The Merrie Month of May.

5-1-24 SHORT HILLS: May is possibly the nicest month—lots of flowers, warm but not too hot, not too buggy. I have been doing chores, pruning mostly. I need to do spring fertilizing. PT and medical visits cut into my gardening time. 

Lily and Danna were here on Saturday for lunch in Millburn. Sunday we were in the city to visit Emmett and Anna and Gardner. Big plans are underway for Mom’s Day at Val’s in Brooklyn.

The sprinklers were started during the week, but Zone 2 isn’t working in spite of several attempts to start it. It may need new wiring. We did get a nice rain, 0.25 inches, a few days ago, but we need more.

New blooms: Carolina allspice, dogwood, red bud, ajuga, azalea, early rhodo, Korean spice viburnum, Siebold viburnum, nannyberry viburnum, double file viburnum, burning bush, wood hyacinth. 

Dogwood, the white 'petals' are actually bracts, bud covers, and the flower is just the center nodule.

Dogwood, different flavor.

Early Rhododendrum with a lot of pink.

Early rhodo, fully open, pink almost gone, not as dramatic.

Wood Hyacinth also available in white and pink.

Korean spice viburnum, a white ball, the format for many viburnums, lots of little white flowers with five petals and five stamens. It has a lovely aroma.

Double file viburnum is one of the exceptions to the white ball format. The outer, white petals are to attract pollinators to the small, inner parts of the flowers where fertilization happens.