The last couple of years, early May has been rainy, dreary, and chilly. This year is no exception. Although parts of the Chicago area have seen frost this month, there has been no frost or freeze in our south suburban garden since late March or early April. To be safe though, most of our tender and tropical plants, and warm-season veggie seedlings are waiting in the basement 'greenhouse' for another week or two.
Blooming outdoors besides those in the slideshow, are impatiens
that self-seeded in a few pots in the basement over the winter, and dragon wing begonias that overwintered down there. Celandine poppies are still blooming too.
New garden transplants and divisions, and direct-sown cool season veggies are thriving with the rain and cool temperatures. Warmer temperatures and sunshine will return. Keeping up with clients at this busy time with all the rain we've had recently can be challenging. Still, I'm grateful we haven't been impacted by flooding or other severe weather conditions as other areas of the country have been. In the meantime I enjoy catching up with errands and indoor activities on days when rain interferes with gardening plans.
What's blooming in your garden this month? To see more blooms from gardeners everywhere, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
How we pray for rains when the ground is baking hot, and how at tolerable weather, rains interferes with gardening plans... But flowers are beautiful gifts!!
ReplyDelete~bangchik
Linda girl ! We share so many plants ! and YES !! who hasn't planted allium ?? mine are just begining to open up and I have the BIG ones in the center of my bulb circle that I am waiting with such curiosity to see how BIG they truly are ? LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat slide show girl : )
Joy
Your columbines are beautiful, Linda! Mine are so slow this year that I hope they're going to make it. Lots of lovely blooms in your garden, and such a nice variety. Yours is only the second Bloom Day post I've visited this morning, but if you count mine as well, so far we're 3 for 3 on alliums:)
ReplyDeleteYour columbines are so pretty! I'm seeing a lot of fuschia on blogs and they look so luscious-yours sure look good. Wonderful blooms!
ReplyDeleteBangchik, I really enjoy rainy days. Our garden tends to be pretty dry with all the maple roots, and I like the break and the chance to catch up with other non-gardening stuff.
ReplyDeleteThey sure are dramatic Joy. I don't know why I've never tried alliums before, but I'm happy to have them now.
Columbines are definitely favorites of mine Rose. I hope yours catch up and start blooming soon. 3 for 3 on alliums. . . I'm not surprised! They were so beautiful at Spring Fling last year. I was lucky to get mine for free from Brecks last fall.
Hi Tina, I love the columbines. This is the second year in a row I killed a fuchsia that I tried to overwinter in the basement. Our hummingbirds love them so much, I was happy to replace them.
Everything looks lovely! I really like the 'Hollywood' heuchera!
ReplyDeleteYou guys really are two zones behind us~it was delightful to see the Shooting Star blooming again and btw, you're welcome! Glad it's blooming for you! xxgail
ReplyDeleteColumbines are wonderful aren't they? I love your two-toned one and the Anemone sylvestris.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rose! Hollywood is about to bloom for the first time since it was added to our garden, four years ago. We had our maples limbed up because the lower branches were too close to the roof. The garden gets more sun now, and heucheras (including Hollywood,) that have never bloomed before are throwing out spikes. Yay!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Gail (a/k/a Ms. World-traveler!) I initially thought the shooting star was a second pussytoes plant. I was thrilled when the buds started opening and I realized it was a shooting star, since I've been 'shooting' for a larger variety of natives in our garden. With a closer look at both plants, I can see definite differences in their foliage.
I'm happy to see the ragwort blooming. The blooms are larger than I thought they'd be, and so cheery and bright. The Lawn Man likes yellow blooms - now he has more to like!
They are Sweet Bay - one of my all-time favorite blooms! That two-toned pink one is quite a stunner - I've never seen a columbine with so many blooms and such healthy, unblemished foliage.
I moved the anemones last year - they weren't happy where they were, and the rabbits were eating the flowers. So far they haven't been bothered in their new spot - the blooms are even lasting long enough to drop their petals and form seed pods, and the plants look a lot happier. Maybe they'll (finally - they've been here four years,) start to spread - yay!
Your garden slide show is delightful, Linda. We wait so long for this beauty that never lets us down. Met Monica who joined me for lunch and a tour of 2 of my favorite garden haunts ... she raved about you ... I was not surprised :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Joey! Yay for the merry month of May - such a pretty garden month, and sweet reward after a long, cold winter.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you and Monica got to meet and hang out. She's such a neat person. I never imagined I'd get to meet so many new people through blogging. (I'm blushing here Monica! xoxo)
Seeing that fuschia reminded me that I tried to overwinter one in the garage and forgot all about it! Oh well. Lots of gorgeous stuff here!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed the slide show. We share several of the same plants. Not surprising since our climate is the same.
ReplyDeleteThe allium always remind me of fireworks:) It's been a great year for them. They're blooming a long, long time.
Marnie
I love your columine plants, what a nice variety. I adore that lamium too, I need to get me some of them!
ReplyDeleteJGH, fuchsias are one of the most challenging plants I've tried to overwinter. I might try this one in the garage next time - dormancy might save it from my overwatering and sudden death from root rot.
ReplyDeleteMarnie, I can't believe I haven't tried alliums before - they're wonderful.
Thanks Cinj. Columbines are favorites of mine. That lamium is finally starting to spread a little bit after four years. Now I'll need to be vigilant to keep it from taking over. I'd be happy to share some with you - email me your address if you'd like some. :)
Hi Linda, wow look at everything happening in your garden. I love the centaurea... they pop up wherever in my garden, moving from year to year. I'm totally on board with it--it's like a surprise. Your columbine pretty much looks like Fred to me. I have a sixth sense about these things. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe your impatiens are blooming before mine...here in Texas. Wow. Your slideshow is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica, I had those centaureas at my last house, and missed them here - I've never seen them at a nursery around here. A couple of years ago, I weeded some seedlings from a client's garden, and I'm happy to see them blooming this spring! I hope they seed themselves around a bit here.
ReplyDeleteHi CG, most of the impatiens sprouted from pots I was overwintering in the basement. I usually pull them, but this time I transplanted them into pots and didn't have to buy any. They were blooming in the basement since late March. The double impatiens were started from cuttings from last year's plants. Yay for free plants!