In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

• Ask a question

« Bee Square Foot Garden update | In the Garden front page | Tomato tags »

May 12, 2008

May's bounty

The jasmine vine has covered a small arbor in my garden and scents the whole area. It’s a heavenly scent.

Farther down the path, the David Austin rose called Evelyn is producing softly scented pink blossoms. They beg you to come close and breathe in their fragrance. The rose called 'Pat Austin' is covered with deep terra-cotta orange flowers.

I have kniphofia in yellow, orange, red and yellow and orange and yellow. Ten towering Echium plants are covered in coral-red flowers. The hum of bees on them is almost deafening.

Cistus flowers hang delicately at the ends of the stems, and look like they’re dancing. Add yarrow and daylilies to the list. And more roses. And columbine, abutilon, hardy geraniums, lychnis, Dutch iris, Gladwyn iris, callas, and more.

In the vegetable garden the tomatoes are finally producing their yellow flowers, and the arugula stems are covered with tiny, black-veined white ones.

It seems so much blooms in May that there can't possibly be anything left for the remaining months!

Ask a question

Please use the form below to submit your question. Because there is a 100-word limit for questions, a word counter is located directly beneath the box where you enter the your question.