In the Merry Month of May...

...there are arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) buds...

...and blooms.

An arrowwood viburnum volunteered next to the oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in the front foundation, which is fortuitous since they both have complementary white flowers and bloom around the same time...

I planted that oakleaf hydrangea way too close to the house. (I was young and foolish in those days. Unlike now, when I'm a bit older and still foolish.) As a result, I had to trim back some of the stems to the ground over the winter, and I can see where I'll probably need to do more trimming next winter. But for now, I end up with lovely vignettes of the white flowers blooming against the white porch railing...

There are no flowers yet on the new oakleaf hydrangea that I planted last autumn, but it seems to be settling in nicely. I sited this one in the understory shade of a crape myrtle, where I'm hoping it will thrive with filtered sunlight all day...

Nearby Clematis 'Crystal Fountain' has been putting a great show for weeks and weeks. I completely failed in my attempt to get this to climb into the crape myrtle, but it sprawls charmingly and forms an attractive groundcover. I cut this back near the ground over the winter, so this is pretty much all new growth. I grumble a little about Crystal Fountain since I don't believe it provides any benefits to wildlife, but even wildlife gardeners need a few purely aesthetic marvels in their gardens, right? (Just a reminder - Crystal Fountain clematis flowers can look lovely for at least a week floating in a bowl of water on the breakfast table...

The 'Carefree Beauty' rose really does live up to its name. It's the only rose I grow and all I've needed to do so far is prune it back to keep it from swallowing up the sidewalk. I don't fertilize, I don't spray, I rarely water it, and I still get two powerful flushes of blooms in spring and autumn. I'm really just winging it when it comes to rose pruning. I cut it back fairly hard this winter and got a wonderful spring bloom, but all the soft lush foliage got a bit floppy. I think some gardeners try for the floppy look, but (grass always being greener and all that) I sort of wish the bush was a bit more upright and structured. So I may prune it back again when this bloom finishes. I'll let you know whether that works or can go into my bulging file of Not So Great Ideas.

I totally gave up on rose verbena (Glandularia canadensis). It's got a reputation for being floriferous, but finicky. And it's certainly lived up to that reputation in my garden, flowering its heart out and then vanishing. But a couple of rose verbena plants have either come back from the roots or volunteered, and this one has put on a fantastic show this year.

Finally, I don't remember planting this penstemon and have no idea what type or species it may be, but it sure is pretty!

What are some of the shining stars in your May garden? 

April Showers Bring Lots of Flowers

Clematis "Crystal Fountain", purchased from Brushwood Nursery in 2012. I seem to have failed at training this clematis into a crape myrtle, but nonetheless it is growing very happily at the base of that tree.

OK, it's not quite May yet (ergo I can't call these "May flowers"), but the recent torrential downpours we've been receiving in Middle Tennessee and throughout the South seem to be unleashing pent up Spring energy. Suddenly numerous flowers dot the garden landscape with a brilliant backdrop of lush green foliage.

Here are some of the late April highlights at Garden of Aaron:

Side view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (partial shade setting)

Overhead view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (full sun setting)

Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose", purchased from Bluestone Perennials in 2011

This is the first year I have an Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose" self-sown seedling!

Aronia melanocarpa, still full of flowers and pushing new growth

The pink azaleas in the front of the house have begun to flower. They were here when we moved in, so I don't know the variety. Below the fresh new green leaves you can see quite a bit of damage on the older leaves, but this variety fared much better than another variety (possibly Encore?) that I shovel-pruned.

This is the second year in the garden for Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo) and the first year it has produced flower spikes. Very exciting! I didn't really plan it, but the flowers appear around the same and blend nicely with the blue Ajuga genevensis flowers growing (just out of the picture) nearby.

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) flowers, close-up

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) growing at the foot of the front porch stairs. I hard-pruned this last winter so nearly all of what you're seeing here is new growth!

Dianthus gratianopolitanus "Firewitch". Remember how I included Firewitch on last year's list of failed plant relationships? Well, going against the advice of Taylor Swift, Firewitch and I are getting back together!

Epimedium x perralchicum "Frohnleiten", beautiful new foliage

Gaillardia x grandiflora "Sunset Cutie", new addition from Mary's Greenhouse. Looking a little bedraggled, but bravely blooming nonetheless.

Chrysogonum virginianum, Golden Star, Green and Gold, "Allen Bush" variety. Hardy to zone 5 and described as semi-evergreen, the foliage on this plant still burned badly without any snow cover during this past harsh winter, but it has recovered nicely and makes a charming (though diminutive) plant. 

Another new addition to the garden from Mary's Greenhouse, these are the buds on Spigelia marilandica, Indian Pink, a Tennessee native whose flowers reportedly attract hummingbirds!

Fresh new Liatris spicata (Blazing Star, Gayfeather) foliage emerges

Beautiful new foliage on a Cercis canadensis (Redbud) tree.
(This is another plant that I was too quick to jilt. We're getting back together too.)

When the Redbud has finished its floral show, pollinated flowers may produce these beautiful seed pods

Two weeks after its newly emerging leaves were destroyed by a late freeze, Rose of Sharon is giving it another shot and pushing out fresh new foliage.

The new Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) leaves were also killed by the mid-April cold snap, but the plant has produced a second round of new foliage.

Salvia nemorosa, either "May Night" or "Blue Hill". I'm tempted to get back together with Woodland Sage, but then I remember how it looked last August...

This miniature forest of foliage is a second-year Helianthus "Lemon Queen" perennial sunflower. The foliage in the lower right corner of the photo is Phlox paniculata "David"

Yep, here's another relationship I might have ended too soon. Tiarella cordifolia "Pink Skyrockets" seems to have weathered the winter with ease and is looking good in the late April garden.

Clematis Make Great Cut Flowers!

Clematis "Crystal Fountain"

This is my first year getting flowers from my "Crystal Fountain" Clematis vine, purchased last year from Brushwood Nursery.

I was curious as to whether clematis (or at least this particular clematis) would make a good cut flower, so I snipped an already-open bloom and floated it in a bowl of water.

The bloom on the left has been floating in a bowl of water for approximately one week now. I haven't even refreshed the water! The one on the right was just cut today.

Personally, I'm really impressed with the staying power of "Crystal Fountain" clematis as a cut flower. The stems aren't very long, so I don't see how it could work in a vase (unless you're an expert flower arranger and can get creative with wires), but it certainly makes a lovely floating centerpiece.

Have you ever tried this clematis or any other as a cut flower? How did it work for you? And are there any fragrant clematis vines? Please leave a comment using the New and Improved Comment System below.

PS - I really screwed up with the comments. I apologize deeply for the brief sojourn into using Google+ as a comments method. I know some people were really turned off by Google pushing them to join Google+ in order to leave a comment. And then I tried Disqus, but that didn't work at all either. (It failed to import any of the existing comments and made it impossible to leave new ones.) I've settled on IntenseDebate for now to manage the comment. I think it's much nicer and more user-friendly than any of the comment systems I've used before, including the original Blogger comment system. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too! (Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to make all the comments that folks made already reappear. I understand IntenseDebate does have a system to make that work, but apparently there are bugs at the moment that keep that importer from working. See - bugs are not just a problem in the garden! Maybe they need some beneficial bugs over at IntenseDebate?? ;-)

PPS - Update - looks like all the comments are back on most of the posts ... all the ones created using Blogger's comment function and not the Google+ function. I'm guessing the Google+ comments are gone forever...or perhaps they live on, but only within the Google+ world? Either way, I'm glad to have IntenseDebate going on now! :)