Doubts induced by the bareness of winter dormancy are now forgotten. By this first week of May, the garden bursts against the stone paths and patios with little open ground. Gaps imagined with the month long cover of snow are now overflowing, occasionally with a newly planted mayapple alongside a delightful clump of trilliums.

I’m pleased that the glossy evergreen Beesia (Beesia deltophylla, below) has begun to spread, and here is its first spike of flowers. While tree and shrub layers best serve wildlife and ornament, covering the ground is additionally beneficial in minimizing maintenance. In its second spring, Beesia will limit weed growth, but I look forward to two years into the future, I’m guessing when it will fill to cover the ground.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised that several evergreen azaleas have flowered more heavily than in recent years. ‘Autumn Twist’ (below) in the side garden has disappointed for a few years. Today is its best ever, and while I favor the fragrant deciduous azaleas in the sunnier border on the opposite property line, the varying flower colors of ‘Twist’ are a delight.

I see that the ‘Celestial Shadow’ dogwood (below) neighboring the azaleas will have no flowers this spring. Its variegated leaves are enough, and of course, there is no understanding why there are blooms one year and not the next. Close by, the large white flowered ‘Venus’ flowers heavily, so I expect the area is not overly shaded.

The variegated leaf ‘Silver Edge’ rhododendron never flowers heavily, but today, there are more flowers than usual. It has grown tall with open branching, and occasionally, I consider pruning to fatten it up, but it’s probably best as a see-through shrub.

Scattered along the forest’s edge in the side garden are a variety of sweetshrubs (Calycanthus, above and below). None flower as heavily as one in half day sun, but here was space to fit this small collection. As several fade from bloom this first week of May, there’s plenty of color elsewhere in the garden.