Havenwood May Garden Tour

Late Spring: Tree peonies, Allium, Trillum and Bluets

Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa), golden Spirea and Feather Reed grass (Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ just rising for the May garden tour in the Cottage Garden.

Welcome to Havenwood in mid-May!

Our nearly one-acre garden is in northwestern Pennsylvania, zone 5/6. We have had an early spring this year, and so the tulips have come and gone since my April tour, the trees are entirely leafed out and roses in bud. It will be a June garden before we know it, and my family and I will start taking our after-dinner ice cream walks around the summer garden.

There are over a dozen different garden rooms in our British-style garden, so I will do my best to give you a quick walk around today to see the highlights for many of our areas. We will begin in the Cottage Garden which is on the south side of the house near the road…

The Cottage Garden

A pretty addition to our garden this past year is Lychnis viscaria, known as the “Clammy campion.” Much prettier than its common name, you can see that the color rivals the Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ in the Cottage Garden.

This lovely butter yellow tree peony was a new addition last year, so I am pleased to have it in flower for the first time.

Pink Erigeron annuus with dark Penstemon foliage and Tulipa ‘Greenland’—one of the last tulips in the Cottage Garden. It is nice to have a pastel scene set in front of the dark Yew arches this time of year.

Primrose Path

One of the dampest areas in the garden, the Primrose path is full of Candelabra primula. I’ve been working on collecting quite a few colors in the past 6 years and they are reseeding quite nicely in this damp, mucky soil.

Bluets along the wood chip path

Our patch of Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) is now growing year after year since I learned their trick—keeping the moss areas where they grow totally swept clean of leaves and debris.

I have added several hardy white Azaleas in the last few years, and they are getting going now. The Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides ‘Excelsior’) echo the light periwinkle of the Bluets.

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) are also called “Quaking Ladies” for the way they shiver in the May breeze.

Spring Bed

Variegated Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum 'Variegatum') and Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ in the Spring bed, flowering after the Snakehead fritillaries and pink primroses of April finished up.

Foliage around the Woodland

Beautiful foliage in the Woodland this month: Regal fern (Osmunda regalis), Cornus 'Golden Shadows' and Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'

A new little yellow-flowering Trillium, Trillium discolor, under a hedge.

The Daffodil Dell

This month the yellow of Trout lilies and daffodils has slowly changed in this garden to white, beginning with the Poet narcissus and continuing now with our large patch of Great White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) with the Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum mariesii).

The Daffodil Dell with Great White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) and the Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum mariesii).

Clematis ‘Guernsey Cream’ in the Daffodil Dell, helping to change the color scheme from April’s yellows to a white May.

Iris Bed

Iris ‘Concertina’ is a favorite in the Iris Bed

The Pond and Bogs

My first pitcher plant flower is open this week on Sarracenia flava var. cuprea ('Botanique' x 'Lois')

Primula, Hosta, Damera, Carex, Sarracenia and Japanese iris in the Bog.

The Candelabra Primula are just getting going this month in the bogs as the native Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) finish up for the season.

Thanks for joining me for a quick May walk around Havenwood!

We have had a wonderful month so far, and I am looking forward to more time working in the garden. We have loved having two different college groups here in the last few weeks. It was especially fun for me to have the GCC Environmental Ethics class here for their end-of-semester field trip.

In the garden…

This week I am finishing up planting my new plants and hoping to get a vermiculite-filled cutting bin started. This is the season for taking cuttings from all sorts of perennials (especially those who need the “Chelsea Chop”), so it is a good idea to get some free plants out of the work as well.

We have been planting up a new area of Hosta, ferns and Iris near the Fruit Tunnel. We worked through the pouring rain on Saturday, but I’m so glad to to have that section better set up. My dahlias are in the Kitchen garden’s raised beds and shooting up already! The Banana trees and Cannas are outside—I think we are past our frost, though I can wheel their trash bins back in to the basement at a moments notice. I am holding off on setting up the little greenhouse for tomatoes, but that will be on the list soon as well when the night time temperatures get a bit higher.

Thanks to Carol for instigating this tour with her GBBD!

More about the Garden Rooms at Havenwood:

• The Cottage Garden

• The Birch Walk

• The Fruit Tunnel

• The Garden Pond & Bogs

• St Francis Garden

• Iris Bed

• Beginning Havenwood

• The Long Border

What is blooming in your garden this month?