May, the Fairest of Them All

Every month has something to show in the garden. Even the winter months have interesting textures to show us. But I find May to be the fairest of them all.

Flowers bloom in earnest, the weather warms, and the garden grows.

 Excitement builds as vegetables are planted, containers are filled, and annuals go into beds.

Plants are generally green and fresh, and insect damage hasn't yet become a problem. You just have to love it! 

 The harsh, dry summer weather seems far away at this point.  It rains and rains, and everything is so green that it almost makes your eyes hurt. Maybe this will be a wet summer, it's hard to say at this point. But usually, the rains stop around June and from then on, it's a battle to keep things watered. 

 Now one of my usual favorite parts of May is when the roses begin to bloom. That first flush of blooms is always the finest. But the sad news is that our harsh winter really did a number on my rose garden, as it did in so many other areas. I'm not sure when I'll see any roses this year, if any. It's disappointing, but I'm trying to take it in stride. I've done a lot of tweaking to my rose garden, discarding the dead ones, and also those that are under performers. When my rose garden comes back to life, the theory is that it should look better than ever. In the mean time, here is what it looked like in years past.

Maybe one of the reasons that I like May so much is that it's my birthday month, and is followed quickly by Mother's Day. I can't say that I mind the attention. And it does tend to start out my favorite month with a bang.

I'm sure that others could make a strong case for their own favorites, but for me, it will be always be May, the fairest of them all.