Thursday, June 2, 2016

End of May Glories


The pond gardens are looking (and smelling) nice this time of year, with highly scented dianthus 'Sweetness' that can be smelled at twenty paces, 'Prairie Breeze' Buck roses, boxwood shrubs, and water lilies in the pond. The Garden Shed, Tractor Shed (with the new trellises I installed a few weeks ago on it), and little red Grand Chicken Hotel can be seen in the background.


The End Of May: what a glorious time in the garden! In my gardens anyway, as I think the flowers that bloom now are probably the loveliest possible and therefore I tend to plant many of them. It's not that I don't want anything blooming earlier or later on, but I regard this time as the most beautiful.

It's also the time when I'm usually winding down the spring gardening work, moving from a "making changes" and planting role, to more of a maintenance role: mowing, keeping the weeds under control, watering. And that's good, because it can start to get hot around the First of June, and these maintenance tasks can be done in cooler mornings and evenings, when it's a pleasure to be outside working among the beautiful flowers and lush, green plants.

Here are a few scenes from the past week or so:


Clematis 'Multi-Blue' on the north side of my garage.

One of the iris in my new Iris Border.

Itoh Peony 'Julia Rose'.


A single pink peony in the Rainbow Border.

Poppies and daisies in the Rainbow Border.

Iris 'Red at Night' in the Rainbow Border.

Amsonia hubrichtii (Arkansas Blue Star) in bloom.

'Bartzella' Itoh peony in my Yellow Garden.

'Mary Rose' David Austin English Rose in the West Island. I never got around to pruning this
rose in spring, and it seems to be happy with my neglect.

'Seminole Wind' climbing rose in my Front Border. This is the first year this rose has
bloomed so well, and is starting to get some height.

The 'Zepherine Drouhin' climbing roses in my Front Border are nearly the only plants left there, after my clearout this spring, but they're looking nice this week.

Little Kitty is looking cross in front of 'Blaze' climbing rose and a pink peony on the east side of my garden shed. This also is the first time 'Blaze has bloomed so well. I planted one on each side of the shed door, but the one on the left has died twice now. I have taken cuttings again from this plant and will try one more time, after which I will give up and plant something else -- clematis perhaps.

The view over the east fence and Herb Garden, with Sweet Williams and painted daisies in the foreground. (This bed used to be named the William and Mary Bed, because the 'Mary Rose' roses were here together with the Sweet Williams, but Mary has left William....)

One last look in the evening back toward the house and windmill, together with the Pond Gardens, Rainbow Border and Herb Garden.


The End of May: the loveliest phase, the peak of flowering, the most glorious time of year. I hope you are enjoying beautiful weather and glorious flowering in your own gardens as we enter this month of June. Thanks for reading! -Beth

20 comments:

  1. I'm so envious of all your gorgeous flowers!

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    1. Thanks, Jane -- I'm sure you have many beautiful and exotic plants blooming now too. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  2. June weather has not started so good here, chilly and rainy but hopefully we get lots of nice days. The garden is indeed at its best in June, you have beautiful flowers like the Irises in your garden and I envy you for the wonderful spot in the world you live. First and last photo are great!

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    1. Thanks, Janneke -- I'm so glad you like the "big picture" photos. I hope you have sunny warm days heading your way. Thanks for visiting! -Beth

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  3. May flowers are so pretty! I love clematis and the cool weather mixed with rain. May is perfect garden weather here in Oklahoma. Your garden and home is beautiful!

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Sonia. I'm glad you have been enjoying lovely weather in your own beautiful gardens. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  4. Your roses are spectacular - love the climbers and the DA rose. I have Zephrine Drouhin now too ('cuz I saw it on your blog and liked it). It's year two and it has begun to bloom. I also bought William Baffin, which is blooming like crazy, after seeing it on your blog. And, I tore out my obedient plant and am reserving the area for heuchera, heucherella, and tiarella. Your pond garden area is so pretty too; love your peonies as well. I am at maintenance now too, which is nice...although there are a few "projects" to tackle yet. Will email you soon about a visit to see your lovely gardens in person! :)

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    1. Beth, thanks so much for reading my blog, and I was so happy to meet you the other day in person! Your William Baffin is looking great and I'm excited to see how your other improvements will turn out. Best, -Beth

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  5. So many beautiful blooms, I especially love your nice variety of roses. The acreage surrounding you provides such a gorgeous background for your lovely gardens. It must be wonderful to sit on your porch and take all that in. _Janice

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    1. Hi Janice, thanks for stopping by -- I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the roses and countryside. Best wishes, -Beth

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  6. Wow, I just love your pond gardens!! So pretty! Your roses and peonies are lovely. I love 'Bartzella'. I wish I could smell the dianthus!

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    1. Hi Indie, I'm so glad you like the Pond Gardens -- you'll have to find some dianthus 'Sweetness' so you can smell it in your own lovely gardens. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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  7. Oh Beth! You are absolutely right...May is a gorgeous month in your garden! You have so many lovely plants and beautiful flowers. How wonderful to be able to grow peonies...they are just lovely. Your garden is so beautifully designed and I really love the Pond Garden with those pretty Dianthus and all the views are just spectacular...so many things to love..I could go on and on Haha! Look forward to seeing more this summer whilst mine is on its summer hiatus!
    - Kate xx

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    1. Hi Kate, I'm sorry to hear that your gardens are on hiatus for the summer -- ours up north are finally up to speed after the winter. You'll probably just take a break inside, like we do for winter. Thanks so much for stopping by! -Beth

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  8. Simply beautiful!! Love those peonies. Mine didn't bloom this year. I blame it on the crazy weather - from hot and dry to cold and rainy.

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    1. I'm sorry to hear none of your peonies bloomed -- how utterly strange! I hope they will be back next year for you. Thanks so much for reading! -Beth

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  9. Your May garden is just stunning, Beth. I love the first picture of the pond garden. Is there a place to sit to enjoy it? Your climbing roses are looking better than mine. I love this time of year, too. P. x

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  10. Hi Pam, Yes, I usually have a bench at either end of the Pond Garden area, but I thought I would get around to replacing the pond liner this year and never brought out the benches. I should put them back out... Thanks so much for reading! :-) -Beth

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  11. Beth, the garden is gorgeous, so much color and your incredible eye for detail. I also love cooler weather to work in!

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    1. Thanks, Karen -- I'm so glad you like the garden photos. Thanks for reading! -Beth

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