Saying goodbye to May

June is here, but May had so many moments of beauty that there are still many to share here. The first round of foxglove blooms were such a delight with the other spring flowers nearby.

 The perennial geraniums are blooming so beautifully. I think this is Johnson's Blue, but I've lost the tag so I'm not sure.

So far I'm pleased with the new Zepherine Drouhin rose climbing up my beloved arbor. The pink looks very pretty with the bright yellow of the Moonshine yarrow.

I know I've talked a lot about the tall Ribbon Mix snapdragons that survived our mild winter. But I just wanted to share one last shot of the gorgeous flowers. They've finished blooming for now, and look diseased to boot. Considering that they were planted last spring, I guess I can let them go. They've served their purpose and I have another fresh flat of them planted for this year.

One lonely little lupine bloomed out in the flagpole garden. I hope it sticks around. I've only grown them once before and didn't have much luck.

My lavender is doing fantastic since it's been so hot and dry. But it's so covered in bees at all times that I can hardly get near it. I need to spread it around, there are seedlings every where. Don't you just love garden freebies?

The penstemon is blooming, but it's really getting floppy. I have a little fence in front of it, but I guess I'll need to thin it out. I haven't seen many hummingbirds yet this year, normally they are all over this stuff.

Last year the birds left me a little garden present, verbena bonariensis. It was just one plant, so I didn't really think it would reseed itself, but it did. I've wanted some, but wasn't sure I had room. It turned out to be so airy thatla it could fit anywhere. I just want it because the butterflies love it!

The mystery peony finally bloomed. It turned out to be white streaked with red, like a candy cane. Pretty! I have no idea what kind it is. I thought it was Dr. Alexander but it doesn't look anything like this. Guess it will remain a mystery!

Another surprise was the reappearance of the black hollyhocks I planted a few years back. I do love them, they are such a dramatic color. But every time I grow hollyhocks, they get covered with rust and look terrible. Last year I pulled them all out. However, this one escaped and planted itself in the middle of the butterfly corner. Once it's done blooming, I'll remove it. What a shame. I love hollyhocks, but they just don't like my garden. And these black ones are impossible to photograph well!

So it's goodbye to May, but hello to the rest of the summer! There will be lots more blooms for me to enjoy all summer long.