Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May 2020
What's been blooming in my zone 9a garden near Houston in May? Here's a look:
May is the month when the old southern magnolia tree in the backyard is in its glory. It almost makes us forget what a messy tree it is the other eleven months.
The pot of pansies on the patio, on the other hand, are well past their glory which came in the winter months. And still, they hang on even unto May.
'Belinda's Dream' rose on its second cycle of blooms.
'Old Blush' antique rose.
'Julia Child' rose.
Pink Knockout.
'Lady of Shallott,' a David Austin rose with gorgeous squashy blooms and a wonderful rose scent.
'Caldwell Pink' rose, an antique polyantha, with just a bit of bluebonnet in the background.
This sunflower was planted by the birds. The ones I planted are not blooming yet.
Oleander.
This pot of petunias on the patio are plants that "volunteered" in the garden this year. I believe they have reseeded from the 'Laura Bush' petunia that I grew a few years ago.
Wild elderberry growing in an unused corner of my backyard.
Cestrum. The hummingbirds love it.
Red yucca.
Shrimp plant.
My Easter lilies bloomed just about a month late.
Plumbago.
The blue columbine, just beginning to bloom.
And the red columbine in its chicken pot with the lime sedge continues its month-long bloom.
Purple trailing lantana.
And bush lantana.
Hibiscus.
Datura 'Purple Ballerina.' The blooms do look a bit like a tutu.
Blanket flower.
The kangaroo paw plants have been in bloom since March and show no signs of stopping.
Dianthus.
And more dianthus.
Raspberry pink salvia.
Canna.
Duranta erecta, aka golden dewdrop plant.
'Cashmere Bouquet' clerodendrum.
Last but not least, vitex, aka chaste tree, is in full bloom.
In this time of cocooning in our homes as we try to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control, our gardens continue to be a solace and a place where we can find calm from the stresses of the day. I hope that all of you, dear readers, are staying safe and healthy and that you are finding peace in your gardens.
Happy Bloom Day!
Linking to Carol of May Dreams Gardens.
In this time of cocooning in our homes as we try to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control, our gardens continue to be a solace and a place where we can find calm from the stresses of the day. I hope that all of you, dear readers, are staying safe and healthy and that you are finding peace in your gardens.
Happy Bloom Day!
Linking to Carol of May Dreams Gardens.
A wonderful series of pictures, Dorothy, with lots of colour. It is a grey day here, cloudy and raining intermittently, so it's great to look at these blooms.
ReplyDeleteThank you, David. I'm glad I could bring a bit of color to your day.
DeleteOh my goodness...so many wonderful blooms! I don’t know where to look first. Your garden looks so lovely for the month of May and when looking at your roses, I just cannot wait until they are blooming here. Your post gave me a smile this morning. Happy Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Lee. I always enjoy my visits to your garden.
DeleteSo many pretties! My favorite today is the pinkish/coral/salmon canna. Oh, how could I have forgotten oleander's existence! I lived most of my life in Northern California, where oleander reigns. I haven't see any, or at least any specimens to notice, since moving to Southern Oregon. My zone's just a teensy bit too cold for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the canna. It is one of my favorite plants for sentimental reasons. The start of it was given to me by my sweet neighbor, Mrs. Lui, almost thirty years ago, shortly after we moved here. The garden was pretty much a blank slate at that time. That canna has been here through all of its evolution.
DeleteThank you, Dorothy, for sharing your beautiful blooms this month and every month. I live in SE harris county and am enjoying my garden immensely. I, also, hope and pray that all will choose to stay healthy and well. Abundant blessings.
ReplyDeleteOur gardens have never been more important to us than at this time. They are essential to our mental health.
DeleteLove all your roses! Many years ago I tried roses. but battled with blackspot constantly and I gave up.
ReplyDeleteBlackspot can be a real problem in our hot, humid climate, and I have lost some roses to it. My survivors are mostly antiques or David Austins or my one surviving Knockout and they all seem to be relatively immune.
DeleteI always enjoy your blooms, and some of them are coming attractions for me (our roses are still a couple of weeks away and all I have is some wild ones). I was actually able to enjoy your garden (and mine) outside today. We had snow on Saturday - and now it's in the 80's. So many of your blooms are plants we can't grow so it's always a pleasure. And yes, doing our best to stay safe. I'm happy you are, too.
ReplyDeleteSnow in the middle of May - what truly weird weather you have! But I'm glad it has now turned more spring-like for you and you are able to be outside.
DeleteI loved those roses, too. Up in the higher elevations I had many roses but I chose old roses, and Buck roses that were all very hardy, and didn't require much help. I also used Milky Spore powder to keep the Japanese beetles from continuing. I just planted Lady of Shallot because of those beautiful colors.
ReplyDeleteI hope the 'Lady' does well for you. She's been a real winner in my garden.
DeleteHappy GBBD, Dorothy. You have a stunning array of flowers there. I looked at all your blooms, then looked again, but couldn't choose a favorite. Well, maybe that pretty blue columbine... Stay safe, P. x
ReplyDeleteThe blue columbine is a beauty, isn't it? It hasn't produced many blooms yet but I treasure every one.
DeleteBeautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
DeleteThose are some lovely collection of roses.That shot of wild elederberry is so calming and beautiful.I wish could grow those aquilagea since once long time back when I tried growing it it never bloomed back then and from then I never tried growing it .Happy bloggers blooms day.
ReplyDeleteI've had a lot of failures over the years with aquilegia but I keep trying and this year it has worked out for me. The red columbines have done especially well, but now the blue ones are coming along, too, and I have high hopes.
DeleteThat's BEAUTIFUL! It looks like a vacation resort with all these different colours and flowers in bloom.
ReplyDeleteThe pansies really remind me of my grandma, she always had them in her garden. And I, personally have the lilies as my favorite!
Pansies are always a favorite with me. I always grow them in my winter garden for color. They generally poop out in the spring but this pot has hung on and is still blooming in May.
DeleteEverything is coming up roses. What a glorious time of year. Your Blue Columbine is a work of art!
ReplyDeleteThe columbine blossoms look almost unreal when they are in full bloom. I do enjoy them.
DeleteWow your garden looks gorgeous! I love the magnolia blooms and roses. I'm glad that your 'gardens continue to be a solace and a place where we can find calm from the stresses of the day.' Gardens have a wonderful way of bringing peace and joy.
ReplyDeleteThey do indeed, CR.
DeleteA lovely collection of May blooms! My chaste tree, planted from a 4-inch pot 2 years ago and still small, has a lot to aspire to! I was surprised to see that your Magnolia is already blooming while mine shows no signs of buds yet. I love the Clerodendrum and, of course, the roses.
ReplyDeleteMy chaste tree was a Mothers Day gift from my daughters a couple of years ago. As I recall, it was a gallon pot - or maybe bigger - but it has grown exponentially since then. If yours has been two years in the ground, it is probably due for a spurt of growth this year.
DeleteI adore magnolias and columbines so much. What a beautiful garden. I can never keep anything alive that grows in soil.
ReplyDeleteThe secret is to only plant tough plants than can stand neglect!
DeleteWill do! Which ones do you recommend??
DeleteIt depends on your location, soil, climate, etc. The best authority is usually the local Extension Service which has master gardeners who can give advice or a garden club if you have one locally.
DeleteWhat a lovely array of flowers Dorothy. At our previous home we had planted lots of gorgeous flowers and trees but, now that we live in a condo our outside planting is limited.They do however, keep our landscaping beautifully.
ReplyDeleteGardens, even those kept up by someone else, can bring comfort to our lives.
DeleteDorothy-all your blooms are gorgeous, but the roses and southern magnolia blooms take my breath away! Happy May Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lee.
DeleteSo many great ones! I love them all. The columbine are quite unique. And the Julia Child yellow rose I like. Has it rained much were you are lately? It appears so lush.
ReplyDeleteWe've had what I would describe as regular rainfall. There haven't been any extended dry periods where I've had to break out the sprinklers.
DeleteI can see why you lead off the photo parade with the magnolia. It's breathtaking. I love when petunias reseed themsalves because the are so darn difficult to start from seed.
ReplyDelete-Ray
These surprised me because I hadn't had any reseeds for a couple of years - at least not any that I had noticed - but we know that seeds can hibernate for quite long periods before they germinate.
Delete