Early May Blooms in the Pacific Northwest

Luckily for me, the garden doesn’t care if it’s cleaned up or not. It just blooms and blooms anyway. This time of year is so fun with the peonies all peeking out their heads and gradually opening to a frilly, blowsy celebration of joy. I love waiting for this show every year. Most of the best action in my garden all takes place in this one little part, the garden around the Gazebo Thing and the part next to it where I put the bird and butterfly garden. I did all that work our first summer here. I took lots of pictures, too, but never shared them. I’ll have to go back and do that, soon.

But in the meantime, you see what’s blooming. These gardens don’t have as many blossoms as they did originally–I think they need a bit of dividing and editing, but I’m still enjoying what’s going on, and it’ll live another few years while I work on other things. The Gazebo Thing sits in the shady corner at this end of my garden, right next to the bird and butterfly garden that I put in so long ago. You can see it in the background here, with the herb garden in the foreground:

I tucked several peonies in the herb garden, though I haven’t tried eating the petals. I just love the color they provide. I have several different kinds, and I’ve long since lost any information about what their names are or where they came from. The tree peony bloomed last month, and now the herbaceous peonies are beginning their show.

In the center of the herb bed is this Jupiter’s Beard (Centranthus ruber). I actually got this from a house in an adjacent neighborhood that was for sale. I am convinced that the flowers are a lighter pink than is usual for this plant and I wanted some of it so badly! I tried knocking on the door several times, and tried to ask the realtor, but got no response. They had dozens of plants in their garden. Finally I gave up and broke off a tiny little piece from a plant by the sidewalk (a one-inch bit), and nursed it and rooted it for my own garden. All of that work, and I think it’s really just the same color as every other. Silly.

I keep dividing the catmint and tucking it around in other places. The bees really love it. I had put some on the path by the butterfly garden and in the summer now nobody wants to walk that way. So I’ve meant to move it but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think I’ll put some in the veggie garden when I get that going again. Or maybe if I decide to put fruit trees in the front I’ll put it there. If I’m going to attract pollinators, I might as well have them help me out a bit, too! 🙂

The poppies were originally all the pale peachy-pink “Shirley” poppies, but every year I have more and more of the red-orange ones. They’re a fun boost of color.

Over in the shady corner around The Gazebo Thing is some Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis). That’s another one I keep spreading around. The pale green blossoms are so frothy, I just love them. They look lovely with the (now fading) columbines (Aquilegia) that are dotted around that area.

Oh yes, and although I am way behind, I have been cleaning things up. Remember I promised myself I’d get the garden cleaned up before I tackled the garden by the shed. Well, I was weeding around the gazebo thing, and look what I found!

Isn’t he cute?

What’s blooming in your garden right now?