May Day Posies

On May Eve, I assumed my secret May Elf identity, and helped make and deliver May baskets. Shhh, don't tell. Here are two bouquets I made from leftover flowers.

I also wrote a haiku:

May Day dawns brightly
Promise of summer bounty
Bouquet on my door

Bloom Day February 15, 2009

It's been rainy and cold for a while, but flowers are still happening in my garden. It's a good thing I took these photos early in the day, because the clouds came back soon after. There are some new blooms since January, and some hangers-on. The "Christmas" rhody in the above "continuing blooms" composite (bottom row, center) has really burst out in the last week or two. The camelia (composite, 2nd row, 2nd from left) has also, though it never looks very good because of blossom rot.



The thyme-leafed fuchsia (above left) and primulas (below right) were blooming last month, but I didn't notice them for a few days. For some reason, the bees have a strong interest in the white hellebore (above right), but it doesn't seem to be in the nectar or pollen. Maybe propolis?







The apple tree got pruned shortly after January's Bloom Day. While I was up in the branches pruning the highest ones, bees kept zooming by, and some landed on me as if to take a break and say "hello". It's fascinating to watch the bees going out and coming in, especially from the top of a tree.

Gardener's Bloom Day, January 2009

In December, I read about garden bloggers posting photos of whatever was blooming in their garden on the 15th of each month. January seemed like a good time to start this practice. I also included our old apple tree, to track its progress throughout the year. Who knows how much time it has left; the poor thing has heart rot.

Most flowers are sparse, with just a few blooming. The alyssum is an exception; it seems to bloom year-round. The snapdragons and some other flowers were looking good until the frosts hit around New Year's. The apple is bare of leaves, with some remaining fruit looking rather like Yule decorations.

A day or two after Bloom Day, I noticed a few more flowers: creeping thyme, primula and thyme-leafed fuchsia. I thought that the TL fuchsia was finished, but there were still a few blossoms. But I decided it might be cheating to add them after the fact.


I was surprised to find a few remaining abelia blooms (left). It tends to provide food for the bees through December.

One of about three early grape hyacinth blooms and one lonely wood hyacinth/bluebell blossom.