I don’t know about you, but I seemed to have been waiting and waiting for the appearance of flowers this year. Maybe it’s because there’s been so much bad news around that the need for garden beauty has been more pressing. Finally, fat, colourful buds appeared.
As my own backyard isn’t particularly sunny I resorted to walking over to the local park. However, the most stunning display wasn’t in the park, but this delightful wisteria and front garden planting at 16, Fonnereau Road, Ipswich. The bold, mid-nineteenth century architecture of this Grade II listed building is complimented and softened by the delicate palette of the flowers and foliage.
In my own back garden the clematis montana ‘Rubens’ has grown to the top of the fence at last and by early May the first flowers bloomed.
However, again the most stunning wall/fence treatment was not at my place nor even in the park, but this gorgeous ceanothus arboreus ‘Trewithin Blue’ topping the fence on a back garden running along High Street, Ipswich.
Now, really I should not complain as by mid May I had plenty of flowering going on in the yard, but it was nearly all white. Self-seeded white honesty was in every bed. I had noticed it had seeded prolifically, but couldn’t bring my self to remove any.
There was a charming, fairytale quality with all the shimmering white for about a week, before the flowers began to fade. Fortunately, by then tulips in pots were coming into full bloom and
then my favourites for this time of year, the aquilegias, now too mostly self-seeded, opened into all their intriguing colour combinations.
Towards the end of the month a small clump of alliums showed off their globes of tiny star-like flowers despite my earlier stupidity of leaving a heavy pot on top of their foliage.
And, that’s it we’ve reached June and May 2022 is now history. But before I go, I think I’d like to award first prize for the most over-the-top May display to clematis ‘Nelly Moser’. Not the most subtle of the Group 2 clematis, but it’s hanging on in there despite slugs, snails, unreliable watering and all the various fungi that thrive in the still, damp air of a less than sunny backyard.
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Agnes Ashe 
Some glorious flowers, Agnes!
Isn’t Mother Nature fantastic sometimes.
I thoroughly enjoyed all your wonderful photographs documenting all that colour including the white. It was a delight to scroll slowly through. I am also fulfilling a long held wish and will be visiting Christchurch Mansions, thanks to all your posts about it, on Tuesday with family and a local friend. We plan to meet for coffee in the cafĆØ at 11:00.
I am so pleased you enjoyed the flowers. That’s great that you will be able to visit Christchurch Mansion. The building is small enough to be intimate as well as interesting and don’t miss ‘Lady Drury’s Closet’ on the first floor. I missed it on my first visit!!! Do so hope the weather tomorrow is ‘Suffolk dry’ for your visit and not the recent nuisance showers we’ve had. I’m hoping it will be dry too as having to drive over to Stowmarket for a physiotherapy appointment. Wishing you an enjoyable visit to Ipswich. š
Thanks for helpful comment. Hope the physiotherapy does you good.
Thanks for this, Agnes. I’ve had the most marvellous month in Europe, but at the back of my mind was always ‘but May is the most wonderful month in England’. You’ve made up for it by showcasing my May-time favourites.
Ahh that’s kind of you to say so, but my yard is missing the best of May, the bearded irises! I’ve finally used a compass and confirmed my yard is not west-facing, but actually has a north-west aspect. š I know I am banging my head against a brick wall as it is trying to get most flowers to bloom reasonably, but irises really, really need to have their rhizomes baked which ain’t gonna happen in this here yard.
Oh dear. Quite while you’re down and focus on some other beauties.
I enjoyed this very evocative post.
Thank you. Flowers are very uplifting aren’t they?
Glorious, glorious buds of May, and now here we are in June already. I’m thinking summer days of floaty dresses, strolls in the sunshine, and long evenings of chat in the garden, sharing a wine or two with friends and family.
Since you posted your comment we’ve had winds from the north and east bringing us ‘feels like temperatures’ of 10Ā°C. Lovely. Mind you I do remember snow, yes snow, in June, in Suffolk, back in 1975.
Oops. That wasn’t in the script.
Definitely not.