It’s the middle of May and the Perennial Parade has begun! and I’m going to document the progression from early spring violas, anemones, and marsh marigolds to late autumn sedum, hydrangea, and coneflowers.

I’m hoping you’ll follow along with me on my new series “What’s Up?” to see how fast all this happens. I only hope I can keep up because I’m not limiting my choices to the perennial garden. My choices will also include wildflowers and other people’s gardens (if I get the chance ;)

Even though our temperatures have been very chilly and the rain seems to be never-ending, the perennials (domestic and wild) are popping up at lightning speed. I hardly know where to begin, but today I’ll start with the lovely Marsh Marigold which flowers in May in Alberta.

Caltha palustris, known as marsh-marigold and kingcup, is a small to medium size perennial herbaceous plant of the family Ranunculaceae, native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Wikipedia)

These grow wild in an area very near to our home, although many people do use these in their perennial gardens.

This morning I noticed them blooming profusely along a fence in a marshy area, and I had to rush home, get my rubber boots, my shears, and a bucket of water, so I could pick a tiny bouquet.

Note: this plant is rather toxic and contains strong skin irritants that may cause blistering and is also poisonous. I used rubber gloves when handling them.

Here’s the marshy area where I found them this morning:

What’s Up Next in the Perennial Parade?

• My one tulip (which has 3 flowers every single year)
• Anemones Sylvestris from my garden

Be back soon :)

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