The gardens have certainly reacted to our strange weather patterns this year. We had a very mild winter followed by a warmer-than-usual spring. The mean temperature for May was 15.4C in our area, well above the 12.9C we saw in 2023. The result is that much of the ornamental garden has bloomed earlier than usual. Yet the temperatures are cool enough that the flowers are blooming longer.

By early May, I had all the flowering plants outside to harden off. The Dipladenia were in full bloom; however, they were a little leggy. Next year, I plan to cut them back harder through March and April.

By the first week of May, my Magnolia ‘Susan’ and Chanticleer Pear were in full bloom, and the crab apples were breaking buds.

The late-blooming daffodils are in full swing.

I’ve been working to downsize the Grefsheim Spirea that surrounds our well. They look much nicer now that the new bed edging is in place, but I’d still like to have the height more manageable for pruning, so I’ll take them down another foot or so this spring and remove any old wood from the centre.

The crab apple trees put on a beautiful show this year, lasting almost two weeks.

I’m working on adding to the understory layer in my woodland garden. The results make this a nice garden to walk through in spring.

Dicentra Bleeding Heart and Brunnera in bloom

The new edging sets off the Brunnera in bloom along the edges

Ferns in the woodland garden. I need to add more.

Variegated Jacob’s Ladder in bloom

Daffodils and Brunnera blooming along the brighter edges of the garden.

Garden plants can be surprising. Years ago, I purchased a Viburnum ‘Mariesii.’ It did well for a few years, then was crowded out, and the branches died off. I assumed it was completely dead, and then I noticed something white in the back woodland this year. It turned out to be new branches growing from the root base. I’m hoping it stays alive, as it certainly added a bright spot in this dark section.

Viburnum plicatum Mariesii in bloom in the deep shade of the woodland garden.

I’m slowly updating the gardens along the walkway to the barn. They have a long way to go. This year, the focus was to downsize some very large lilac shrubs. In early spring, I removed several large, old branches from the base of the plant. This thinned out the lilac, and yes, I had fewer blooms, but it allowed me to cut down the plant further after blooming to rejuvenate it into a smaller bush.

Pink lilac is in bloom after several branches have been removed. After blooming, I cut the remaining branches down by half.

Here is the Lilac Boomering after the same treatment in spring. I’m not convinced I like this lilac. It does rebloom in fall, but the new growth and blooms are wild and leggy-looking, and you have to leave them uncut to get blooms in spring. I wanted a low-growing shrub lilac in this garden, and Boomerang is hard to keep as a dense, low shrub.

I want low shrubs and perennials in this garden so that I can see through them as I walk from the house to the barn. This is also my view from the kitchen window, so I’m going for a panorama view n to blocked off my tall, dense plantings.

A few of the gardens along the walkway to the barn at dusk

Here are a few other blooms from the May garden.

Geum Alabama Slammer in bloom

My tree peony in the front entrance garden

I added several Purple Rain Jacob’s Ladder plants this year. I was pleasantly surprised by how long they bloom.

Another perennial I’m expanding in the garden is salvia. I love their blooms and how many are repeat bloomers. Here is one of the earliest to bloom – Salvia Nemerosa Viola Klose. It’s also a very fluorescent purple.

Here is the same salvia in the garden

Another garden I’m reworking is the Cottage Garden. It’s primarily designed as a summer garden, but you can see the white iris ‘Immortality’ and ornamental allium. The salvias were added to this garden this year.

New Weigela Electric Love with Peony Red Charm

And, of course, we couldn’t end what’s happening in May without the obligatory covering of the tomatoes due to frost!  Our weather was warm throughout May, with no frost until the very end. I had to cover everything on both May 30 and May 31.

Tomatoes under cover in late May