Tags
Clematis 'Nelly Moser', late spring flowers zone 5, Narcissus 'Pheasant's Eye', Narcissus 'Regeneration', Six on Saturday
It’s Memorial Day weekend here in the United States, the unofficial start of the summer season. In my climate zone, it’s also considered the “safe” date to start planting out annuals and other tender plants, as the likelihood of frost is now minimal. There were in fact frost warnings this week on Thursday night for areas near me; thankfully, I was not among those who were hit by it!
We’ve actually had very nice, albeit very dry, weather for the past three weeks! It’s been sunny and clear with comfortable temperatures. Without an extended period of heat and humidity, the spring flowers have had a good, long run this year! In fact, here it is, the end of May, and I still have daffodils!
I. There’s one little garden patch full of spring bulbs that still looks great. The Oriental Hyacinths and Tete-a-Tete Daffodils that bloomed here early in the season have now been overtaken by the late narcissi and allium. There are even still a few bright spots on the tops of the grape hyacinths that had their heyday earlier in the month.



II. I said goodbye to another spring bloomer this week, digging the tulips out of the vegetable garden so it can be prepared for, well, you know, vegetables! There were a few tulips that looked fresh, so I cut them and brought them in the house for a vase. I’m already poring over the on-line catalogs and planning next year’s tulip bed!

III. Yet another late spring bulb has opened–the Spanish bluebells! These are in the front garden, near the porch steps. It’s their fifth or sixth year to bloom here.

IV. The rhododendrons are the King of the Front Garden this week! Here when we bought this house, these giants are at least twenty-one years old. Their size is a source of some disagreement in the household–one party thinks they are too big and should be trimmed down considerably, while the other party loves their size and wouldn’t dream of downsizing them! The party of the second does agree that some trimming is necessary so the sidewalk remains passable, but does not allow it until the blooms have fallen!



V. Late spring is also the time for my clematis to start. ‘Nelly Moser’, growing on an old wooden trellis in the back corner of the vegetable garden, is always first.


VI. My covered side porch is a perfect staging area for all the flats of annuals I buy in preparation for summer planting. With the weather finally amenable for planting out, I’ve been up and down, on and off this porch multiple times over the past couple of days, much to the chagrin of certain feathered friend!

It’s the time of year now when the gardening to-do list is long and it seems like everything needs to be done all at once, so I thank you for taking some time out of your day to take a look at what’s happening in my garden! I look forward to some breaks in my own work this week to enjoy some of yours. As always, thank you to Jim at garden ruminations for organizing this weekly blog party!
