Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A Fond Farewell to May



This May was a wonderful month for my garden. Maybe it was all the rain we got at the beginning of the month that made the flowers and shrubs so happy or maybe it was the late start we had for spring. Whatever it was, I'm grateful! Every day the garden gave me something new to smile about. Come along as we take our last walk-about together in May......










 "Pink-a-Boo" Deutzia



Veronica







 Sweet William and Coreopsis







 Our newest Clematis







 "Johnson's Blue" Geranium with Piglet











Here's a real oddity...this Blanket Flower has one stem and three flowers. They are attached back to back



















 A sea of Love-in-a-Mist. This is the view while sitting under the garden pergola



 Mallow



Viking Bellflower



 "Paprika" Yarrow







 "Prairie Twilight" Penstemon with "Hula Dancer" Coneflower



 We made these cages for our Blueberries this weekend. I'll show the vege garden once things grow a bit


In wildlife news:

 My Bluebird pair did make a nest in the house I showed you in my last post. There are five little eggs in it. I'm hoping they all hatch and the babies grow into beautiful adults. The Mockingbird babies I showed last time have all left the nest and there are more babies in the rose arbor nest. I also found another nest in the Honeysuckle arbor in the front yard. That makes six Mockingbird nests that I'm aware of!!

I wonder what June will bring us in the garden? I'm looking forward to finding out! Until next time....

Happy Gardening!

Words and Photos Property of Christys Cottage Wildlife Garden. 

42 comments:

  1. Wow, so much is blooming and looking good in your garden, and all at once, all together. Beautiful compositions. I love the blueberry bush solution -- no struggling with tangled nets caught in the branches. Your crop will be safe!

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    1. Hi Laurrie....thank you so much!! May has been a really good month for flowers this year! Things are blooming together that usually don't. Hubby and I came up with the Blueberry idea together. There is one side that flips up for easy access. We're going to do the same thing for our Blackberries, but just ran out of time on the weekend. The birds won't get the berries this year!! Thanks so much for visiting!

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  2. That's funny, "Wow" was going to be my first word, but I see Laurrie beat me to it. Things are lush, and looking awesome in your garden. I love it! Do you thin your love in a mist plants? I seem to need to thin mine, because they get spindly, and never look as good as I see them in others' gardens.

    Thanks for your comment on my gardening with nature in mind post.

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    1. Hi Sue....thanks for your nice comments! I haven't thinned the mist yet, but since they will continue to drop seeds, I'll probably end up doing it next year. Thank you for your comments on my other posts! I really appreciate it! Thanks for dropping by the garden!

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  3. Gorgeous! You have so many beautiful flowers in your garden. The Veronica is a standout, so are the poppies and the Love-in-a Mist. Your new Clematis is so pretty. Congrats on the bluebird eggs.

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    1. Hi Steph....that is so nice of you...thank you so much!! Veronica's do really well in my garden so I have a lot of them. My newest ones are bright pink. They are blooming, but are still on the smallish side. I have to say I love the Poppies and Love-in-a-Mist. They always do well. I just saw mama Bluebird go into the house. I hope all the eggs hatch and the babies are OK....I worry about the little guys! So glad you stopped by!

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  4. Beautiful flowers, wonderful colours, gardens are magic places:) Greetings

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  5. There are so many nice things blooming in your garden. I really like the unidentified purple penstemon in one of the pictures. Does the Viking Bellflower spread or is it well behaved? Love the blanket flowers, the "Paprika" Yarrow, poppies and love-in-the-mist.

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    1. Hi Jennifer...thank you so much! The purple Penstemon is "Husker Red". I self-seeds and comes up all over. I bought two of the Bellflowers last year...one didn't make it. I'm not sure yet if it spreads, but I hope it does because I really like this flower. Thanks so much for visiting today!

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  6. So much wonderful colour, Christy. Most of your plants in full flower haven't even started to bloom here in my garden yet. I love Veronica, it's such an easy going plant and so easy to propogate. I have them dotted about all over, and like you, have some pink ones too. Your three headed Gaillardia is very unusual, but what a bonus! I'm so pleased your bluebirds nested. How could they not when given such a beautiful home to live in :-) .

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    1. Hi Paula....thanks so much for your nice comments! I agree..Veronica is just so easy and so pretty! I'm praying that my Bluebird babies all grow up OK. I haven't seen any other birds around that house, so I'm hopeful. I can't believe that little girl laid five eggs! I'll keep you posted! Thanks for visiting my garden today!

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  7. First of all, your garden is stunning! A total wow. I have many of the same plants, but yours look far, far better! Also, for some reason yours are far ahead of mine in blooming. We are in similar climates, yet my yarrow has buds only, my bee balm barely has buds, etc. etc. Nature is unpredictable, isn't it?

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    1. Hi Sarah...thank you so much for your comments...I really appreciate them! Nature sure is unpredictable. For example, we had so much rain in April and early May and now we need some rain and the temps are averaging near 90 with lots of wind. The plants are taking a beating! Hopefully we'll get rain soon. Thanks so much for visiting my garden today!

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  8. Love your garden, Christy! The gallardia are glorious! Love the purple flowers by the arbor - are those bellflowers? English bluebells? Larkspur? Great that you have bluebirds!!! That is really awesome. The only baby birds here are sparrows. We see the mama bringing insects to feed the babies, and hear them chirping in their house. Are you a composter, Christy? Your gardens just look so healthy and lush with bountiful blooms. Perfect!

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    1. Hi Beth....you are too kind!! Thank you so much!! The purple flowers (in abundance) are "Husker Red" Penstemons. They self-seed and are one of the few Penstemons that do well here. I have lots of Larkspur too but you just don't see it in these pictures. On one hand I'm so glad we have so many baby birds, but on the other hand I get protective of them and I get so sad when they don't make it. I'm really hoping the little Bluebird babies all do OK. We have a huge compost area filled with chopped leaves and other stuff plus we have another huge bin filled with horse manure. We try to put compost around all newly planted plants to give them a good start. Also, when we make a new bed we always spread the manure over the top and till it in. I'm so glad you stopped by today to see the garden. I'm pretty sure next post I'll be revealing the "Big Surprise" I've talked about in previous posts!!!

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  9. I love those cages. The berries will be yours! I hope your bluebirds make a happy and healthy family. The garden looks lovely. Here, we are way behind you. Mallow will not be seen for a while. Yarrow is just starting to make small flowers.

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    1. Hi Donna...Last year the birds ate all the Blueberries and Blackberries. I can't blame them...we put out apples and other food for them but then expect them to stay away from the berries....not going to happen! The cages have one side that can be lifted and set on top for easy access. We are doing the same thing for the Blackberries, but it will be much bigger. I can taste the berries already! I'm so glad you stopped by!

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  10. Congratulations on the bluebirds! Your garden is heavenly! I like the cages for your blueberries. I have only two blueberry bushes, and I have yet to put any netting over them. You remind me that I had better do it soon.

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    1. Hi Deb....thank you so much! I sure hope the Bluebird babies hatch and grow into adults. Our Blueberries are already turning blue so I can't wait to eat some fresh berries! Now I can relax knowing there is no way the birds can get to them! Thanks for visiting the garden!

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  11. Hi...ok wait for me to stop drooling :) Your garden is GORGEOUS!!! So big and so flowery...I really want a garden like this one. Love it all ♥

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    1. Hi Leanan....That is so kind of you! I'm glad you like the garden. It really outdid itself this May. I hope the June flowers do as well. My Daylilies, Asiatic Lilies and Coneflowers are starting to open...I can't wait! Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you visit again! (I'm going over to visit your blog too!)

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  12. Christy, Your garden is fantastic and as one commenter said, "Heavenly." Love your plant combinations~The wildlife must be ecstatic to live there. gail

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    1. Hi Gail....Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it! We do have a lot of wildlife. I've noticed so many more birds are staying around this year. I really hope my Bluebird babies hatch and grow into beautiful adults! My one concern is that I don't have hummers like I did in previous years. I've only seen a few in the last month, but none have stayed around. I hope they are OK.

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  13. Hi Christy....If I lived in your house....I'd never come inside. Such a beautiful garden walk today.
    Balisha

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    1. Hi Balisha....that is so sweet of you! I'm so glad you enjoyed your garden walk and I
      hope it gave you a little smile! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

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  14. Stupendous! A riot of color and blooms! I love it!

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    1. Hi Beth...thanks so much!! I love lots of color in the garden! So happy you stopped by today!

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  15. The colors are all so vibrant. All the rain here produced mostly is floods and mud.... unfortunately.

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    1. Hi tb....I have a rainbow of vibrant colors in the garden! That's so sad that all you got was floods and mud...it's just not fair of Mother Nature! Well, you can always stop by and see my flowers :-)

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  16. Christy your flowers are breathtaking in the drifts and combinations...love that new clematis.

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    1. Hi Donna...thank you so much! That new Clematis is really doing well...it must like that spot! Thanks for visiting!

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  17. You have so much blooming!! WOW! So beautiful! We have some of the same plants. :o) Very smart to make the cages for the blueberries. But I'm sure the birds are less than thrilled.

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    1. Hello! Thanks so much!! I'm finding that most of the blogs I follow have many of the same plants that I have...they must be very popular! Those darn birds better not mind..they have it made here...sunflower seeds, suet, thistle seeds, meal worms, peanuts, apples, fresh water and plenty of houses...they're eating me out of house and home!!! The least they can do is leave us a few measly blueberries!!! :-) Thanks so much for dropping by!

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  19. May has been a busy month in the garden indeed, and I've fallen behind on my blog reading, obviously. Everything is looking so beautiful in your garden, Christy; I think I could walk around it for hours and still not see everything! So glad you included the photo of the 'Prairie Twilight' penstemon--I just ordered one on sale and wasn't sure if I would like it. Now, I'll have to remember to sprinkle some nigella seeds near it!

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    1. Hi Rose...Thank you so much..that's so nice! I think you will really love Prairie Twilight. It does a great job of showing off it's flowers! Yes, I think the Nigella compliments most flowers! So glad you stopped by!

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  20. With beauty such as this, it must be sad to say goodbye to May....
    Happy June :-)

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    1. Hi Skeeter....Hopefully June will be just as nice in the garden. My summer flowers are blooming or starting to bloom, so it's a great start! Thanks for visiting!!

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  21. "May has been a busy month in the garden indeed"

    Indeed, it is the busiest time of gardening.

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