May Garden Pictures & Bloom Times

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' May 2010

Heuchera americana 'Plum Pudding', Primula japonica May 2010

Lamium maculatum 'Beacon Silver' May 2010

Trillium luteum, Saruma henryi May 2010

Vaccinium ovatum May 2010

Below is a list of plants that began to bloom in my garden in Seattle in May 2010. I recorded the date when the 1st flower opened, not when they were in bud. I think this information is helpful in planning your garden. If you have room for more plants that bloom in May, you can choose something new that will bloom along with something you already have, or you can fill temporal gaps between blooms.  Nurseries in Seattle usually sell plants when they are in bloom. I have included dates from previous years. Weather conditions probably account for most of the difference in bloom times.  May 2011 was colder & wetter than normal.  The average daily high temperature was 59.7F/15.4C.  The normal average daily high temperature is 64.4F/18C. We had 3.2 inches of rain, 1.42 more than normal.  There were 18 cloudy days, 9 partly cloudy days & 4 sunny days.

05-04-11  Lewisia leeana 5-05-09

05-05-11  Sedum kamtschaticum 4-18-10, 5-03-09, 5-15-08

05-06-11  Syringa vulgaris 4-02-10, 4-28-09, 4-28-08

05-06-11  Tulipa batalinii ‘Apricot Jewel’ 4-22-10, 5-03-09

05-07-11  Hypericum cerastoides 4-24-10, 5-10-09

05-07-11  Rhododendron decorum 5-10-09

05-09-11  Lewisia columbiana

05-09-11  Weigela coraeensis 4-17-10, 5-08-09, 5-10-08

05-09-11  Weigela florida ‘Variegata’ 4-23-10, 5-10-09, 5-18-08

05-10-11  Smilacina racemosa 4-24-10, 5-08-09

05-12-11  Allium karataviense 5-01-10, 5-09-09, 5-10-08

05-12-11  Eschscholzia californica 5-26-09

05-12-11  Cerastium tomentosum

05-12-11  Primula japonica

05-12-11  Rhododendron ‘Cynthia’ 4-24-10, 5-06-09, 5-05-08

05-13-11  Camassia quamash 4-25-10, 5-10-09, 5-10-08 

05-13-11  Campanula carpatica 5-15-10, 5-23-09, 5-18-08 

05-13-11  Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Renkaku’

05-13-11  Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Yoshinogawa’ 4-17-10, 5-08-09, 5-10-08

05-15-11  Crambe maritima 5-01-10, 5-15-09, 5-18-08

05-15-11  Maianthemum dilatatum 5-09-09

05-15-11  Rhododendron ‘Blue Peter’ 4-24-10, 5-14-09, 5-10-08

05-16-11  Allium aflatunense 5-08-10, 5-18-09, 5-18-08

05-16-11  Allium ‘Globemaster’ 5-04-10, 5-18-09, 5-18-08

05-16-11  Geranium sanguineum 5-03-09

05-16-11  Pratia pedunculata 5-04-10, 5-16-09, 5-10-08

05-16-11  Rhododendron occidentale 4-27-10,

05-16-11  Rhododendron ‘Pink Pearl’

05-18-11  Euphorbia nicaeensis 5-16-09

05-18-11  Ornithogalum umbellatum 4-28-10 , 5-10-09, 5-15-08

05-18-11  Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’ 5-01-10, 5-16-09

05-19-11  Geranium himalayense 5-10-10, 5-18-09, 5-18-08

05-19-11  Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ 5-01-10, 5-20-09

05-19-11  Trillium luteum 4-09-10, 5-08-09

05-19-11  Viburnum sargentii ‘Onondaga’ 5-03-10, 5-19-09, 5-22-08

05-20-11  Rhododendron yakushimanum ‘Yaku Princess’ 5-11-10, 5-14-09, 5-15-08

05-21-11  Allium cristophii 5-16-10, 5-26-09, 5-25-08

05-21-11  Iris macrosiphon 5-01-10, 5-18-09, 5-19-08

05-21-11  Paeonia veitchii 5-18-10

05-22-11  Homoglad (Homoglossum x Gladiolus)

05-22-11  Nectaroscordum siculum 5-07-10, 5-20-09, 5-22-08

05-22-11  Sorbus rehderiana

05-23-11  Neillia affinis

05-23-11  Rosa rugosa ‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ 5-06-10, 5-18-09, 5-15-08

05-24-11  Iris douglasiana 5-07-10, 5-18-09, 5-18-08

05-24-11  Weigela florida ‘Rubidor’ 5-10-10, 5-25-08

05-25-11  Erigeron karvinskianus

05-25-11  Iris chrysophylla 5-08-10

05-26-11  Alchemilla mollis ‘Select’

05-26-11  Antirrhinum sempervirens

05-27-11  Heuchera micrantha

05-27-11  Sedum spathulifolium

05-27-11  Sorbus ‘Birgitta’

05-30-11  Allium schubertii 5-22-10, 5-23-09, 5-25-08

05-30-11  Gaultheria shallon 5-04-10, 5-20-09, 5-22-08

05-30-11  Scilla peruviana 5-03-10, 5-25-09, 5-19-08

05-30-11  Sorbus gonggashanica 5-13-10, 5-18-09, 5-25-08