Welcome to Day 5 of my review of my first year of writing Peonies & Posies.

By May life was starting to get very busy. Social arrangements were increasing, my Open University digital photography course had started and the demands of the garden were growing daily. I was really getting into the swing of blogging and posted more often than in previous months.

A trip to the Chelsea Flower Show was a highlight, as was a food photography course I attended run by Vanessa Kimbell of The Juniper & Rose Kitchen Garden School.  Vanessa writes an often thought provoking blog with wonderful food and lifestyle photography – it is well worth a look. For 2014 I am looking at her sourdough course – it looks delicious in the photographs. The garden was a joy in May – overflowing with May blossom, lilac, tulips and alliums. The late spring meant that everything was out at once, something I had never seen before.

Highlights from the months posts include:

Peony BouquetThe first peonies in a bouquet from the market.

May BlossomMay blossom in a Cambridge college.

TulipsStunning tulips Flaming Spring Green and Black Hero waiting to be arranged.

IMG_8050Ammi majus from the garden in an arrangement of lilac with dark tulips.

Food PhotographyMy first food photography course.

White Tulip BouquetWhite tulips  and lilac in an arrangement.

Chelsea GnomesChelsea gnomes.

Allium Purple SensationAllium Purple Sensation in a mature lavender hedge.

May saw me starting to use the DSLR in preference to the iPad , although only in aperture priority mode. I was starting to pay more attention to composition and light, but did not feel that I really understood my camera yet.

Other photos from my May archives include:

May Collage

Looking back May was one of my favourite months of the year. The cold spring meant that everything was blooming late. Tulips which would normally be finished were in full flow, whilst the allium purple sensation that always follows the tulips in early May was only just starting to pop by the end of the month. Even the weeds looked like they were placed intentionally in May!

Thank you for reading and I hope you will be back here tomorrow for a look at June.