The End of May

This is my garden at the end of May. The first poppies have popped. The weigela bush is in its glory, covered in little pink trumpet-shaped flowers. And 'Ankums Pride', the first of the hardy geraniums to bloom, is showing its purple-pink flowers.

Two Allegro Poppies

The first poppy, of course an 'Allegro', bloomed yesterday, May 24. This is early for poppies to bloom, in fact the earliest date they ever have for me. (In 2010, the first poppy bloomed on May 24, also, but the norm is closer to the beginning of June. The latest date occurred last year, a very cold year, when the first poppy did not bloom until June 9. Does it matter when the first blooms are? I don't know. It matters to me, so I keep a record of it. Maybe someday it will help a scientist study Climate Change. But even if that never happens, it's still worthwhile to me to know when things bloom year after year.

Poppy Bud (About to Pop)

This bud that is about to pop will probably be the reddish-pink 'Manhattan'. The poppies may start blooming on different dates, but they tend to follow each other in a regular order.

Weigela and Bee

Zen Garden

The weigela bush in the backyard is entirely covered in small, pink, trumpet-shaped flowers. The pollinators love them. And the pink provides a welcome respite from the unrelenting backdrop of green that is my garden right now. (The tall irises had a great year last year, but have not done well this year. Normally they would be blooming at the same time as the poppies. Perhaps I should have divided them in the fall.)

'Ankums Pride' Hardy Geranium

I used to put an apostrophe in when I wrote "Ankum's" in 'Ankums Pride'. Then I saw somewhere that that is not correct -- but now I don't remember where I saw it or why it's so. I'm not even sure why I mention it. Maybe I should just end the post now and be done with it.

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