in the pleatpetal purring of mouthweathered May.
— Karen Volkman, from “May“
The Chinese tree peonies are definitely the stars this month in the Speilhaus garden of the University of Hohenheim.
I took these photos yesterday evening.
The garden has around ten mature specimens.
Unfortunately, we had several days of rain last week, and the blooms were not at their best.
The fern leaf peony shown above was new to me.
Beyond the peony bed, I liked the combination, above and below, of light-purple geraniums and orange euphorbias.
Nearby was a planting of bearded iris.
In the photo above, the bright yellow at the top, just below the arbor, is mountain goldenbanner, which is native to the western United States.
White asphodel — “that greeny flower” — was also blooming in the garden.
The pretty blue-violet flower above was close by, but I didn’t get a picture of its label. I think it’s another Asphodelus. It’s a Camassia, a North American native in the asparagus family (see the comments below).
Looking south across the garden from behind the wisteria arbor, you can see the row of tree peonies. In the lower right-hand corner is a planting of yellow asphodel or king’s spear.
Looking across the garden from the east to the west, a beautiful pink blooming Judas tree draws the eye.
The tree is native to Southern Europe and Western Asia.
At the other side of the garden a Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum or purple gromwell drapes over the steps. The flowers emerge purple reddish and then mature to deep blue.
To see what’s blooming today for other garden bloggers, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
enclos*ure 
paeonies in life are new to me.
They look almost, like roses.
As wonderful as roses, but they bloom even more briefly.
That Geranium is new to me. It’s listed under bulbs by VanEngelen. Also the Judas Tree is a Cercis which is the same family as Redbud and the flowers look very similar. Such a lot of great plants and I love those long views with all the combinations. That blue flower might be a Cammassia (spelling?) which is a native plant to the U.S. for moist or boggy areas.
You know I immediately thought that the Judas Tree was like a supercharged redbud, but it didn’t click that the genus name is the same. I just checked. . . redbud blooms are edible too; their taste is “a not unpleasant sour bite” (http://thegrownetwork.com/in-praise-of-redbuds/).
lovely Spring pictures !
Thanks!
Beauty everywhere you look! Linda is right – the blue flower is a Camassia, or Camas lily. They grow wild here in Oregon.
Thanks to you and Linda!
Many lovely things to look at here, but that ‘Yoshinogawa’ peony is spectacular. It is easy to see why this plant became a favorite subject in Japanese art.
I feel lucky to live near a public garden with so many mature specimens. I just posted a little update on Facebook, from my visit yesterday.
[…] I started out in March meaning to track the flowers of the Spielhaus (playhouse) perennial garden at the University of Hohenheim for this year’s GB Bloom Days. However, travel, gloomy weather, and hurting feet have interfered, and I haven’t posted an update since May. […]