Bloom Day - May Flowers

     Lately, life has gotten in the way of blogging (as it should be). However, not wanting to miss Bloom Day I ran around yesterday afternoon trying to get some photos of the garden, when what I should have been doing instead was pulling weeds and watering the newly planted.

     My bearded iris were spectacular this year, but most have finished blooming. The one below is a later variety and looks really good coming up through bronze fennel.

     One of my favorite perennials is Amsonia hubrichtii, but I like it more for the foliage than the flowers which are too pale for my taste and remind me of skim milk.

     Behind the Amsonia is another favorite, Phlomis fruiticosa (Jerusalem Sage).

     My rose population has suffered a dramatic decline in recent years. A car took out one, I removed one for non-performance, and another for being overly zealous. 'Betty Boop' and 'Sun Runner' still bloom, but their days may be numbered.

     One of my favorite spring bulbs is Allium christophii (Star of Persia). More will be added this fall.

     This winter was hard on many gardens. I completely lost several marginal perennials, some of my shrubs had to be cut to the ground, and my normally evergreen Eucalyptus gunnii turned completely brown. I was ready to ground-prune it, but signs of life have suddenly sprouted from the trunk in the past few days.

     One of the perennials I lost has already been replaced, Cuphea ignea 'David Verity'.

      Baptisia 'Purple Smoke' was late coming up this year, but better late than never.

     In the back garden, Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) has just started to open, and its sweet perfume is mixing oddly with that of the Voodoo Lily (Amorphophallus konjac). It's like the breaths of heaven and hell all in one.

     To see what is blooming in other gardens around the globe, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of each month.