The first rays of morning sun fuel our garden this last day of April.
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May is already upon us. The garden has filled with flowers, and there are more waiting each morning as we walk outside, to see what has changed overnight.
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Iris ‘Echo Location’
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This is Iris season, and Columbine season, and the grass is filled with wildflowers season.
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Native fleabane, probably Erigeron pulchellus, grow in our front lawn. A short lived perennial, this patch grows a bit larger each year. After it finishes flowering, we will mow this part of the ‘lawn’ once again.
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It all grows unbelievably fast in late April and early May, and I am busily trying to work with the season.
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Erigeron is a native wildflower in our area. Too pretty to cut back, we have let it have its real estate in the front yard.
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That said, it was only 41F when I followed the sun out of bed this morning. Neighbors in nearby towns had temperatures near freezing over night, and so I don’t yet trust the weather with so many of our tender, tropical plants. I am crossing my fingers and toes, and planting out as much as I dare, just as quickly as I can.
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I was a bit surprised to notice the trellis filled with blooming Clematis this morning.
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Spring rolls over us like a wave, before cresting into full on summer. And I am working to ride that wave as the garden awakens.
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This is the time to set things right; to establish what will grow where, and how, for the next six months.
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Columbine
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But everywhere I look, I see something new. I see opening leaves, emerging perennials, and unfolding buds.
May’s magic lives in our garden, and I hope it lives in yours, as well.
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Woodland Gnome 2018
After experimenting for the past several days with my new Canon Power Shot Elph 180, I am back to my Nikon Coolpix S3500. Trying to focus in on the fleabane flowers proved the utility of my little Nikon, which lives in the inside pocket of my gardening vest. It has crossed the country with me a couple of times now, and is officially obsolete in the world of pocket cameras. But it still takes a great photo and leaves me satisfied.
Forest Garden 
Happy May! My favorite month. 🙂
❤ ❤ ❤
Beautiful!
Thank you! We are enjoying it so much right now.
Goodness…we went out for ice cream tonight. While my daffodils and species tulip are blooming there are still lingering drifts in the shade of the dunes. There was a big old drift at the ice cream shop.
That’s Michigan and the Great Lakes for you.
You certainly have a unique set of challenges to work with, too. But I’ve always imagined that spring and summer must be all the more magical for those who live in areas with long and serious winters.