phlox.

One more picture of the east side here.  This was right as the 'Spring Snow' crabapple trees were losing their white petals all over the path.  I planted a contorted filbert at the end of the path a few years ago and it's growing large enough to make a pretty spot for the eye to stop as you look down the path.

This little spot of the white garden holds a 'Peppermint Ice' hellebore with a 'Vestal' wood anemone at its base.

'Black Hero' tulips returned this year along with fall-planted 'Double Maureen' and 'Spring Green' white tulips.

Here is a broader view of the white garden.  This year I planted fuzzy silver 'Big Ears' Stachys byzantia in the broken pedestal fountain.  If the plants in the fountain don't make it through the winter, I can just get more divisions from my ground-planted clumps.

This shot shows the white garden at left and the start of the mauve/chartreuse east garden at rear right.  This spring I installed two black metal obelisks to support my 'Claire Austin' and 'James Galway' roses, as both types are supposed to be good climbers and they both fell over constantly last year since they only get sun from one side.  I also ordered a matching metal arch to place over the path at the border between the white garden and the east garden, but it's on back-order until the end of this month.  I've already got a 'Vancouver Fragrant Star' clematis planted and ready to train over the arch when it arrives.

In the northeast corner of the backyard my dwarf 'Popcorn' snowball viburnums both bloomed heavily.  The small shrub at front came mail-order while my local nursery was unsure if they could find one for me, but they finally did get a larger shrub in stock so I found a place for it as well (at rear of photo).  The chartreuse leaves of 'Diane's Gold' brunnera add cheerful color to this corner, but I'm going to have to transplant some of them to shadier positions as the leaves burn quickly even in morning sun.

The 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples happened to bloom during the week when temperatures climbed to the mid-80's, unusually warm for May, so their color didn't last long. 

In this shot the RR crabapples have already morphed to their summer maroon leaves while the matching 'Royal Purple' shrub starts to leaf out at bottom.  'Purple Sensation' alliums bloom next to chartreuse Euphorbia polychroma at the front of the bed.

That purple and chartreuse together is such a vibrant combination.  'Purple Sensation' is one of the less expensive allium bulbs and it sure provides great bang for your buck.

Here is a final shot of the northwest corner in May.  I love how the maroon leaves provide interesting color contrast to all the green even when there aren't many flowers in bloom.  Last night I took more photos of the early June garden and will try to post them soon.  Obviously I'm slowing down on posting to this blog - life is getting busier - but I'll try to keep documenting the garden each month during the growing season.  After years of thinking this or that area will be so pretty in a few years, I'm delighted that many parts are finally maturing and looking as I'd hoped.