May in the garden

So much has been happening over the last few weeks. Lots of rain and very cool weather has made flowers last. The Delaware Valley azalea bloomed early for some reason - it's usually a welcome surprise in June but it's been in bloom for about a week already. The clematis that Betsy gave me when I moved in is blooming by the mailbox. Several kinds of iris - I think they're Japanese iris but maybe they're Siberian? - are in bloom or even just gone by. A pale creamy white one, and a striking yellow are just going by.

Best of all is the Sarah Bernhardt peony. This is probably its fourth year, and it's just going to town. Big flowers with hundreds of petals, pale pink streaked with darker pink, a pungent scent, and when the flowers start to fade, you can cup them in your hands and feel the silky soft petals fall into your palm.

And then there's the foxglove, and the tiarella is still in bloom, and the sunny garden is a sea of blue with catmint, amsonia, sage, the ends of columbine... Never go away in May again, it's too wonderful to leave!