It's finally warming up a bit, what a long cold month May has been. Jeronimo came yesterday to turn on the irrigation and clean up pine cones in front.
The redbud still worries me. In 2023 and 2024 it looked good the third week in May, with big glossy leaves. Kind of shaggy looking.
 |
| Late May in prior years |
This year it seems sparse, the leaves are little and dark, not just the new emerging leaves, but all of them. They are just now starting to get a little bigger, so I am waiting to see. Although it's leafing out, there is just something about it that looks off.
 |
| This year |
It may have just been the very cold nights we've had all month, and the hail in early May. Each spring has its challenges, but this was a long uninterrupted stretch of very cold nights and not much warmth in the day.
I moved the bush clematis in its turquoise pot from under the juniper -- too crowded there -- and tucked it in next to the table by the garage, where I like it better. The blue picks up the door color. The long drying stems could be arranged to scramble up over the table a bit and that helps it look better.
Still, the flowers are all dragging on the ground and I will prune it back.
It looks much better seen from the deck, looking down toward that blank wall and door. This make a fuller, greener focal point, with just a bit of blue peeking through.
When the red flowered cardinal penstemon flowers, that will fill the lower front part of the table vignette with some color and form too.
It's not great, though. Still a little staged. I need the yellow petunia to fill out and drape and the little basil plants to rise above the rims of their tall pots.