Garden Flowering Log – May

May is a month of transition here in the upper Midwest, a change from spring flowering to summer flowering, and summer has certainly come early this year. Still some plants have been a big surprise. The Calycanthus-Sinocalycanthus featured a few weeks ago began flowering on the 1st of May, and it’s still in flower, and even though still a quite small shrub (~4’) the large, white flowers have provided an interesting and significant display. Although rather unusual around here, our gardens have 4 large American fringe trees that display a great purple haze high above; only wish we knew from whence they came so many years ago.

Through April 130 plants had flowered in our gardens. May contributed another 66 bringing the total to 196, just shy of 200. Here’s the flowering log for May:
May 1 – Calycanthus x Sinocalycanthus, tall pinks
May 2 – beautybush, coral bells, yellow daylily, meadow rues, yellow Trillium
May 3 – Rugosa Rose, American smoke tree
May 4 – American fringe tree
May 5 - Tuliptree
May 6 – Prairie stars (Amsonia), Robin Hill Azaleas, Canadian anemone, Siberian Iris, Virginia waterleaf, early bearded Iris, rock garden pinks, sedums, candy tuft, red raspberry, golden chain tree, blue fescue
May 8 – bastard balm
May 11 – Calla lily
May 12 – spiderwort, goat’s beard (Aruncus), blue flax, Chinese fringe tree, viburnums, creeping thyme, knock-out rose
May 13 – herbaceous peony
May 15 – yellow flag Iris, bush clematis, yellow false indigo
May 17 – sage
May 18 – white Deutzia, large flowered beard tongue, chives
May 19 – sweet bay Magnolia
May 20 – purple Deutzia
May 21 – Kousa dogwood
May 22 – Catawba Rhododendrons, gray dogwood, gout wort, pale spiderwort
May 23 – red spirea, peach-leafed bellflower
May 24 – Persian cornflower, Medallion rose, privet, gold-flame honeysuckle, clematis
May 25 – Asiatic lily, catalpa tree, small-flowered beard tongue, thin-leafed heal-all, Takesimana bellflower, snowflake Hydrangea
May 26 - Missouri evening primrose, yellow loosestrife
May 27 – sweet spire
May 30 – sundrops evening primrose, standard thymes