May is the month for ebullient flowering, the garden will be overflowing with flowers that are definitely OTT! The Pips in question are the flamboyant Peonies, Iris and Poppies and they are joined by Rhododendrons and Azaleas, but they will be in a separate post. Some of these flowers don’t last very long, but that doesn’t matter, they add their gorgeousness to the garden when the spring bulbs are dying back and before the summer perennials start flowering and fill the gap beautifully.
Peony mlokosewitschii
Peony mlokosewitschii is the first of the herbaceous peonies to flower here.
Peony mlokosewitschii
The colour of the petals is such a beautiful pale yellow, they close up to try and protect the pollen from the rain that is falling.
Peony mlokosewitschii
But when the sun comes out, they open up waiting for any passing bee.
Peony mlokosewitschii
I think I need to give Molly the Witch some fertiliser, she had far more flowers last year.
Tree peony
The other peony that is looking beautiful at the moment is a red Tree Peony.
Tree peony
Just bought as a red one, so no name I’m afraid. The colour of the flower is picked up in the leaves.
Tree peony
The bees love to wallow in the pollen. In spite of being called a tree peony, it is only the height of the herbaceous peonies. It’s main stem doesn’t die down in the winter though, it stays all through the winter.
Dwarf bearded Iris
Iris reticulata are the first iris to flower here, usually in January, but now is the turn of the dwarf bearded Iris.
Dwarf bearded Iris
This one was left over at the end of a plant sale at church, so I took pity on it and brought it home.
Dwarf bearded Iris
I’m so glad that I did, it has the most beautiful perfume!
Dwarf bearded Iris
It seems very happy on the alpine scree, so I think I must buy some more for here as the drainage is the best in the garden.
Meconopsis cambrica
The only poppy I have flowering at the moment is the Welsh poppy, Meconopsis Cambrica. The Oriental poppies have lovely buds swelling but none are open at the moment, they won’t be long though. These flowers are in the front border by the drive, I sprinkled seed a couple of years ago and at last they have decided that they like it here.
Meconopsis Cambrica
The woodland seems to be the best place for these poppies, there isn’t any problem getting seed to germinate here.
Meconopsis Cambrica
They are also happy to be the understorey in the Rhododendron bed. I will be sprinkling more seed when it is ready. Some people consider the Welsh poppy to be a weed, but I can’t see that happening here, it is only growing where I have sprinkled the seed in previous years, it probably likes a lighter soil than I have. Soon we will have the gorgeous Oriental poppies flaunting all their blowsiness, they will certainly be in part 2!
Beautiful all! I, too, love Meconopsis Cambrica which can bloom nearly all summer if the spent flowers are cut. It does seed around a bit for me but the cheery yellow flowers are welcome most everywhere. Your peonies are grand. You are right, these blooms fill the gap handsomely. Reminds me of the hymn, “All Beautiful the March of Days.”
I’m so glad Peter, that you are a fan of Meconopsis Cambrica, I think they are a lovely little flower. Lots more peonies to come, they have lovely buds at the moment, but they will be out soon, flaunting their beautiful flowers.
I love your PIPs…my PIPs are a month away, but oh how I will love to see them….I love those peonies but that iris is to die for!
I love the peonies Donna in all their frillyness! I also love the tiny iris with its beautiful perfume, thank goodness I took pity on it and brought it home!
Pip, Pip, Hooray! It’s all gearing towards summer now isn’t it? Love your Molly the Witch. It’s one I keep meaning to add to the garden. I moved all my peonies in the autumn and all but one have buds forming so that has pleased me.
I’ll bet you are glad you saved that Iris, I know I would be too. It’s a smasher!
I wish I could press a pause button Angie, everything is coming too fast! Molly started off in the woodland because I read somewhere she liked dappled shade, but she obviously wasn’t happy. In the full sun in the front garden, she is definitely happy! I must find some more perfumed little Iris, on the scree they are raised up so they are easy to sniff!
A fabulous photo of Molly sparkling with rain Pauline. How could anybody have resisted that iris? She is obviously so grateful that you rescued her.
The little Iris wasn’t flowering when I took pity on it Anna, it just had its leaves, I was so lucky it turned out to be as pretty as it is and perfumed too! Molly needs a feed, she flowered much better a couple of years ago and I believe peonies are greedy feeders. Each flower though is quite stunning so I pay her a daily visit!
Lovely photos of your Molly and your tree peony. I get so excited when they come into bloom. I am still watching my buds with bated breath at the moment.
I love the little dwarf irises, they seem to be coming out all in a hurry now that the weather is getting warmer. Yours is such a pretty one and fragrant too. I wonder which it is.
Peony flowers are so luscious aren’t they Chloris, all that frillyness to encourage the bees to visit! The little Iris is the only small one that I have, I really must buy some more as the conditions on the scree seem to be ideal for them. Maybe as I’m scrolling through specialist iris web sites, I might come across my little one, so who knows, maybe she won’t be nameless for much longer.
I love the yellow peony! It was on my list last year but sadly hard to find… hopefully this year I will be more successful. The dwarf iris is pretty – a nice scent is a bonus too. Does Molly also smell nice, like other peonies? Those Mecanopsis really stand out in your border like little globes of sunshine – love the contrast with the variegated foliage in the background… Euonymus?
Sorry to say Cathy that Molly doesn’t have any perfume, not that I can detect anyway, she is forgiven as she is so beautiful! Yes, you’re right, some of the Welsh Poppies are in front of a small bush of Euonymus, good spot! I hope you manage to find Molly this year, she really is a beautiful plant.
The Meconopsis cambrica are one of the few yellow flowers I like, they look lovely in your woodland setting. I think we might have the same no-name tree peony, shops are not good at labelling flowers here. Unfortunately half of an entire plant broke off yesterday, we have had 3 days non-stop rain and I noticed too late that it had split. But, as my husband said, they look lovely here in the house.
I’m so glad you like them too Helle, some people think of them as weeds! I gave a friend some seed and they all came up orange in her garden, I think it must have been the soil, but I didn’t like them as much! My peony was bought for me by someone who isn’t a gardener, it was in a box that just said “Red Tree Peony” on it, but it turned out beautifully thank goodness! So sorry to hear about your poor plant splitting, I’m sure it will recover and you were able to enjoy the lovely flowers in a vase, that’s a bonus!
Beautiful blooms, and beautifully photographed. Love seeing the raindrop sparkles (as Anna put it so well).
Thanks Catmint, but I can’t take any credit for the sparkles, they came courtesy of Mother Nature!
Hi Pauline, Such wonderful blooms! Peonies and Irises are part of the backbone of a perennial bed and my favorites. I love the Welsh peony and I have never seen a yellow one before. Your garden is a preview of coming attractions for me! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sally, May is the month when the garden changes so much, there is so much new growth everywhere. I wish I could slow it all down just a bit so that I can catch up with it! I love all the flowers we have at the moment, so many new ones every day.
Nice to kick off peony season with such lovely specimens Pauline. Glad you gave the iris a good home. It’s lovely and nice that it is fragrant too.
It really is a wonderful time of year for the garden Susie, everything is growing so fast and there is colour everywhere at the moment. I’m so glad I brought the iris home with me, it is doing so well, I have now ordered more dwarf iris to add to the bed.
I am afraid I have started to pull out all the Welsh poppies here as they pop up all over the place 🙁 Your peonies are gorgeous – is this the usual flowering time for those two?
A lot of my friends do too Cathy, but then they don’t have heavy clay soil like it do. Yes, Molly the Witch and the tree peony always flower before the other herbacious ones, they are almost ready with nice fat buds, maybe in another week.