I seem to be running hot and cold about posting…kind of like our weather. We go for a stretch where the nights barely sneak above freezing, the rain comes barreling down, and then we’ll get a few days where the temperature zooms up to 86. Not to complain, mind you. The cool days are great for planting, and for photographing (more about that later). Today is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, so take a virtual stroll with me, then go to my blog roll and click on May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in the rest of the world.

Everything is late this year, so the lilac is just a smidgen past its peak. Normally it would be finished by the first few days of May.

You may have noticed little dots of pink at the feet of the lilac in the last picture. It’s Bistorta ‘Superbum’ (don’t ya love that moniker?).

At the woodland’s edge, the Soloman’s Seal is looking stately, backed by native ferns. All of my woodland plants lag slightly behind the wild versions seen on daily walks.

Epimedium ‘Lilafree’ has dainty purple flowers right now, but it is the heart-shaped foliage that gained my admiration. I think I will be on the lookout for one with creamy pale yellow flowers, the better to see them in their dark woodland setting.

Volunteer forget-me-not’s create a haze of blue around the base of an ancient cherry tree. I have to force myself to yank some out, or they will overwhelm the shy Ipheon ‘Wisley Blue’ I put there on purpose.

The drooping clusters of blossoms on the Enkianthus are so dainty and subtle that I like to keep it in a pot close to the house…both for up-close enjoyment and because the deer are not bold enough to venture so close…at least so far.

The Euphorbia population grows steadily, but with so many available it will probably never attain the status of a “collection”. ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ sports pale, variegated foliage year-round, but right now it is topped off with a cloud of even paler blossoms.

The newest arrival is ‘Blackbird’. Unlike its sprawling cousins, it remains a compact clump of dark foliage until it erupts with a cap of acid green cups (officially bracts, I think)

I have shown this little ‘Lipstick’ strawberry before, but this is what I mean by taking pictures on dark days. The pink of the flowers always came out pale…not at all the vibrant hue that earned the name. Nothing like trial and error(s) to drive home advice previously ignored. I stuck one of these in last year and it seems happy, so more will be added…one day…ground cover.

These are the highlights this mid-May (or at least the pictures that turned out best). I counted 41 different blooming plants as I made my rounds. Thanks again to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for dreaming up a format that keeps us alert to what’s going on out there.