Garden Diary: May
There was so much to see this month and it was over so quickly. I felt I hardly had eyes enough to take it all in. Let me start with the absolute star of the May flowers in our garden, the columbine (Aquilegia).
We have them in many different shapes and colors. The different varieties interbreed freely, so it’s always a surprise what we'll get. This year, the blue/purple varieties dominated, with some having a more reddish tint. We used to have pink ones too but, unfortunately, that color has “Mendeled out”.
But May was, first and foremost, the month of the Flowering Shrubs. The first one to flower was the hawthorn (Crataegus).
Then came Viburnum, lilac (Syringa) and golden rain (Laburnum). It's a shame that I can't send you the scent of the Viburnum and the lilac over the internet. They smell absolutely delicious.
The Weigelia in front of the ancient Taxus.
The Wisteria trailing along the balcony.
And a lovely small, white flowering shrub that has been there for as long as we have lived here but I've never managed to find out its name.
A young rowan tree (Sorbus) (beloved by Quickbeam).
There were many newcomers in the flower beds this month, again with a mixture of cultivated and wild species.
Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), wild speedwell (Veronica) and London pride (Saxifraga urbium).
In Dutch, the latter species is called "schildersverdriet" (= painters despair) because it's notoriously difficult to paint. The same is true for getting a sharp picture of the flowers.
Avens (Geum), wild hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata) and red robin (Geranium robertianum).
Knot grass (Polygonum), Geranium and wild buttercup (Ranunculus).
And the wild greater celandine (Chelidonium) and red campion (Silene dioica).
So far, we haven't had real summer weather. Right now, it's raining hard and it's cold with temperatures of only 15C by day. But, forecasts are more favorable. We hope to have real summer before the end of the week. I'm looking forward to that and the warm evenings when we can sit in our beautiful garden.
We have them in many different shapes and colors. The different varieties interbreed freely, so it’s always a surprise what we'll get. This year, the blue/purple varieties dominated, with some having a more reddish tint. We used to have pink ones too but, unfortunately, that color has “Mendeled out”.
But May was, first and foremost, the month of the Flowering Shrubs. The first one to flower was the hawthorn (Crataegus).
Then came Viburnum, lilac (Syringa) and golden rain (Laburnum). It's a shame that I can't send you the scent of the Viburnum and the lilac over the internet. They smell absolutely delicious.
The Weigelia in front of the ancient Taxus.
The Wisteria trailing along the balcony.
And a lovely small, white flowering shrub that has been there for as long as we have lived here but I've never managed to find out its name.
A young rowan tree (Sorbus) (beloved by Quickbeam).
There were many newcomers in the flower beds this month, again with a mixture of cultivated and wild species.
Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), wild speedwell (Veronica) and London pride (Saxifraga urbium).
In Dutch, the latter species is called "schildersverdriet" (= painters despair) because it's notoriously difficult to paint. The same is true for getting a sharp picture of the flowers.
Avens (Geum), wild hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata) and red robin (Geranium robertianum).
Knot grass (Polygonum), Geranium and wild buttercup (Ranunculus).
And the wild greater celandine (Chelidonium) and red campion (Silene dioica).
So far, we haven't had real summer weather. Right now, it's raining hard and it's cold with temperatures of only 15C by day. But, forecasts are more favorable. We hope to have real summer before the end of the week. I'm looking forward to that and the warm evenings when we can sit in our beautiful garden.