Peonies started blooming weeks ago here, and are already gone. I look forward to their lovely, lush blooms every year.

Your peonies are beautiful, and I love all of the colors.

woodrose - what are your key June bloomers then?

I wish we could grow rhodos - soil here is not acid and no rhodo I've tried planting survived! No grandiflora magnolias are hardy here but other types are. We have two of the Little Girl series ones and the neighbour to the north has a stellata type that is the first magnolia to bloom. There is a magnificent saucer type magnolia on the street behind us that is probably at least 50 years old - stunning in bloom and sometimes does a small secondary summer bloom. Lots of columbines still in bloom here and hellebores are mostly finished but some still have a few flowers. Ditto Siberian irises - I have a few of those plus the small bulb irises for early spring. I gave up on the bearded irises because of those gross iris borers - are they a problem in your area too? My wisterias are a Chinese one and a Japanese one. May is their bloom time and in early early May watching for flowerbuds is a key garden activity :-) They are marginally hardy here plus a hard prune takes them a couple of years to recover from. This year was a very so-so year, in part probably because we took a fair bit off the Chinese one last year as it was getting too close to the 'Boomerang' dwarf lilac. If I was younger - and we had more space - , I might try an American one but a lot of them have a scent that one of my wisteria books politely called 'musk' :-) One I've smelled in person smelled to me like spilled fertilizer :-( but 'Blue Moon' didn't smell bad. What does yours smell like?

Here are pictures of mine from last May 29th - last year was a good year for them.:

(you can see some of the pruned-off bits in the ditch waiting for disposal....)

Japanese one in foreground and Chinese one in the background at the other end of the bed.)

I don't grow any cactus here and Crepe Myrtles are not hardy here - I'd grow those if I could! The differences in timing of flowering and the differences in hardiness make for interesting differences in how to plant an attractive garden in different geographic areas.

Woodyoak, I really don't detect any disagreeable odor on the American Wisteria (slight floral scent), although I have heard this objection to them. Their peak bloom is over but they do bloom again, in August. Scent can be extremely subjective though, in the early days of Spring, boxwoods emit a strong scent that may people detest, but I associate it with early Spring warmth and like the smell. The Asian wisterias don't have a very good reputation here, too aggressive, depending on where you are. Keep posting your gorgeous garden pics as the seasons turn!

One of mine…

tj

@woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada: you have a lot of varieties! I mostly have doubles, but I do enjoy the beauty of single varieties.

Mine will only bloom in 1-2 weeks, but I’ll be sure to come back here and post pics when they do!

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱: that’s a beautiful one you got there!

Thanks for this thread @woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada. I removed our one and only peony last summer as I was tired of the powdery mildew. And so I live vicariously seeing all these wonderful pics.