Mild May

We're enjoying an unusually mild spring so far, with sunny skies and afternoon temperatures only in the low to mid 70s. Frequently I hear people passing me on my walks say things like, "Enjoy it while you can!" And I know exactly what they mean. The combination of heat and humidity that this region is known for is bound to return. In the meantime . . .

Master Gardner

 

Daylilies

 

Sit a Spell

 

It seems that I have become quite obsessed with gardens recently. I happened to find this one a particularly nice place to sit and rest one fine morning this past week.

Exuberant

 

Over the Fence

 

Morning Walk

Gate

 

Onions

May Flowers

 

The same garden I photographed last month, but, how, how it has changed!

Tranquility

 

May your day be just as tranquil.

Fences

"An attention to fencing, a feature of English agriculture since about the fifteenth century, was perpetuated by English settlers in North America. Though often not without overtones of possession, fences were built for mainly practical reasons. In the southern colonies, livestock of all kinds was accommodated in the woods surrounding the cultivated fields. As the animals could be branded or otherwise marked for owner identification and cleared land was often limited, crops came to be enclosed and livestock was thus fenced out. Conversely, in New England and parts of the middle colonies, livestock was customarily fenced in. By no means restricted to agricultural use, fences also defined and protected all types of rural and urban spaces, such as churchyards, gardens, and workyards, throughout the colonies." -- Partitioning the Landscape by Vanessa E. Patrick

Tucker House

 

"The St. George Tucker House is one of the original colonial homes in Historic Williamsburg. It was built in 1718–19 for William Levingston (who, incidentally, built the first theater in America). The house eventually came into the hands of St. George Tucker who had moved from Bermuda to Williamsburg. Tucker was a lawyer and professor of law at the College of William and Mary and later became a state and federal judge. In 1796, Judge Tucker wrote a controversial pamphlet addressed to the General Assembly of Virginia. In it he laid out a plan to end slavery in Virginia because 'the abolition of slavery was of great importance for the moral character of the citizens of Virginia.' He is also famous for his 1803 edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. which has become an indispensable American law text." -- Wikipedia

Irises

 

Climbing Rose?

 

I'm not sure what this is. A climbing rose, maybe?

Peony

As for me, one of the truest first signs of spring has to be when peonies begin to bloom. The one shown above was absolutely the first to shine in a whole garden devoted to them. I'm actually not sure I ever paid much attention to them, however, until I moved next door to a couple who grew them on a plot right next to my house so that I was able to watch them bloom all spring long as I hopped into my car each morning to go to work.  

Balls of Fire

 

St. Francis

 

Judging just from the sheer number of St. Francis statues in and around town, one might think he was the patron saint of Williamsburg! So far as I know, there is no formal connection between the two. Still, I think St. Francis might have felt himself very much at home here. :-)

Edging

 

White