May Recap

This is the first year I have grown allium of any kind and I planted two different kinds that bloomed this month. The Rosy Bells bloomed a bright reddish pink
and the the Sunny Twinkles bloomed a bright yellow, both very nice looking bulbs. They bloomed later than I thought they would. Still, it is nice to have the bulb blooming season extended in this way.

Carrots are coming along nicely, I planted two kinds, 'Danvers Half Long' and 'Thumbelina'. Both were chosen for their short roots due to our clay soil. The Danvers were put into one of the raised beds and the Thumbelina was put into a container on the deck. I wanted to see if I could grow a salad garden on the deck in containers since I have never grown plants in containers before.

The Clematis 'Jackmanii' has set some beautiful deep blue flowers on the last day of the month.

Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise' has begun to show signs of color. This is surprising since I just planted these one month ago.

Dianthus 'Agatha' bloomed weakly, but again was surprised it bloomed at all since it was one of those planted just one month ago.

Dianthus 'Zing Rose' bloomed a deep red. This one was planted last month, so I guess they are going to be prolific bloomer. I can only hope.

One of the Echinacea 'Magnus' sent out a bloom. This one is commonly called the Purple Coneflower. The plant itself is still short, as it was planted last month, and has one flower on the very top.

One of my very favorite and most anticipated bulbs is the Iris. I planted 12 and several have bloomed this month. They are yellow and blue and look very nice.

Lamium 'White Nancy', groundcover, bloomed.

Set out a bunch of Marigolds, hoping to attract beneficial insects to combat caterpillars, etc that would mean destruction of my other plants, such as tomatoes and beans. None have bloomed yet.

Primrose 'Firecracker' opened a bright yellow flower on the last day of the month.

Deadheaded roses for the first time this year.

Salvia 'East friesland' bloomed.

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First bulbs of the year

I planted a bunch of bulbs in a temporary spot last Fall, because their permanent spot has not been worked yet. This would be Allium 'Sunny Twinkle', Allium 'Alpine Rosy Bells', Iris 'Beauty Dutch Mix', some Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, and Crocus. One of the Allium ‘Sunny Twinkles’ has sent up shoots.

Tulips and Daffodils are coming up as well.

The larger of the three Lilac bushes is blooming! Flower buds are about ½”. This is especially exciting because this is the first year it has bloomed, the other two were purchased and planted at the same time and they have not yet bloomed. It is from Stark Brothers Nursery and called 'Fragrant Purple' which is a bit peculiar because I cannot find anything about it anywhere online except for Stark Brothers and then only in the catalog I first ordered it from two years ago. I can only guess that it is a hybrid that only they have. The flower color is dark purple.

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