Remembering spring – May part 2

In the second part of May, the drought had already showed its face in many locations, but the water reserve from the soil and a bit of watering were sufficient for most plants to grow and flower well.

May is by definition the peonies month, both for species peonies and various cultivars. Paeonia officinalis in particular was gorgeous in flower and had a good seeds set; first time to flower was the seed raised Paeonia officinalis ssp. huhtii.
Paeonia tenuifolia wasn’t at its best flower-wise, but the foliage alone is gorgeous anyway.

New plants of Primula japonica ‘Postford White’ started to bloom extending the Primulas show. P. japonica is a species for moist locations, and therefore not long-lived unless you have a boggy area. Because it is easy to grow from seeds, I like to have it around once in a while.

From the part-shaded side, Iris cristata, Dicentra formosa, Trillium flexipes, Trillium luteum and companions deserve a mention for good flowering (and some seeds setting as well).

The rock garden kept on flowering with various species in succession. Androsace villosa ssp. taurica enjoyed the sunny, dry weather; also Aubrietia, Potentilla, Armeria, various Dianthus, and my only ‘alpine’ gentian: Gentiana clusii put up a good show.

In a shaded corner, the little New Zealander Viola cunninghamii emerged and flowered a bit, answering the question if it would be hardy enough in our zone. It wasn’t happy about the extensive period of drought; make a note if you have it.

From the ‘first time flowering’ category – the delicate Polygonatum prattii and seeds raised: Woronovia speciosa, Melica uniflora and Arisaema peninsulae ex. Primorye I mentioned last time.

 

 

As usual, towards the end of May the first Hepatica seeds were collected. Once that is happening, an even busier time starts; taking garden pictures takes second place, but there are still some worth reviewing from June so stay tuned.