April 30, 2010

May - The Growing Month

"You are as welcome as the flowers of May"
Charles Macklin

The flower in my blog header is a Trillium grandiflorum. It's a native plant that grows in the natural area on the west side of our house. They do well in wooded areas with dry to moderate moisture. The blooms are found May-June and the large white flowers turn pink with age. They're blooming early this year, like almost everything else.

My lovely Lamium 'Beacon's Silver' with its pretty pink/purple flowers and silver/green foliage spreads nicely, but never too aggressively. It's my pleasure to have it in the garden.

Muscari armeniacum, winter hardy and
easy to grow. Lovely fragrance.
The day after this photo was taken,
50 mph winds blew the bench
over backwards on top of the flowers.
They survived.  

Blue River, Keukenhof Gardens in Holland.
I bet my friend Dagmar from
Barefoot from Heaven has seen this drift
of Muscari armeniacum in person.
The photo is from The Plant Expert.
 

False Rue Anemone?
Wood Anemone?
I'm not sure which one, but they grow
in the natural areas of our yard
and I'm always happy to see them.
 
Does anyone know what these are?
It's hard to see in the photo, but
they are about to produce pink flowers.
I didn't plant them, they magically appeared. 

The beautiful Brunnera macrophylla 'Variegata'
continues to show off it's blue flowers.
The foliage prefers a rich, moist soil, 
but will tolerate dry conditions. 

I discovered this newly built robin's nest
in one of our cedar trees. Is it my
imagination or is it heart-shaped? 
A couple of love birds about
to lay eggs and raise a family.

Ending this post on a comical note.
Doesn't everyone have a pink, concrete
pig sitting out next to their antique tractor?  

17 comments:

  1. hi donna. you sure have some natural beauties popping out. love the pink pig by tractor...sweet. i am typing one handedly tonight, forgive my lack of caps, etc. i hope you have a wonderful weekend.
    xoxo-julie

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  2. Love the pig. Over in Dothan, AL there's an enormous sheet metal pig beside the Circle highway.

    Your mystery flowers might be henbit?

    I always wanted a river of muscari; settled for a trickle which now is a few drops. They just don't thrive here.

    So many pretties in your garden. Happy Spring.

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  3. Wow! You've got a lot going on for this early! And one thing prettier than the next. Anything purple makes me happy. Add some red and I'm over the moon!

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  4. Oh yea Donna I've been there but it's always so darn busy (and I'm alergic to crowds) but is was ages ago when I was a little kid. Do come over and we will go together one day please.

    I have the same flowers in my back yard when it comes to: bacon's silver and Wood anemone and also the ones you don't recall there name. We both have a woody garden it seems (I'm right at the edge of the forrest).

    And thanks my friend for sharing me. You made me smile and feel warm and cozy with your loving care wraped around me.
    Happy weekend. Dagmar

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  5. Drat, no concrete pigs here. Nor antique tractors either.

    Christine in Alaska

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  6. Now I know what is missing beside some of our rusty old farm machinery--a pink pig:)

    Love the blue blooms on your Brunnera; this has become one of my favorite plants in the shade garden. I also have lamium in my shade garden, which keeps spreading, but as you say, it is fairly well-mannered. I keep digging up clumps of mine and planting them in other spots where some groundcover is needed.

    Love the blue river! This reminds me of the "river" of salvia at the Lurie Garden in Chicago. I'd love to have a mass planting of something this eye-catching. As for your mystery plant, it looks very similar to something I have that voluntarily comes up. I think it might be a weed, but I've forgotten the name, and really, it is rather pretty, so I let it stay:)

    We've had the strong winds here, too. I hope they've subsided for you and that you have a great weekend, Donna!

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  7. I have a Purple Dragon lamium that is very aggressive ... it does make a nice splotch of color though. Blessings of peace for your day!

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  8. We share many of the same loves, Donna, including your volunteer, a noxious weed in my garden :) Happy May!

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  9. Muscari ARE tough plants...I find them "transplanted" to other parts of my yard by the chipmunks!

    I remember seeing Trillium of some sort growing in the woods wild in Michigan. It was my first time I had seen them and I was thrilled. I did not even know what they were twenty years ago.

    May is the best!

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  10. May really does seem to be the month everything really gets going here too. I love that trillium. We just planted our first and I hope it will bloom as pretty as yours one day.
    I love the Muscari, they really brighten up an area.

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  11. Your mystery plant is Red Deadnettle, Lamium purpureum. I have tons of it and let it stray because the bees love it so much for its early flowers.

    How wonderful that you have trilliums in your yard! Your other mystery plant looks to me like it's False Rue Anemone, Isopyrum biternatum. Either that or it's Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides).

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  12. Is is true that if you pick a trilliam it will take 7 years for it to grow again?

    Love, love, love the photo of the "river" I will have to check out that link.

    And the pig, hummm, is that what my garden is missing? (lol, it is cute)

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  13. I saw my first trillium in person this week at Graver Arboretum. The Arboretum is Muhlenberg College's "natural laboratory." A lovely plant among many in this natural setting.

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  14. Oh, I definitely need a concrete pig. That would be a fab way to get in trouble (again) with my fussy new neighbors. My dear Marsha, when I saw your title 'growing month' over on my blog roll and I just had to pop over and see what that's like. Since it's snowing here. Snowing! Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humor... Love your pics! It's all so springy, and non-snowy! :))

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  15. That pig is too funny. Love your new header!

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  16. Such gorgeous blooms you have, Donna. I love your header. That trillium flower is pretty.
    What a cute concrete pig! I showed it to Dorothy and David and they both said, ohhh, that's cute!
    And what a fantastic display of tulips and hyacinth. Fabulous colours.I will check out the link.

    Have a wonderful day always.

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  17. Hello Donna, I've missed visiting you! I think your mystery plant is a weed, but I'm not sure what it's called. it looks like something I keep yanking out of my allotment!

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