I’ve just managed to post Five Favourites by the skin of my teeth. The photos were taken through the last half of May, after my return from visiting my eldest daughter and her family in the US. I’ve been playing catch-up ever since – mainly in the garden.

Although we haven’t had the high temperatures that the south have been enduring, it has been warmer than was comfortable to garden in, so progress has been slow. But it was fairly easy to find favourites, the main problem was how to narrow them down to five. But without further ado, here’s the five I’ve selected.

Syringa

Syringa ‘Belle de Nancy’ starts with dark reddish buds opening to a lovely shade of pink-lilac. The tree is getting too tall for me to photograph the clusters of large blooms at the top, which have been particularly pretty, and I’m sure heavy with perfume. I’d have to climb a ladder enjoy the fragrance now.

Syringa ‘‘Louis Spaeth’ is a shrub and grows in a more shady spot than ‘Belle de Nancy’ but flowers just as prolifically and whose flowers in the shade are a lush deep grape. The shrub is also (at the moment) an achievable height for the camera than its neighbour at the other end of the garden, which makes it so much easier to photograph.

Exochorda ‘Niagara’

When we left for the US in April this shrub was beginning to flower. I thought I would miss its peak but it was still looking fairly good when we arrived home. It’s still a young plant and so far failing to show much sign of cascading – it seems to want to reach for the sky. Time will tell.

Aquilegia

One year on and I still haven’t discovered the name of this one. I won’t attempt to guess any more – it’s fabulous, and that’s all that matters.

This one I do know – appropriately named ‘Kristall’ or ‘White Star’.

Time to relax

The weather was fairly pleasant when we arrived home, and it was a pleasure to be able to sit a while alongside the few remaining pots of narcissus and tulips between bouts of gardening, shopping, washing and other household tasks. This one is a favourite memory of May. I can only hope that spring isn’t turning into the new summer.

The pots of narcissi shown here are ‘Golden Delicious’, and if you want the cheeriest, brightest and long-lasting narcissus in your pots and borders next year, I can happily recommend this one. Those in the borders were only deadheaded a few days ago; they have bloomed well.

Geum.

Top May favourites are the gems. There are four or five varieties in the garden right now, but they are fairly recent, and still a little bit scrawny. This is Scarlet Tempest and has been growing here for a good number of years, making itself at home among other planting, in this case, the Forget-me-nots that turn the borders into a sea of blue every May. I love it.

I’ve joined Cathy at Words and Herbs with her meme ‘Five Favourites’. Pop over and see all the loveliness of Cathy’s fabulous garden.

That’s all from me at the end of this glorious month of May. I’d love to get back to posting weekly on Six on Saturday, but right now my time has to be mostly devoted to other matters. I hope you are all enjoying your gardens, and that the month of June will be one that’s just perfect for working in, sitting in, and enjoying your garden.

Catherine x