The garden emerges
It is early June, and suddenly the garden has become fulfilled.
The beds are finally tidy after the ravages of winter, and flowers abound. At the same time, with the promise of things yet to come, a decidedly pregnant feeling hangs over everything.
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.May is a difficult month for the north country gardener…
….For starters the May garden looks decidedly scruffy. Yes… all the wide expanses of daffodils, along with a few stalwart perennials like primulas, are delightful harbingers of spring.
But look a little more closely and there, waiting for the gardener to get out and tidy things up, the remains of last year’s garden are readily apparent.
And of course in Vermont, late May is dandelion season. The cheery yellow heads of this amazing weed are everywhere; in the fields and hedgerows, and in our lawns and flower beds. And you just know that within a week each flower will make copious seeds to be transported far and wide on the wind.
And this year, to make matters harder for the gardener, we had the wettest May on record… so many garden chores had to be postponed.
Everything comes together in early June
The crab apple ‘Donald Wyman’ is like a sentinel at the top of the driveway.
By now the flower beds are now mostly weeded and everything is filling in, so that the essential garden spaces become readily apparent.
And finally the dandelions have done with their flowering (although no doubt they are still hiding out in the lawns until next spring).
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The tree peony has never looked better; it clearly appreciated last winter’s deep snow cover.
By the end of May a bevy of woody plants are flowering, including crab apples, common lilacs and spring-flowering azaleas (mostly the ‘Lights’ series), along with the beautiful tree peony. These make for two weeks of pure and fragrant delight as we go into June.
The tree peony brings back very special memories, as it was a gift from my daughter to mark her wedding day nearly a decade ago. And this year it was the most prolific and beautiful it has ever been, flowering for more than three weeks. I assume this is a direct benefit of last winter’s very deep snow cover, which protected its fat buds from excessive temperature fluctuations.
The yellow Baptisia ‘Carolina Moonlight’ pairs nicely with a spreading poppy of unknown origins
Then it is the turn of some early blooming perennials to steal the show, like this yellow baptisia, which is growing among some rambunctious poppies and holding its own very effectively.
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Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’ sets off the shape of the bed.
The splendid groundcover Geranium maccrorrizum is also in flower during early June. This picture shows the white variety. Its deep pink sibling, Geranium maccrorrizum Bevan’s Variety is equally showy.
At the same time, all the summer perennials are filling in and budding out, making the beds look lush and full.
Catching up
Last week even the rain stopped for five days straight, offering the perfect opportunity to weed, mulch and generally pretty things up.
I counted myself very lucky to have the assistance of my landscaping friend Joan and her wonderful crew of gardeners to help me in this task.
The first rose to flower is Rosa Therese Bugnet. She is semi wild and fragrant, one of my favorites.
Spring is a crazy season in the garden…
……especially if it rains for days on end, or, like me, one is a landscape designer.
But by the middle of June it all seems worth the effort.
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.Last Wednesday afternoon I made myself a large cup of tea and headed for the gazebo. Here I spent a whole hour enveloped by the emerging garden, and reading the latest New Yorker magazine…it was pure heaven!