Our Garden in Early May

Marching into May after the April showers comes with the promise of a parade of summer blooms. April showers bring May flowers.

The mid-April gusts of north-westerly wind, however, cut short the cherry blossoms' glory. The rain and wind connive to bring more petals adorning the grounds around the cherry trees than on the tree canopies. Even the daffodils and the tulips have seen their glory days. The other garden flowers are poised to take centerstage. Or, at least in our diminutive home garden.

A few tulips (the late-blooming type) still look plump and fresh. I find the white-striped deep red tulip rising above the golden Japanese Hakone grass by our corner roadside garden most alluring. The combination of the tulips against the burgundy leaves of the weeping Japanese maple glow against the golden yellow leaves of the Hakone grass. The combination looks stunning.

We notice in the front of the roadside garden, some late-blooming, multi-colored tulips manage to hold on to their blooms though a few have been bent by the weight of the rain trapped in their chalice-like flowers.

As we walk around the garden with our three cats in tow, we notice the buds of many garden plants. Already the early-blooming rhododendrons and azaleas are sporting floriferous colors on the shrubs, beckoning the other plants to hurry up with their budding and to bloom with the shrubs. Standing above the Rhodos is Magnolia stellata, its white fragrant flowers past their peak. A cascading cherry bush nearby shows off its dark pink florets among the new dark green leaves. Underneath the bush small clumps of wild cornflower show off their dark blue wiry flowers.

A bunch of Aquilegia soars heavenward in front of our mid garden. A long stand of hyacinths provides supporting colors underneath the tall Aquilegia. But it's the fragrance of the hyacinth that I love the most. The fragrance in this section of our garden can be intoxicating by dusk.

Other blooming plants vie for our attention. The pieris Japonica, the broom, the fuchsia and dark pink azaleas add to the beauty of the roadside garden. The Viburnum Davidii and the lilac attract with their fragrance which is almost as inviting as the evocative scent of the hyacinths.

Even the wildflowers are show-offs. The wiry dark blue of the cornflower and the lemony yellow of marsh marigold excuse them for being invasive in our small garden. Another invasive plant, the ajuga reptans, looks good against the variegated white-and-green spikes of an ornamental grass. A self-seeded Chinese crabapple is scheduled to be cut, but not until its blooms are spent.

Our garden cleanup is long overdue. My wife has kept reminding me to prune branches of shrubs and the foundation border of boxwood in our front entryway and the blackened branches of Fatsia japonica, a fig tree and some rhododendrons that did not survive the last two winters' heavy snow. My wife wants a neat garden, so she finally has done the pruning. I excused myself, "I'll walk your cats." Normally, I'm not a cat person, but I'm willing to walk the cats instead of cleaning the garden. I'd rather focus on the early May blooms than clean up the garden.