Friday, May 13, 2011

May Blooms...

If the saying is true - April showers bring May flowers - then my Midwest Missouri property should be full of blooms.  April's rainfall was well above normal and ranked as the 8th wettest on record... Here's a few examples of what's in bloom, or has been in bloom, during the month of May... 


These two Viburnum bushes were already part of the landscape when we purchased our property 8 years ago.  I'm not sure of the correct variety, but I assume that the above photo is of Viburnum opulus.


Again, guessing-I would ID the above variety as Mapleleaf Viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium.


My Iris bed is in full bloom! These Irises have been in my family for generations. Even though they are only in bloom for a short time, Irises are one of my favorites. It probably has something to do with their colors heralding the beginning of spring and the fact that I have seen these same Irises in bloom my entire life! 



The herb garden...  
The Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, are now towards the end of their beautiful show of color and other herbs are now taking the spotlight.



To the left, Sage, Salvia officinalis.  For some reason this is the first year in many that I've had this hardy perennial make it through the winter. To the right is Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'- not a culinary herb, but it's a member of the mint family and I'll include it here...


Catmint, Nepeta, a great border plant--extremely hardy, drought tolerate, maintenance free.  To the above right is Rue, Ruta gravolens, one of my favorite perennial herbs that is also a host plant for the Giant Swallowtail butterfly.


Blackberry blooms, Apache--this is the 4th season of my bramble and hopefully it will be my first year that I will have enough of my own harvest that I will not have to visit a U-pick farm to satisfy my addiction to blackberry jelly...


To see more photos of May blooms, visit May Dreams Gardens and Fertilizer Friday.

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