Marvelous May
Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 5:00AM May is saturated with colorful flowers and foliage, with fragrant jasmine and roses and newly mown grass, and with all sorts of bird song. Cheeps come almost incessantly from every bird house. I had a conversation yesterday with a tiny nuthatch who poked his head out and studied the world for a few moments.
"Why, hello. You are cute," I said.
The little guy looked at me and asked where his mama was, as he was very hungry. Then he pulled back inside his abode, and a chorus of complaints from his brothers and sisters greeted him. It is crowded in there. It won't be long before they fledge.
May is a marvelous month, and sometimes I am overwhelmed by its beauty. Join me for a quick look at the garden. Most of these images were taken in late afternoon, when the land was gilded with golden light:
American smokebush, Cotinus obovatus
Spiraea japonica 'Gold Mound'
Clockwise from top left: Hybrid rose 'Orchid Romance'; Rosa Mutabilis, also called Butterfly Rose; Spiraea japonica 'Anthony Waterer'; Purple Salvia; Magnolia grandiflora, or Southern Magnolia; Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin', an old Bourbon rose that tolerates some shade; Penelope Rose; Rhododendron; Garden Phlox; Hibiscus.
An assortment of greens in the May garden:
Clockwise from top left: Bird's Nest fern, a tropical that spends frost-free months in the woodland garden; leaves of the Chinese Pistache tree; Fatsia japonica 'Spider Web'; Burford Holly with berries that will turn bright red later in the year; Zantedeschia; Variegated Weigela.
I hope you enjoyed the tour. Have a great week!
Reader Comments (23)
I enjoyed the walk through your garden. It's always lovely.
Thank you very much for showing your beautiful garden !!
It was very nice to visit your garden. I'm delighted with your flowers !
Have a nice Sunday !
Your garden is sublime and magical Debs! Happy May! :)
Dear Deb, your garden is unbelievably beautiful at this time of the year and the light in the photo is just magical. I can understand that you sometimes almost feel overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Living in hot, dry, drought stricken Southern California, the lush saturated green of your garden is totally fascinating to me and I feel it is so soothing. I love all the bird houses that you have scattered throughout your garden and I am sure the birds, too. Thanks for the tour!
Warm regards,
Christina
I always enjoy my tours through your garden. It is spectacular as always! If I toured in person, I suspect you'd have a hard time getting me out of it.
Such a beautiful garden!
Today I began a first tentative attempt at shaping a simple topiary. Somehow that formal shape makes everything sing in your garden.
Your May garden is beautiful. I can almost feel the soft warm breezes to go with all that gorgeous color. .
Your garden looks so lush and gorgeous, it is going to be such a great year.
Its all looming lovely Deb, such rich tapestries of colour and texture, no winder the nuthatches are happy to call it home, I'd like a little ramble around the area myself, finishing up with coffee and cake sat at that little table...
All so beautiful, Deb. I really love those images of the assortment in May. They are so artistic. Your garden is so colorful and restful in May. Just beautiful....
May is magical and your garden reflects that magic! Those first two images took my breathe away. Wonderful, have a great week. I hope you are at home to enjoy the garden every day.
I am in love with those topiaries of yours, I wish I had something similar in my garden... The rocky steps looks great are they recent? I don't remember seeing them before...
Your garden looks amazing!
I just love your garden!
Your garden in May is like a road map for us, the destination is marked on it there, but we still have a few weeks before we arrive. Meanwhile we peruse the dots, and viewpoints ohhh and ahhing over the beauty that is yours.
I dream when I see your photos...dream, and envision, and have renewed hope that spring will turn the corner, and it does.
Jen
Ha ha... you and I are definitely kindred spirits... I talk to the birds, too! And sometimes they answer back, though I have no idea what they are really saying! Lovely post Deb!
Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for your kind comments! Your support is very important to me.
Alberto, the stone steps were built in August, 2015. They are directly across from the house and provide a convenient entrance to the woodland garden. Prior to that, I had to walk down a steep hill to get to the woodland garden, or else walk all the way down our drive to what I call the upper lawn, where there is a level entrance to the woodland garden. Deb
What a delightful month, isn't it? Our June will likely look more like your May, but with the weather surprisingly being as warm as it's been, we'll soon be there! I love your roses, especially the Penelope one. And your mossy woodland path looks as cool and inviting as always!
Yes, May is fabulous here, too. I agree with Indie: Your mossy path is wonderful! Enjoy these stunning days!
The garden is looking divine. I enjoyed the conversation with the nuthatch.
It must be wonderful to have bird houses full of life. I agree that may is often overwhelmingly beautiful, especially in your garden.
My favourite image is the first one, because the light is so gorgeous, but your whole garden is just lovely Deb! What wonderful roses you have!
Oh Deb I adore your garden in spring...amazing pictures of an amazing garden.
Did I enjoy my tour? I ALWAYS enjoy my tours of your lovely garden! I wrote a similar post recently, extolling the virtues of the fabulous month of May. I just love it!