May is the month when we wave farewell to the last frosts and hopefully welcome in warmer weather. It’s also the time of year when many perennial plants, trees and shrubs burst forth into flower. We can well and truly wave goodbye to winter! So here are ten plants guaranteed to bring colour and cheer to your garden at this time of year:
1. Philadelphus ‘Pearls of Perfume’ (Mock Orange)
Unlike most philadelphus, this cultivar will flower on both old and new wood. This means that it can flower throughout the summer as opposed to other cultivars that flower in just early summer. It’s compact and its large, highly scented, double, white flowers are borne all along the length of the stems.
- Flowers from June to August
- Hardy
- Grows to 120cm tall and 60cm wide
- Well-drained, fertile soil
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
2. Knautia macedonica (Macedonian scabious)
These are the ideal plants for attracting various pollinating insects to the garden. They produce masses of scabious-like, deep crimson colour flowers. These are on long, thin, spindly, gracefully arching stems for many weeks. Scabious will also self-seed freely around the garden creating a natural repeat rhythm to the design of the flower border.
- Flowers from June to August
- Hardy
- Grows to 80cm tall and 60cm wide
- Well-drained soil
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
3. Phlomis tuberosa (Sage-leaf mullein)
Catmint are generally a great choice for filling a newly planted border quickly. This is because they rapidly produce wide-spreading flower stems that flower for months on end. ‘Snowflake’ is a shorter, spreading cultivar than the average catmint, and has blue-tinted white flowers and soft, grey-green, scented leaves. Cutting back flowered stems often induces a second flush of flowers later in the year.
- Flowers May to July
- Hardy
- Grows to 75cm tall and 80cm wide
- Well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Exposed
4. Nepeta racemosa ‘Snowflake’ (Catmint)
There’s something particularly delightful about the sight of aquilegias daintily dotted around the garden at this time of year. And this cultivar is no exception with its soft, slightly scented, lemon-yellow flowers and unusual long spurs flaring out. It also has attractive bluish-green, ferny leaves and makes a great cut flower, as well as being attractive to butterflies.
- Flowers from May to June
- Hardy
- Grows to 90cm tall and 45cm wide
- Fertile moist well drained soil
- Full sun and part-shade
- Exposed
5. Cornus kousa ‘Salomi’ (Kousa dogwood)
Cornus kousa makes ideal specimen trees with their architectural stems and ‘Salami’ is particularly striking at this time of year. It has large, green-centred, rosy-pink flowers contrasting beautifully with the tree’s dark green leaves. Red fruit appears on the tree in early autumn followed by the leaves turning handsome shades of crimson and purple before falling, mid to late autumn. It will also grow well in a container if kept well-watered and regularly fed with a balanced fertiliser.
- Flowers from June to July
- Hardy
- Grows to 500cm tall and 600cm wide
- Well-drained, moist soil
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
6. Paeonia ‘Doreen’ (Peony)
This pretty, bright-pink-petalled, Japanese peony will flower over a longer period than most other peonies. It leaves behind it clumps of handsome leaves as a perfect backdrop for plants that flower later in the summer. The centre of Doreen’s flowers is frilly and a pretty, creamy-pink colour, adding to the overall charm of the plant.
- Flowers from June to July
- Hardy
- Grows to 80cm tall and 80cm wide
- Well-drained soil that never becomes waterlogged
- Full sun
- Exposed
7. Rosa ‘Pink Abundance’ (Rose)
This cheerful-looking, compact, rose lives up to its name. It produces pretty, scented, salmon-pink petalled flowers in clusters of up to twelve blooms per cluster throughout the summer months.
- Flowers from May to July
- Hardy
- Grows to 75cm tall and 60cm wide
- Will grow in poor soil if well-drained
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
8. Thermopsis lanceolata (False lupin)
The bright yellow, pea-shape flowers on black stems, look like a slender lupin and grow into a naturally, neat shape. Once established it is relatively trouble-free and ideal for placing in the middle of the flower border.
- Flowers from May to June
- Hardy
- Grows to 75cm tall and 80cm wide
- Well-drained soil
- Full sun
- Exposed
9. Campanula portenschlagiana (Dalmatian bellflower)
This mat-forming, mainly evergreen plant spreads rapidly. This makes it an ideal choice for ground cover in either a sunny or partly shaded location. It also looks particularly effective trailing over a wall and will grow well in most soil types. At this time of year, it becomes covered in bell-shaped purple flowers which last well into August. And it looks good growing with hostas and lupins.
- Flowers from June to August
- Hardy
- Grows to 15cm tall and 45cm wide
- Most well-drained soil types
- Full sun or part shade
- Exposed
10. Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ (Ninebark)
This stylish, deciduous shrub has handsome rich, dark purple leaves. And, at this time of year, pretty, pink-tinged white flowers. These are followed by glossy red seed heads in the autumn. It prefers neutral, to acid soils and moist, but well-drained soil. And it looks wonderful paired with the lime green foliage of many euphorbias, or another ninebark cultivar, ‘Dart’s Gold’.
- Flowers in June
- Hardy
- Grows to 200cm tall and 250cm wide
- Moist, but well-drained soil
- Sun or part shade
- Exposed
Make sure your June garden is looking has some welcome colour with the warming summer weather.
Find out the best veg to grow this month:
Or check out my Pinterest board for more ideas:
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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