May 2026 Bloom day

 

White iris

I's been such a cruel spring this year, with drought and wild swings in temperatures in my Zone 6B Virginia garden! The mid-April frost coming after an abnormally warm week not only blasted the emerging leaves and buds from my flowering trees, but the irises that were in spike as well. Only the patch of irises in the front yard, protected by the house, managed to bloom. As of a few days ago only the white ones, later than the rest, persisted. My peonies, which would be blooming about now, have only a few viable buds, and are late.

Me too--I'm late with this May Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog, because I was taking an intense in-person painting workshop for four days, and had no time to write or post my photos. What you see were taken last week and/or some days ago; welcome to my May garden, such as it is.

 

Amaryllis on the porch

 

The Amaryllis I got as a gift a couple of Christmases ago re-bloomed, and decorates my front porch. In the front yard a friend found and brought me some lovely rocks to build up a border edge for the bed under the trees, and I think it adds a little something to the overall look.

 

Front yard with new stone edging

I like to plant some annuals in this front bed in an effort to camouflage the dying foliage of the daffodils and have something growing there during the summer, but usually deer come and eat most of the plants anyway. This year I'm hoping to foil them with a new deer repellent, but its effectiveness remains to be seen. I bought a few new perennials to add to the Gaillardia I planted a few years ago--a blue-flowered Lithodora, and a blue Pincushion flower (Scabiosa) at the edges of the trees where they'll get some sun.  

Recently I planted three bare-root Astilbes under the dogwood tree to the left, but they'll take a while to emerge and bloom during the summer. I'll probably plant some Coleus later on when the daffodil foliage has died out completely.

 

Lithodora

 

Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' getting ready to make a show

Blue Pincushion flower (Scabiosa)

My Viburnum 'Brandywine'  on the east side of the house did not sustain any damage, but the climbing rose 'New Dawn' and Clematis 'Etoile Violette' don't look very happy in the prolonged drought, with leaf miners blighting the rose. Neither does the Filicoides Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa filicoides). Only the dwarf blue spruce seems to have retained its normal lovely spring foliage.

 

Viburnum 'Brandywine' with blue spruce, Hinocki cypress and 

 

In the east woodland garden all three Japanese maples and the Virginia Fringe tree were blighted and are only now starting to put forth some foliage, but surely there won't be any flowers here this year. The flowers of the two Rhododendrons and the Pagoda dogwood were also blighted. Usually this part of my garden is so lovely during this season, but this year, only the 'Blue Barlow' columbines, which have spread everywhere, are blooming. 

 

'Blue Barlow' Columbines

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi' under Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'

I keep adding native plants to my woodland garden: this spring some wild ginger under the Carolina Silverbell tree, next to the Pink Turtlehead planted last year. And, I finally bought a reasonably-priced Helleborus niger, which I planted between the Japanese Full Moon maple and the Virginia Fringe tree. I acquired one bare-root plant of Trillium grandiflora I hope to plant as soon as I find some time.

Moving down to the back yard, the Foxglove Pentstemons are proving indestructible, and the Ninebark Tree 'Coppertina' in the badlands has some decent blooms, though not like in other years.

 

Foxglove Pentstemon

Ninebark Tree 'Coppertina'

 

A nice surprise in the back bed--one of the Snapdragons I planted last year survived the winter and is blooming--it seems taller this year, and definitely taller than the ones I just planted, which I think are exactly the same variety. I've learned that deer don't eat Snapdragons, so they're a  good choice for my garden. So is Verbascum. 

  

Snapdragons

Verbascum 'Southern Charm'

The red honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' has been very floriferous, and providing nourishment for the hummingbirds migrating north. The native red Columbines also attract the hummers.

 

Red Honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler'

 

Red Columbines (Aquilegia canadensis)

Another shrub that won't be flowering this year is the Philadephus 'Cheyenne'; the shrubs in that bed are so sad-looking! The Beautyberries died down to the ground and are just starting to re-sprout from their bases. The Honeylocust tree was looking dead, but seems to be sprouting some foliage now. Not worth photographing.

On the west side of the house the Salvia "May Night' is blooming with the round-leaved Coreopsis. The pink-flowered Sweetspire (Clethra alnifolia) behind the deer barrier is re-sprouting, but the Clematis I planted there last fall was eaten right down to the ground. Probably not a bad thing--this site is too hot for the 'Betty Corning' Clematis I'd purchased on sale. I bought a replacement, but I'm still trying to figure out where to plant it out of the reach of the deer, where the fragrance can be enjoyed.

 

Salvia 'May Night' with Coreopsis

Clematis montana 'Appleblossom'

The other Clematis on this side of the house has not performed well either--only a few blooms this spring. It badly needs pruning, but that will have to wait until after it's finished blooming.

This morning I spent an hour digging up a dead Ilex bush that was in front of the Clematis, preparing the ground for a new shrub--a dwarf Smokebush. It was back-breaking work in this heat (the outdoor thermometer is marking 96 degrees F as I write), digging up big rocks and the yellow clover taking over--I'm getting too old for this! I wish I could afford to hire two laborers to do this stuff for me, but my budget doesn't permit it, so I try to enjoy it, despite the backaches.

 

Dutch Iris

Purple Dutch Iris

 

The pale Dutch Iris flowers also got blighted, but the later-blooming purple ones are making a good show now. The Allium Moly is always dependable.

 

Allium  moly

 

 That's about it for now, awaiting rain. Thanks for visiting!

 

Calmes Neck

Pawpaw flowers.

 

 Last Saturday I went on the Virginia Native Plant Society's (VNPS) walk at Calmes Neck, a tract of private land overlooking the Shenandoah River a bit north of Front Royal. This is a unique site that contains a good number of native species over varied terrain: limestone cliffs with ferns and Columbines overlooking the river, and hillsides carpeted in Virginia Bluebells and other spring ephemerals.

 

Pawpaw flowers (Asimina triloba).

We started our walk at the top of a hill that was covered with Pawpaw trees in flower. There was little evidence that these flowers had been damaged by a frost earlier in the month, so I presume these trees didn't begin to flower until after the frost.

Twinleaf plants (Jeffersonia dyphilla)

Seedpod of Twinleaf.

I had hoped to sketch the twinleaf flowers after our walk, and had brought my sketchbook and kit, but due to the recent heat-wave, the plants were done flowering and had gone to seed. There was not a single flower on the entire hillside covered with these plants!

I had to console myself with the native delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) nearby. There were a few unusual pale sports growing next to the normally deep purple flowers in this small patch near the twinleaf plants. There were also some trilliums (Trillium sessile), near the Delphiniums.

 

Delphiniums (Delphinium tricornis) on the forest floor.

Close-up of Delphinium tricornis

A pale variant of Delphinium tricornis

Toadshade (Trillium sessile)

We walked down the hillside toward the river where Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) grow in abundance. Among the bluebells we found plants of both squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) and Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria).

 

The path by the Shenandoah River.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis)

River floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells.

After a short stroll through the river floodplain filled with Virginia bluebells our group turned towards a high bluff overlooking the Shenandoah River. On the rocky ledges of this bluff grew a number of lovely and unusual plants: wild columbines, bulblet ferns, walking ferns, native sedums, purple cliffbrake, and spleenwort.

 

Looking down from the limestone cliffs.

Wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) on the rocky ledges.

 

 

Columbines and bulblet ferns (Cystopteris bulbifera).

Spring has been so dry this year that the usually green mossy rock ledges were all dried and brown; the walking ferns in particular seemed to be fried to a crisp! Still, they manage to hang on--I'm sure they'll all revive with the first abundant shower.

 

Walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum)

Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) with flower.

Rare purple cliffbrake fern (Pellaea atropurpurea)

Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)

Here was another rare fern--the wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)--so tiny it would be easy to overlook if we didn't have an expert botanist as a guide. Other ferns and plants on the cliffs are unique to this site.

Wall rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria)

Alumroot (Heuchera villosa)

Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Rock twist (Draba ramossisima)

A number of other spring blooming flowers were present: spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa), cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata) etc., that are by-now very familiar to me. I did learn that the tiny spring beauty flowers actually have pink pollen, and that when bees harvest their pollen, the pink pollen sacs tell us they've been visiting these spring beauties..

 

Harbinger of spring (Erigenia bulbosa)

Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)

Round-leaf ragwort (Packera obovata)

I had brought a sandwich and my paints so that after our excursion I could stay a bit longer to paint one of these lovely flowers. I chose to do a field sketch of one of the delphimiums, which turned out quite nice. I had just finished my drawing when I felt the cool breeze presaging that some rain might be heading this way, so I packed up and left.  I had just got back on Route 50 when a shower started.

 

Watercolor field sketch of Delphinium tricornis (9" x 6").

 

I finished the watercolor in my studio at home with the help of my photos. Above is my little sketch.

Peonies, Roses and More

Itoh Peony 'Bartzella'

Bartzella

 

Late May is such a wonderful time of the year for flowers! Peonies, roses, clematis, azaleas, wildflowers, just about everything seems to bloom at this time of the year. After the recent rainy spell, my garden looks fabulous! That is, as long as you don't look too closely at the weedy lawn.

My peonies put on  a gorgeous show this spring: the yellow Itoh 'Bartzella'  produced seven huge, dinner-plate size blossoms. 'Duchesse de Nemours' is so heavy with blooms that even with grow-through wire supports, the recent rains broke off a few stems. The perfect excuse to cut and bring them into my house to fill a vase for sketching.

 

Peony 'Duchesse de Nemours'

'Duchesse de Nemours'

The pink peony in the front bed by the driveway was the first peony I planted in my garden, and it has been putting on a show since then. Peonies are long-lived plants, and usually bloom in greater profusion every year if they're happy in their location.

 

Pink peony in front bed.

 

Pink peony, alliums and shrub roses in bed by driveway.

Shrub rose 'Petal Pusher' with blue Fescue and yellow alliums.

 

The sunny bed by the driveway with the pink peony is fuller this year with yellow alliums, and the roses are now starting to bloom. I don't recall the tufts of blue fescue grass blooming so profusely before, they are stunning this year!

 

Red 'Double Knockout' rose by the front walk.

Ground covers by the front walk.

The red 'Double Knockout' rose by the front walk is lovely with its first flush of bloom, and will keep on blooming until the first frost, if not as profusely--I only wish it had some perfume! The rest of the ground covers and shrubs along the walk are lush too; the Persian carpet effect I wanted here is coming together nicely. The blue-green foliage of woolly thyme and Juniper contrasts nicely with the yellow-greens of the sedum 'Angelina' and a miniature golden Hinoki false cypress, and the fresh green of Greek oregano, accented with the clump of magenta pink dianthus flowers.

Clematis 'Etoile Violette'

 

My clematis 'Etoile Violette' took a beating last year when the climbing rose 'New Dawn' was blown down off the porch pillar during a storm. The rose had to be pruned back severely, which I don't think hurt it any. This year it looks as if 'New Dawn' will bloom a bit later, so the two will not coincide. I like the color combination of these three plants: the deep purple clematis with a golden Hinoki cypress and a dwarf Colorado blue spruce. 

 

East garden in the evening.

Moving along the east of the house, three Japanese maples provide shelter for shade-loving plants like the Rhododendron and two azaleas. The photo above was taken last week, the one below a few days later. The Japanese maples are a red-leaved 'Bloodgood', a full-moon maple 'Shirasawanum', and between these two, a small-leaved one I grew from a seedling found in the grounds of the office building next to the one I used to work in.

Same bed in morning light, pagoda dogwood on the left, fringe tree on the right.

'Blue Barlow' columbines with Fringe tree and Japanese maples.

 

The Virginia Fringe tree (Chionanthus virginianus) and Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) blooming at the same time with the columbines really made this area of the garden sing this year. The great blue Lobelias are spreading all over this bed, competing with the 'Blue Barlow' columbines. Later in the year the Lobelias will cover the bed with their blue spikes of flowers.

 

Dutch iris, 'Major Wheeler' honeysuckle and double flowering Quince

In the back yard, the deep blue Dutch iris sets off the honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' while the double flowering quince continues to bloom in the long island bed. In the same bed, the elderberry 'Black Lace' and other plants bloom, waiting for the Asian lilies to make their entrance.

Clematis 'John Warren'

Elderberry (Sambucus 'Black Lace')

Pentstemon 'Electric Blue'

Foxglove Pentstemon

Last fall I transplanted one of the foxglove Pentstemons to the Herb bed and another to the back bed, where they are flourishing. Meanwhile, the Badlands shine with the same foxglove Pentstemons and the blooms of 'Coppertina,' a ninebark tree (Physocarpus opulifolium 'Coppertina).  The deer eat this shrub back every year so it doesn't seem to get any bigger, but they seem to have stopped devouring my other ninebark tree, 'Amber Jubilee' in another bed, allowing it to produce its first blooms this year.

Ninebark tree 'Coppertina'

Ninebark tree 'Amber Jubilee'

I'd forgotten to show you my 'Kousa' dogwood, which has more blooms this year, despite the ravages of the 17-year locusts last year.

 

'Kousa' dogwood in back bed.

I can't wait to see what marvelous new blooms the season will bring forth soon!