The Plants Doing All the Work in My Garden Right Now Late May

Every year in the garden feels different but this spring here in my New Jersey zone 6b garden has seriously been one of the strangest growing seasons I can remember in quite some time. We started with a pretty normal spring then suddenly temperature shot up close to 90 degrees which was way earlier than normal. Plants started pushing out tons of new growth and then temperatures dropped again followed by a hard freeze after so much had already emerged. Some plants were damaged pretty badly, some struggled, and others quite seriously surprised me with how resilient they've been. And I think that's one of the most interesting parts about gardening. The stars of the garden change every year. Have you ever noticed that before? Two years ago my big leaf hydrangeas completely stole the show, three years ago it was my rhododendrons, last year my roses were absolutely incredible. But every season is different because weather patterns, soil conditions, light exposure, rainfall, and even tiny microclimates throughout your property can completely change how plants perform from year to year. So today I thought it would be fun to walk through the plants that are really carrying my garden right now here in late May. Some are blooming beautifully, some are just getting started, and others are honestly just proving how valuable good foliage and strong structure can be after such a chaotic spring. And if you saw my recent video about what survived after the hard freeze you already know there was definitely some spring garden carnage this year. But despite all that the garden is still coming alive in such a beautiful way. One of the plants creating the biggest visual impact right now is definitely my meadow rue cotton candy. This perennial is hardy in roughly zones five through nine and it creates this soft airy haze throughout the garden that almost feels dreamy when the wind moves through it. And this is exactly the kind of plant that helps cottage gardens feel layered and natural instead of stiff or overly formal. I especially love pairing plants with airy texture like this near heavier foliage plants because the contrast makes everything stand out that much more. Even after the strange spring weather this plant seems totally unfazed. Another plant that's doing incredibly well right now is my della sperma from Proven Winners. I have never grown it before but planted it a few years ago and seriously these have become some of the toughest and most reliable plants out here. Most hardy ice plant varieties grow well in zones five through nine depending on the cultivar and they absolutely thrive in hot sunny locations with excellent drainage. Considering the temperature swings we had this spring I'm impressed by how well these have held up. And this is one of those moments where gardening over multiple years really teaches you what plants consistently earn their space. Because not every beautiful plant is reliable year after year but these definitely have been. My salvias are also completely shining right now especially pink perfusion and indiglo girls. Most perennial salvias grow well in zones four through nine and honestly they are some of the hardest working perennials in my garden. They bloom for such a long period, pollinators absolutely love them, and they provide this incredible vertical structure and color continuity right when the garden is transitioning from spring into early summer. And after a spring like this plants that can rebound quickly and continue pushing flowers are incredibly valuable. I also love how salvias help connect different parts of the garden visually because they weave so naturally through neighboring plants. My clematis are also really beginning to put on a show right now especially josephine regal and several others throughout the garden. Most large flowering clematis varieties perform well in zones four through nine depending on the cultivar. And honestly after the rough spring we just had seeing these vines covered in blooms feels especially rewarding. The bearded irises are also blooming beautifully right now. Most grow best in zones three through nine and they really seem to appreciate the cooler spring temperatures we settled back into after that early heat wave. I also love how these blooms bridge that gap before peonies and roses fully explode into flower. And speaking of which my garden is starting its transition into the most beautiful time of the year where the peonies and roses are finally beginning to open. The peonies are just starting to unfurl and you can already see how incredible some of these blooms are going to be. Most peonies grow best in zones three through eight and this stage might be one of the most exciting parts of the season because the garden suddenly feels full of anticipation. After such a strange spring with the early heat wave followed by a hard freeze I actually was a little concerned about them because I was concerned we would get hit with some bud blast where it would start to bud up but they wouldn't flower. But it looks like we are good to go and these buds are getting ready to perform. And this is another really good reminder that gardens are constantly changing from year to year. Some seasons peonies are absolutely spectacular, others heavy rain ruins flowers pretty quickly, sometimes late freezes damage the buds, and sometimes cooler spring temperatures actually help the flowers last longer. The roses are also just beginning to wake up in a really big way. Most roses grow well in zones four through nine depending on the variety and right now mine are covered in buds and are just starting to open throughout the garden. This is the point in the season where everything begins accelerating really quickly. One day the garden feels mostly green and then suddenly roses, peonies, salvias, clematis, and early summer perennials all begin overlapping together at once. And that overlap is what makes late spring gardening feel so magical. But seriously some of the most important plants in my garden right now are not flowering at all. They're foliage plants that are quietly holding everything together. My legolaria is one of the best examples of that. Most varieties grow best in zones three through eight and while it does eventually flower I seriously grow it more for the foliage than anything else. The leaves almost look like leather and the texture is absolutely incredible this time of year. Especially after so much spring damage elsewhere seeing lush healthy foliage like this brings so much life back into the garden. My hostas had a really rough start after that deep freeze. A lot of the early foliage was damaged badly but they bounced back surprisingly fast. And I think that's an important reminder that gardens are incredibly resilient so it's good to be patient. Most hostas grow well in zones three through nine and once temperature stabilized again they started recovering beautifully. My elderberry and deer villas are also adding so much structure and foliage color right now. Even though some branches are definitely showing signs of weather damage from the spring temperature swings they still look really good and do so much in the garden. And this is where microclimates become really noticeable. Some sections of the garden were protected, others were a little more exposed. Even within the same property plants can respond completely differently depending on wind exposure, sunlight, moisture, and temperature fluctuations. Now one of the biggest surprises for me this spring has been how well my winter sown vegetables and herbs are doing. After all that crazy weather they've been thriving and I think part of that is because winter sowing naturally exposes those seedlings to fluctuating outdoor conditions early on so they adapt incredibly well once planted out in the garden. If you watched my winter sowing videos earlier in the season this is exactly why I love this method so much. The plants end up so sturdy and so resilient. One thing gardening has taught me over the years is that no two seasons are exactly alike and that's part of what keeps gardening so interesting. You can plant the exact same garden two years in a row and still get completely different results depending on weather patterns, winter temperatures, rainfall, humidity, late frost, heat waves, and even subtle environmental changes throughout the garden. Sometimes a plant struggles one year and completely thrives the next. Sometimes a plant you barely noticed before suddenly becomes the star of the entire garden. And paying attention to those shifts over time really helps you become a better gardener because you start understanding not just what grows in your zone but what consistently performs well in your specific garden conditions. And that's where your experience becomes your best gardening tool. And this time of year is one of my favorite times to jot down notes in my garden planner because there's so much happening so quickly right now. I'm constantly taking notes about what handled the freeze well, what bloomed early, what struggled, what combinations are working, what areas still need more color and texture, things like that. Because it's surprisingly easy to forget those details by the end of the season and even next year. You think you'll remember but you won't. And over time those observations really help shape a more resilient and beautiful garden year after year. I also dive much deeper into plant layering, low maintenance garden design, and building gardens with long season interest inside my gardening book as well for anyone wanting to create a garden that looks beautiful beyond just one peak bloom moment. So those are some of the plants doing most of the work in my garden right now here in late May after one of the strangest spring seasons we've had in a while. And I'd love to know what's thriving in your garden right now because every region and every season is so different. So let me know down in the comments what plants are really shining for you this year. And if you're building a garden that looks good all season without constant work, please subscribe to my channel because that's exactly what I share here. If you found this video helpful, please give it a thumbs up. I'm Stacy with Bricks and Blooms. I will see you in the next video. Enjoy a beautiful day.