Friday Favourites: Beautiful Things in May

 

May is the month when Spring is fully present. Everything is full and green. Tiny fruits are forming on the apple and fig trees, and there is an abundance of green strawberries. Tight rosebuds promise blooms in June. I love it all. 

When we moved into this house a couple of decades ago, there was little landscaping and few flowers. One rosebush and one peony shrub, a flower of which is seen above. It's an early bloomer and I've enjoyed just one lush and ruffled blossom on the mantel this week. There are scads of buds on the other bushes and I'm watching them closely. Peony season is so very short and so very beautiful. 

While collecting my jacket and bag from the hall closet in preparation for going shopping, I noticed this rather disheveled robin perched on a rock near the street. His mate was watching nearby, but carried nothing in her mouth. That's a big bunch of dry grass he's carrying and perhaps he alighted there for a rest. I waited by the window and didn't open the door until he left, not wanting to disturb him. He flew off with his cargo, his mate close behind. I wonder where they are building their nest.

We've had a lovely week beginning with very warm sunny days at the beginning of the week and cooler temperatures with some clouds at the end of the week. Perfect gardening weather. The tomatoes in my greenhouse are growing tall and lush. I usually wait until after the last full moon in May to plant them out into the garden, but that's not until May 31 this year. (May has had two full moons!) I'll very likely put them out in 10 days or so. Dahlias, too. I have some that I started in the greenhouse, but others that were left in the ground are growing quickly, so perhaps they know something I don't. Or they might get a chill. I'll keep an eye on the night temperatures. 

Solomon's Seal is a native plant that I became acquainted with just a few years ago. It grows in a shady part of my garden that catches the evening light and highlights the delicate bell-shaped flowers. I hope it feels very at home there and wants to spread!

While working outdoors, the slightest wind brings the sweet scent of wisteria to me. It grows over the garden shed and we are firm with pruning for it can ruin buildings over time. Self-seeded columbines grow through the flower beds. All but one are pale lilac, with one dark purple variety growing in a corner. I scatter the dark seeds hoping that more of them will grow. And my daughter gave me some pretty pink seeds, but alas, I don't have much luck with them. 

My flower beds are quite wide and I need to get in behind to properly weed and prune. I asked Tim to cut me some thick fir tree rounds to use as stepping stones for a path through one section and we set those this week. My garden is not finely manicured for I like a bit of wildness. The black tube is the watering line and it will soon be covered with plants. 

Despite wanting to spend most of my time in the garden, we do need to eat. After seeing a couple of recipes online, I prepared Chicken in Orange Sauce one evening. It came together very quickly and was delicious. 

Here's a coda to the peony shown in the first photo which was taken earlier in the week. I came downstairs this morning to find the majority of petals fallen in a heap. It looks as though the flower just had enough and let them all go at once. 

A quick report on the berry planting - after a very warm day in the field last Saturday, all of the blueberries and raspberries are planted. Tim worked several days this week with our daughter and son-in-law getting the irrigation system up and running. So far, so good. Now to be patient for a few years for the berries to grow. Which do you prefer, blueberries or raspberries? I'm partial to both. 

Most Aprils I read The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin. Here's a link to a suggested tea time with references to the novel. 

A Teatime Ode to The Enchanted April - Victoria

Whether you have tea in the garden or elsewhere, I wish you a weekend of delight and beauty.