Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - May 2010

Not only has our spring weather been topsy turvy, with hot summer temperatures one weekend and rain, wind and snow the next, but life in general has been a roller coaster ride for us lately.

On May 6th my dear hubby was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance and diagnosed with pneumonia.

That day was the scariest of my life. He is on oxygen 24/7, so breathing is never easy for him.

He spent the next 5 days in the hospital before we were able to bring him home. Our oldest daughter came up from the city to stay with me, and what a blessing it was to have her cheerful presence to lift our spirits.

Our son and daughter #2 were in touch daily, as well as family and friends. We're so very grateful for all the tremendous support and prayers.

The nurses were wonderful - cheerful and caring. They took such good care of him. His day nurse was our own special angel, with the sweetest smile you could ever hope to see.

We're praising The Lord for his loving care.

Hubby is recovering his strength and feeling a little better each day.
Needless to say, blogging has taken a back seat these past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the garden is bursting with blooms!
Click on any of these photos to enlarge for a better view.

Those 2 large lilacs are showing off their lovely flower clusters and permeating the air with their glorious scent.

There are still some tantalizing tulips providing bright spots of color.  

Purples and pinks are looking lovely in the Lily Garden.

Hannah and Jasmine were tiptoeing through the tulips, providing me with plenty of Kodak moments. Actually, they were chasing each other through the tulips and I had to shoo them out before they broke something.

These Angelique tulips are in the lower Rock Garden. The Johnny-jump-ups and yellow perennial Alyssum make pretty companions and are especially beautiful backlit by the afternoon sunlight. 

I'm very excited to see 2 Poet's Daffodils/Narcissus poeticus blooming in the Rock Garden. I planted them in the fall of '08 and, to my disappointment, they didn't bloom last spring. Perhaps next year, with a little luck, there'll be quite a few more.

Another very exciting new plant is Spanish Blue Bells/Hyacinthoides hispanica, blooming beside that lovely yellow-flowered Lamium. Both were given to me last year by our niece. 

These deep purple iris blooms never cease to amaze me.

The Spring Garden is overflowering with Bleeding Hearts, both pink and white, plus Arabis/Rockcress, Forget-me-nots and a few tulips. The Bleeding Hearts were knocked down by a hard frost on May 11th. They're looking a little sad but they'll recover and perk up after a while, although they won't be quite as perfect as they were before the frost. 

In the Pink Garden those soft pink tulips are wowing me once again, accompanied by

Creeping Phlox, and purple-flowered Lamium.

There's also petite and pretty Aubrietta/purple Rockcress beyond the Lamium. I love this dainty plant. Those lovely green leaves to the left are a dwarf Campanula, not yet blooming.

I hope to post pictures of more blooms soon. There are quite a few more blooming plants but I didn't have time to photograph many of them today. My hubby is so happy to be home enjoying the gardens and our many feathered friends visiting the feeders each day, and I'm extremely thankful to have him here.
We saw our first hummingbird today! What a treat to have them back!

Be sure to visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other mid-May gardens worldwide.

Happy Bloom Day everyone!