Spring Blooms May, 2019

The garden calls loudest in the spring for those of us who live in four season climates. Each day brings new buds and blooms and many tasks which cannot wait. The sweet peas (I am determined to have those fragrant blooms) have been planted out as have lettuce starts. Other early vegetable crops are waiting, mostly because the gardener is faced with too many tasks. May is a month of dreams and disappointments. The dreams are realized as fall planted bulbs emerge and flower. The disappointments are right there in plain sight as well. Two sensitive ferns, apparently aptly named, have not unfurled and there is quite a bit of damage on rhododendrons with whole branches brown from desiccation from winter winds. The newly planted iris bed is still an unknown. Will those iris bloom this year? They were planted a bit late so patience must prevail. The thrill of spring blooms always trumps the disappointments. Late daffodils continue to bloom along with dog tooth violets, tulips, bleeding hearts, and Virginia bluebells to name a few. Hellebore flowers are waning and the buds on trees and shrubs are waxing. Each spring day brings a new surprise in the garden. One day you walk the garden with coffee in hand and notice the swelling flower buds on the Viburnum burkwoodii. The next day you catch a drift of their sweet fragrance and follow the scent to their now unfurled flowers which are small, delicate and oh, so powerfully scented.

This spring morning it is barely 40F with a steady drizzle. 40F! It is chilly for this time of year but well in keeping with the current weather pattern of this cool, slow spring. The garden sits still and waits for sun and warmth. The gardener moves inside and addresses the neglected beds and floors inside the house. Happy Bloom Day and thanks to Carol, of May Dream Gardens for hosting once again.