The Merry Month of May

"A delicate fabric of bird song 

Floats in the air, 

The smell of wet wild earth 

Is everywhere. 

Oh I must pass nothing by 

Without loving it much, 

The raindrop try with my lips, 

The grass with my touch; 

For how can I be sure 

I shall see again 

The world on the first of May 

Shining after the rain?" 

-  Sara Teasdale, May Day  

This May has been one for the record books -the driest Spring on record and the coldest temperature  ( 40 degrees ! ) .  Nevertheless the garden , which I've been watering due to the drought, has flourished.

My goal is to have something evergreen in the garden year round so that it looks good even when not in bloom.  Azaleas, 'soft caress' mahonia, japanese cypress, autumn sage, Irish yew, Chinese viburnum 'snowball ', 'chindo' viburnum,  ' spring bouquet ' viburnum, and yuccas , to name a few.

While browsing in the garden one day I noticed a strange growth on my beloved 'peggy clarke ' flowering apricot that blooms in late January - a black knot fungus covered all the branches.  Research on the fungus indicated I should remove all branches and use a fungicide to prevent recurrence.  As a result my two flowering apricots are reduced to a 4' naked tree.  I added plant tone as advised to help it's new growth.

                           

                 'Peggy Clarke ' flowering apricot is an early pollinator attraction to the many bees that swarm around its fragrant blossoms in late January when hardly anything else is in bloom.  

My new garden buddy, Odie, loves chasing the bees buzzing around the Lamb's ear and Catmint.  

May is always a merry month of celebration, not only in my garden, but my family as well-my birthday, my son and daughter's birthdays , Mother's Day and Memorial Day.