The wisteria may be a little half-hearted this year having suffered, I think, from the cold northerly winds we had in March, but elsewhere in the garden things are definitely hotting up – and with a recurring theme. Chloris of the Blooming Garden invites us to share our top blooms every month so do pop over to her blog where she will be sharing her May blooms in due course too.
The alpina clematis are past their best now and giving them a haircut to tidy them up is on my to-do list, but Clematis montana var. grandiflora is in full flow, clambering into the hedge and conversing with buds of rose ‘Rambling Rector’:
The pink hawthorn that featured on Wordless Wednesday has been absolutely stunning:
In the herbaceous borders allium and aquilegia are bringing much pleasure, as you can see here:
and here:
Aquilegia and Magnolia ‘Susan’:
Aquilegia and Geranium phaeum:
Hordeum jubatum (squirrel-tail grass) – with aquilegia:
Astrantia ‘Ruby Cloud’ – with allium and aquilegia:
Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’ and allium:
Stalwart Astrantia ‘Buckland’:
Rhododendrons in the woodland edge border:
Purple viola evicted from their winter HQ in troughs to various borders and hopefully continuing to bring a vibrant splash of colour for weeks or maybe months, seen here with teeny tiny Thalictrum ichangense and young geranium foliage:
There are buds on some of my seed sown cosmos, but the first seed sown blooms to appear are on the cerinthe (although I did spot a single bloom on Californian poppy ‘White Linen’ after I had taken today’s photographs), seen at the base of another annual grass, Lagurus ovatus (bunnytail grass; no bunny tails yet):
Finally, I am pleased to have blooms on Centaurea montana ‘Alba’, which I am hoping will establish as well as the blue version although I would be happy if it wasn’t quite as rampant:
So yes, a wonderful time in the garden for the 3 ‘A’s – allium, aquilegia and astrantia – but as you can see they don’t steal the show completely! And thank you Chloris for hosting the meme.
Rambling in the Garden 
Gorgeous – Particularly like that deep dark aquilegia.
See you tomorrow!
And I didn’t use that one, Sandra – which is Black Barlow, I think, also grown from seed
Beautiful – love the pink aquilegia 🙂
The 2 tone pink and white is probably my favourite
Wow, Cathy. It’s all pretty!
It’s getting there – and there are certainly fewer ‘gaps’ than last year
Beautiful garden, gorgeous alliums and I love the rhody too!
I could say that we could never have too many alliums but having pulled up hundreds of seedlings this year I think perhaps we could and I wasn’t waiting till they got to flowering size to see which variety they would turn out to be! 😉
Love all of it, but wonder how you trim the wisteria so high up.
It used to be an extending ladder, but now we have exchanged our heavy scaffolding for a lighter version I use that instead, which makes it much easier
A beautiful selection of blooming plants and colour combinations.
Thanks Jane – there is a bit of a colour theme to the borders, or at least that is the idea!
Oh you must be disappointed but the wisteria will make up for it next year Cathy. Those March winds were cruel. May is such a wonderful month and what riches in your garden. I love the lime green leaves of that aquilegia with the allium and astrantia ‘Star Of Beauty’ has gone on to the wish list. I think that your squirrel tail grass may have had an id crisis and is a bunny tail grass – just as deliciously soft and tactile 🙂
Yes, I am sure it will be fine again next year, Anna – it seems strange though that it was the lower limbs affected. I think S of B was new last year when it did little, so I am pleased to see it beginning to establish – don’t think it will be big enough for any division yet otherwise I could have given you a piece.
I thought your Wisteria would get away without damage as it buds much later than mine. Lots of lovely blooms. May is such an abundant month, I love it.
Chloris has mentioned pigeons, Christina, so I perhaps shouldn’t just assume it was the weather – there have certainly been a lot of them about this spring, cavorting in full view for all to see 🙂 And definitely hurrah! for May and its abundance 🙂
We have collared doves nesting in the garden so you may well be right!!!!!
😦
It may (doh!) have kept us waiting but it’s been a glorious Spring in the end. As your garden amply shows!
Indeed – and some things are just popping up at their ‘usual’ time after all, Nature as always knowing best
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely May blooms Cathy. There’s lots going on in your garden. Alliums and aquilegias sum up May for me and what a beautiful selection of aquilegias you have. I am going to borrow your idea of planting pink ones in front of Susan. We have done a lot of cycling this month and the May blossom is fantastic this year, I always admire your pink one.
Wisteria can be a disappointment, I have a standard one which was full of buds but the pigeons took a fancy to it and there are hardly any flowers left intact. If its not frost, it’s pests.
Thank you, you have inspired me to get on and choose my May favourites.
You are welcome Chloris and I am sure yours will show just as much if not more abundance. I cannot take credit for aquilegia and Susan combination as it certainly wasn’t specifically planned, other than the bed the former is in being a pink & purple one. Interesting about the pigeons, who I had not consdered as possible culprits. There have certainly been plenty of them around this year, no doubt nesting in the garden (and last year they nested in the wisteria)
May has certainly been glorious so far with everything in the garden rushing ahead. Your garden seems full of pinks and purples, lovely!
Yes, lots of purple and pink but no brights yet, although there are blues in the blue & white border
A good place to be 🙂
Teehee, of course 🙂
Cathy I love the combination of Alliums and Aquilegia, showing in her beautiful photos her divine collection of Aquilegia. The Magnolia Susan is beautiful. The Clematis montana var. grandiflora I like it a lot. The rest of the flowers are really beautiful and beautiful. I am sorry that the Wisteria has not bloomed: this winter has been very cold and the winds are cold. Your garden is divine. Greetings from Margarita.
Thanks again Margerita – the garden does so much on its own, without any help from me. Hebaceous plants are a great asset and are now really coming into their own again
Alliums are very popular now. I do not remember them years ago. I have not tried them yet because I do so few bulbs, but I am ‘sort of’ tempted. I do not want to grow bulbs that do not continue for at least a few years. I am told that alliums do.
There is also a balance to be sought betwen keeping the seedheads for their architectural benefits – and preventing 101 seedlings appearing from each one the next year!
They are invasive? A few extra might be nice. I think that chives can be annoying if they seed too much.
Not invasive, but they do pop up more than I would like, often reverting to a very plain blue or pink
Ooops. I accidentally left this comment on the wrong post. But here it is again on the correct post: Cathy, I admire how you’ve interplanted so many things. As a fairly new gardener, I’m still working on that. Beautiful May flowers.
Ah, that explains it – I have deleted my reply on the original comment to avoid confusion. For interplanting, think ‘stuffed in’ – probably overstuffed! I have been trying to fill ‘gaps’ from previous years but now plants are filling out the gaps are actually less this year but I can do a cull at some stage if need be. I have added many seed-sown annuals to the borders which are a good way of temporarily filling gaps, as long as they don’t get overshadowed by the more permanent planting before they are fully grown!
Its all so pretty. I love those alliums; such long lasting blooms.
Thanks – although I am becoming aware how much they can self seed…!
Yes! I’m going to cut the heads off some of mine this weekend for that very reason!
😁