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Garden in May |
May is a glorious month in the garden. The sudden onset of hot weather followed by a winter with heavy rains and cold temperatures, has led to the garden abruptly awakening. It is filled with the sweet scent of orange blossoms and the riotous color of many of the perennials. The nepeta mussini, lilac bush, and wisteria are all doing their part. The low growing verbenas and Felicias are all clamoring for attention. The red climbing roses are coming into bloom with the periwinkles at their feet.
It is a very active month for the gardener in Greece. Spring has progressed far enough to require the removal of the dried up leaves of daffodils and tulips. The weeds have go be kept in check, the greenhouse needs to be emptied with the tomatoes, zucchini, and decorative squash seedlings planted out.
The
Ivy-Leaved geraniums, Pelagonium peltatum 'Summer Showers", which are in a window box are protected
by the house from the drying winds . They are in all their glory now after having been cut back in
February and fertilized in March. I expect them to keep up this display
until August. I will have to look out for
Cottony Cushion Scale which attacks these plants during a hot dry spell.
My sweet-smelling white Dianthus alba is looking great--especially the one which is planted next to the Blue/purple spiked Salvia farinaceous "Victoria". The dianthus needs to be deadheaded once a week to keep up its appearance.
Verbena
rigida
with its heads of vibrant purple flowers has popped up everywhere. This is
an invasive plant and has to be controlled by having stray plants, along with
their
roots, pulled out every so often. Right now I enjoy seeing its new flowers and leaves appear in all the
garden's nooks and crannies. Later on in the season the leaves turn hard and
prickly and the plant will need to be cut back to encourage another period of new growth.
Lantana
montevidensis is a trailing ground cover with a spread of one meter. It is
planted in raised beds and trails over the stone walls. Two varieties are
present sporting purple or white flowers. This Lantana has been cut back
severely in December and now that it has begun flowering will continue to
do so until it will be cut back again next December.
Here it can be seen
next to Trachelospermum jasminoides or "Star
Jasmine" which is the
first vine to flower in the garden. This evergreen twining climber grows over an
arch. The vine is presently covered in fragrant white flower
clusters. Its glossy leaves turn vivid bronze in the winter. It will
need to be pruned after the flowering period which will last well into
June.
Sisyrinchium
striatum an easy to grow member of the Iridacae family
with Iris-like
foliage and slender stems bearing tall spikes of creamy-yellow flowers
which reach a height of 1-2 feet (30-60cm). It is drought resistant, requiring
no additional water in the summer. In the winter the leaves turn black
and can be left or cut down.
The last two perennials that are are at their prime now are Stachys byzantina and Alyssum argenteum. A description of both these plants can be found if you follow the link taking you to Evergray plants.
Many of the bushes in the garden are beginning to bloom. The flowering maple, Abutilon. x hyridum is a fast growing evergreen open shrub. I have planted it in a raised bed where its graceful red bells can be seen from below. It can grow to 2 meters if left unchecked but then the stems have a habit of splitting. I keep it trimmed to one meter, cutting it back after the flowering season.
Philadelphus coronarius
"the Mock Orange" is a deciduous shrub which blooms this month. It
reaches a height of 2-3 meters, is
native to Southern Europe, and sports white fragrant
flowers. After flowering, several of the older stems will be cut out down to the ground to promote
fresh growth with abundant flowers for next year.
Ceratostigma willmottianum or "Blue Leadwort" is a deciduous subshrub with gentian blue flowers and growing to 1 meter. The plant needs to be cut back almost to the ground every February and then comes back to life in March/April.
When I look through past photographs, I realize that many plants which I thought would do well in the garden have in fact disappeared. All of the plants mentioned above have been in the garden for at least three years and have stood the test of time.
New Plants
Deciding that the garden could use some more color during the long summer, I decided to sow some new plants, including:
Annuals
Lychnis coronaria 'Cerise'-- a beautiful variety of Rose Campion with blooms a shade of cerise reaching a height of 15-30 inches.
Eschscholtzia californica--the California Poppy with blue-grey foliage and vivid yellow, white, and orange glossy flowers. Grows to 14 inches.
Perennials
Trachelium caeruleum 'Violet Veil of Flowers' --often grown as half hardy annual. Grows 2-1/2 to 3 feet. Features small star shaped, violet colored flowers.
To view the other months click on the hyperlinks below.