May is a prime gardening month. May flowers are in bloom, the vibrant colors are abundant. For me, the month of May means spending time in the garden preparing for the beautiful blooms of summer and waiting for the growth of each young tender plant.

I must confess and fully admit that my garden is always a work in progress… flowers coupled with growing weeds amongst them. This time of the year, the challenge is to keep up with the pace of weed growth, I usually fail miserably. But, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The memories and the sweat equity of what has been accomplished so far in the garden.

My style of gardening is a rustic cottage charm. The cottage garden style is less structured and not as formalized. The plantings flow seamlessly together. This style allows for a diverse mix of plants that I love. Viewing from a distance, the pattern of my gardening style is probably not evident to anyone but me.

The ultimate story behind the gardener and garden itself is revealed walking amongst each flower variety, enjoying the blooms, connecting each flower with its own unique story and legacy.

The garden story is each flower itself. I have a garden of true memories passed down from generation to generation. My personal connections to my garden flowers and what I have planted is deeply rooted and linked to my personal life experiences and memories of those who I love. So each May I work to bring the garden story back to life, creating a garden full of beautiful memories and vibrant blooms. Nothing could be better!

All this being said, I do have a few plant friends that I love to plant each year. The striking colors, the scents, the aesthetics, and durability(long lasting nature) of the plant definitely impacts my decisions to continue to place these into my garden. But, many of the reasons why I pick the same type of flowers each year is due to my associated memories with these flowers… past celebrations, or memories of strolling through family gardens so many years ago.

So here’s to celebrating this month with a few beautiful blooms. Enjoy the bounty of the blooms that are amongst you at the close of May 2024.

Gardening Challenges this month:

1. Critters crawlers… snakes and lizards 😳 stories and more!!! Read more about them in the latest blog post, find the link below.

2. Rapid weed growth- May showers have brought an abundance of weeds! Yikes! Time to get out there and get some weeds pulled and sprayed!

3. Excessive Rainfall- My peonies and roses took a beating this month with all the rainfall. It was time to deadhead rose bushes after the rainfall, and I have cut back my peonies after they finished flowering.

4. Deer and rabbits oh my! – I have been extremely lucky this spring and little activity has been noted around my garden, but the nibbles have begun by the end of May😬! Time to grab the granular and the spray!

Gardening Successes:

1. New garden plants finds!

2. Garden totem pole in progress

3. Planting on the “good garden days”

Yes, I have read up on my almanac for the BEST days in May… find the link below for May Planting BEST Days. June best days are coming out soon on the blog!

4. Beautiful Blooms!

5. Tomatoes are coming soon!

I hope your month of May gardening has brought you joy, and great memories. No matter what state your garden finds itself in, Just get growing!