May Day Flowers

Long post today 'cuz it's MAY DAY!

Here, we celebrate by placing a bouquet of flowers on our neighbor's doorstep, ringing the bell, and running away as fast as we can.




I forget what this little white flower is. It's mxed in with some dianthus Pinks and the spittlebugs are already busy spitting.

Tri-color Japanese Dogwood. This is my second one in over twenty years of gardening this acre.
The first one succumbed to a very hot August Day with dry winds.

Lovely Hostas - not too much slug damage yet and the bed just got weeded.

Kousa Dogwood

Peonies budding - about to burst open in our very warm weather this week.

I've gardened on this acre for over twenty years. At one time, this bed was a perennial bed under giant fir trees. This bed is now being groomed for less-labor intensive gardening. That means taking out the perennials and leaving more space between neighboring plants with more bark dust to keep weeds down. These rhodies were tossed out of a friends' garden and promptly thrown into the back of my car and here they are blooming their heads off.

My favorite dwarf Iris - only about a foot tall.

Growing next to the Pulmanaria - which is awesome but really needs to be moved.

Golden Marjoram - less 'creepy' than it's greener cousin.

These are my fovorite columbine - Nora Barlow. They were supposed to be ruthlessly weeded out of this bed but someone keeps letting a few grow.

This Columbine is a mutation of Nora Barlow.

Valerian - Jupiter's Beard - full on bloom this weekend with our warm weather.

Bleeding Heart

Coral Bells

Lily of the Valley - May's Birthday Flower.
This is my birthday flower - which one needs to grow, but man, its a creeper with underground rhizomes. Anyone need some?


Clematis (Montana) climbing our Pergola with our Stearman Weathervane.
Someone needs to grab the ladder and tuck the tendrils which are growing a foot a day back in and away from the spinning prop.

Leopard's Bane.
This is planted in every corner of my yard.
Which means there are no leopards in my yard.




Pretty Bearded Iris's are not going to last long in our very warm weather this week.

Bed at side of house.

My favorite Iris. Actually, I've only met one Iris I did not like.

White Lilacs

Weigelia

This was an accidental bed that never ceases to amaze me. It is a succession of purples and magentas that go together perfectly. I did not plan this.

Rusty - giving me the eye.


He's old now - past 11 years. Even he knows he cant fetch now with his bum arthritic legs.
He helped prune this bed many times. There used to be Everest - Snow white - Azaleas at the end but he kept leaping tall buildings and eventually the azaleas kicked up their toes at the abuse.

I could replant now because Rusty cannot leap  anymore but somehow, it seems wrong to replant while he's alive.

Our other lab, Rocket, and Rusty used to wallow under the Japanese Maple, scratching their backs with the branches. Dogs are such great pruners.





Walkway with my favorite bed on left, looking towards our back patio underneath the Pergola.


Happy May Day!

Dont forget the Master Gardener Plant Show this weekend at the Canby Fairgrounds.