May is probably the month when there is the most in flower on any one given day, so again I’ll let you see everything via a slideshow, rather than filling this up with everything. This week the weather has thrown itself at the garden. From bright sun with a cold north east wind which blew fragile stems horizontal to 2 hot days that felt more like mid-July with temperatures reaching 30°C to today, windy, dull with rain for about 3 hours over lunch time when I’d been hoping that my guests could have lunch in the garden.
The above image and the following close ups are all taken of what I rather boringly call the Triangular Rose Bed (I do need to take advice about how to name the borders in a more descriptive, interesting way).
Above pale pink Penstemon began flowering this week and will hopefully now continue until the autumn.

R. Scepter'd Isle, a very good repeating rose, the plants are still new and small (planted last spring) but are full of flower!
Looking at the above colours, perhaps I should call it the “Pink, Frilly Knickers Bed”; all pastel pinks with just a hint of dark lace edging supplied by the dark purple cut-lace foliage of Sambucus.
Nearby on 2 pillars is R. Pierre di Ronsard – this has been slow to establish but given its NE facing location and the terrible soil its planted in, I think it’s not doing too badly. It continues the pastel hues.
As I mentioned in earlier posts about roses, here and here my roses are about two weeks early flowering, even Veichenblu is half out and last year wasn’t fully flowering until I came home after the Chelsea flower show. Irises have such a short season but some seem to flower for longer than others (I need to learn more about how they all perform as they are perfect for the conditions here and I do also like their leaves and the strong verticals to add to the show.
The hazy blue of Nepeta behind the strong yellow of Hemerocallis Sol d’Or with spikes of purple salvia in the foreground and yellow Phlomis all under a Melia tree (I forgot to photograph the blossom on that); you may recognise that it was in amongst these Hemerocallis that Tulips are planted. This proved a great combination as the Hemerocallis foliage started to really grow just when I needed to hide the ugly dying foliage of the tulips. I had chosen tulips for planting here that would have toned in colour with the Hemerocallis had they flowered together. It is a combination I’ll repeat in future years.
Walking around after my guests had gone photographing all that you see here I became even more aware of the fact that while I love many of the individual flowers either for their colour or perfume what really made me happy were the general views; seeing how the plants related to each other – their colours blending or contrasting, their foliage texture adding depth and the blurring of colours together not just in the images but also in reality because of the movement caused by the wind. Please click on the image below to see all the flowers in My Hesperides Garden this May GBBD.
Happy GBBD to everyone and enjoy this very special time of year; visit Carol at Maydreams, AND IT IS MAY so she doesn’t have to dream any more, to nose around what’s flowering in other parts of the
world. Thanks for hosting GBBD again, Carol and I hope this May is all you dreamt of during the long winter.
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Christina.
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My Hesperides Garden.
Looks wonderful. I think you are right about the relation of plants to one another. Nice to see penstemon.I like them but won’t be planting any more here. All except one Sour Grapes perished in the cold winter weather. Pierre De Ronsard is a lovely rose.
Thanks Linda, most of that pale pink Penstemon I took cuttings from grew into healthy small plants which I’ve already planted out. your ed ones didn’t all strike but the ones that did have made nice plants, I hope they’ll flower this year!
The pinks in your garden are so delicate, feminine and pretty.
They look lovely on dull days like today, they’ll look a bit washed out on the really sunny hot days to come!
Your garden is coming along nicely now, it seems to be filling out with colour. I really like that rose, does it smell as good as it looks?!
Which rose do you mean, Anthony? Most of my roses are perfumed but all different – People smell perfumes differently too, so my husband thinks the yellow rose (Rimosa) on the pillar smells really strong whereas I think its delicate!
Sorry, silly me forgot that bit its R. Pierre di Ronsard. I like that one as well as that yellow one I found!!
R. Pierre di ronsard is delicately and sweetly perfumed. It reflowers well given a better position than mine is planted in. It grows as a climber or large shrub.
What lovely roses Christina, thank you for that May tour of your garden. It certainly must look beautiful, even though the month appears to be throwing all types of weather at you.
…and it was windy all night and is still this morning, makes me quite depressed. thanks Ronnie for you kind comment.
I’d call that bed Sceptr’d Isle. Lovely name, lovely rose.
It is a good rose, delicately perfumed and it flowers and flowers. I think I’ll accept your suggestion for the nameof this bed. you’re so right about micro-climates too that you mentioned in your post. Christina
Thanks for your May wishes. This May has turned out to be full of blooms…and foliage…probably due to the rain we have had this spring. Your blooms are gorgeous. I like a lot of your combinations…very nice. Happy GBBD Day!
Thanks, Yes May is when most things are in flower for me, June might be good too, though I hope.
Just stunning! All of your roses are lovely – and I really like the combo you have in the first photo. Thanks for sharing and happy Bloom Day!
Thanks Hanni, I like the pastel shades of that bit of the garden very much too right now!
Calm before the storm, I suppose.
It certainly was Greggo, last night the wind howled around the house all night long, removing any blooms that weren’t hanging on tight.
Lovely blooms this May Bloom Day.
Thanks Nell Jean.
Christina, I replied with info on the native US wisterias. In May I too love the way the plants look together instead of the individual plants. But what I love about February is focusing on the gift of each individual flower. I am not sure which I like better. Your gardens are like tapestries especially the grass with a few bright colors sprinkled in. My gardens have such creative names as “The Strip”, “The Production Beds”, and “The Meadow”. I have tried to change the names but it doesn’t stick. Carolyn
Thanks for the info, I looked them up and they seem to need cooler, wetter conditions than the Asian varieties so not so good for my garden but certainly something to keep in mind for clients with different situations. Christina
I think that plants individually can be beautiful, but in combination, taking in to account flower colour, shape, leaf colour, shape etc, you can begin to create beautiful pictures that change as you move around the garden. I think that is the real magic of gardening – it is certainly what I am striving for more and more. So I love your pink frilly knickers border, despite not being a pink and frilly person, but I think it is the lacy dark foliage of the sambucus that really makes it sing. I also love the way you are combining roses with other perennials. And of course I particularly love that penultimate combination – can’t think why!
What is the dark purple rose in the fourth picture in your slideshow? Its a beautiful colour. There again you have so many lovely plants, impossible to comment on them all!
Hi Janet, I’m not really a frilly pink person either but somehow it works in this border. The dark rose R. Tradescant. It has a wonderful perfume and ‘dies’ rather beautifully too. It never did well in my garden in England and there I bought the plant directly from David Austin. It may be a rose that likes the heat to harden its wood. I usually plant my roses in Three’s as D A advises. Christina
Wow, lovely, lovely blooms! This is exactly what I want to achieve in my little rose garden! Beautiful! Happy GBBD!
Thanks Christine, there is no finer compliment than that you want to achieve the same.
Oh, so many lovelies you have blooming now! I can’t imagine any better combination than the Rosa Scepter’d Isle with the Allium Rosem and Gaura. Just perfectly beautiful. I am in love with your pale pink Penstemon and Stanwell Perpetual too.
Thank you Sweetbay, I’m happy that this border is looking how I imagined it would. Christina
Sigh – beautiful… smellovision would be good for the rose, please will someone find a way of incorporating scents in blogs?
I love individual flowers, but I’m with you – it’s the way they work with others, and against different backdrops as you move around. You can only do so much planning, I feel – there are always unexpected delights that you hadn’t anticipated. (And not-so-delights: I was given a japonica that really howls against a particular wall. Must move it..)
Thanks for your positive comments, Kate. You are so right that despite good planning (if we’re lucky) the joy of walking around the garden is to find the happy accidents and then copy or extend them and try to move quickly to irradicate the not so happy accidents. Christina
from ken. Great last post and wonderful views of flowers.
But the post was a long time ago in gardening terms. Looking forward to more posts.
GOSSIP Chelsea is now on the tv here almost continuously. Even at 8am this morning there was bunny guiness on the RED BUTTON.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelseaflowershow/8527158/Chelsea-Flower-Show-2011-Bunny-Guinnesss-trials-and-triumphs.html
Hi Ken, sorry about the lack of posts, too busy I’m afraid but you’re right that I should post at least twice a week. Christina
What an amazing garden you have and with such a wonderful variety of plants growing in it. It must take a considerable amount of work? And I think that you should definitely go with the “Pink, Frilly Knickers” bed name!
Thanks Jason, it is quite a lot of work but getting easier as the garden establishes. My concept is that if you cover all the ground with plants there’s no space for weeds. Christina