Placing a beautiful wooden gazebo in your garden is a wonderful way to enhance the space. But one of these structures is just the beginning. Once your new gazebo is in place, you should think about the plants around it and how they will enhance the garden overall – and improve your experience when using the space. 

May is a time when many plants in your garden come into full and abundant life. This is also a time of year when you may begin to spend a lot more of your time outdoors – enjoying your new round seating or dining area. As you do so, you want to be sure that you will have plenty of May flowering plants around your gazebo to delight the eye. 

So to help you make your new gazebo an even more wonderful place to spend some time, here are some of the spring flowers that you might like to choose for attendant planting:

Trees to Plant Near a Gazebo For Spring Blossom

Many trees bloom beautifully around this time, apple trees or native crab apples being one of the most popular choices. Flowering cherries should also still be in flower, at least early in the month and rowan trees should be in full bloom this month. 

Whether grown as trees or as part of hedgerows, hawthorn is another glory of the season. Blackthorn and wild pear are two other hedgerow plants which, depending on where you live, may still be in bloom around this time. 

May Flowering Shrubs to Plant Near a Gazebo

As well as native hedgerow plants, many other shrubs are wonderful for mid-spring blooms. Lilac is one of the favourite options, and certain roses, rhododendrons, dogwoods, viburnums, deutzia, spiraea and weigela are also great options for many locations which will also look great in May. 

May Flowering Climbers for May

A number of clematis cultivars are perfect for growing against a gazebo, and some flowers at this time of the year. Ceanothus cultivars blooming in spring might also be excellent options for a sunny spot. Akebia quinata is another interesting option to consider – it flowers from March to May. 

May Flowering Herbaceous Perennials for Gazebo Borders

By May, many of the early flowering bulbs may well be ending their displays. But tulips and alliums, camassia and bearded irises, for example, maybe at their height. 

But by May, there are also plenty of flowering perennials beginning to put on a show, including certain peonies, delphiniums, snapdragons, wallflowers, hardy geraniums and more. 

Native Wildflowers Which Bloom in May

Whether your gazebo is set in the midst of a woodland garden, or in a wildflower meadow area, the wildflowers blooming in May will certainly paint a pretty picture. Which wildflowers you choose will obviously depend on where exactly you live, and the growing conditions you can provide. But there are plenty of native wildflowers to consider to enhance the space around your gazebo. 

You might, for example, add native spring bulbs like cow parsley, primroses,  English bluebells or wild daffodils in a woodland garden. You might make a perennial meadow or wild lawn with daisies, dandelions, Primula veris,  rough hawkbit, speedwell and many other native perennial flowers which often bloom from May onwards, as well as other native wildflowers which bloom over the summer months. 

These are just some ideas to inspire you to plant wisely around your gazebo to enjoy a beautiful display in May. And, of course, you should combine your May flowering species with other species which bloom throughout as much of the year as possible – for the wildlife, and for your own enjoyment.